''Princess Caraboo'' is a 1994 American historical

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

. It was directed by Michael Austin, and written by Austin and John Wells. The story is based on the real-life 19th-century character

Princess Caraboo Mary Baker (née Willcocks; 11 November 1792 (alleged), Witheridge, Devonshire, England – 24 December 1864, Bristol, England) was an English impostor. Posing as the fictional Princess Caraboo, Baker pretended to come from a far-off island kin ...

, who passed herself off in British society as an exotic princess who spoke a strange foreign language. It stars

Phoebe Cates Phoebe Belle Cates Kline (born July 16, 1963) is an American former actress, known primarily for her roles in films such as ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' (1982), ''Gremlins'' (1984) and ''Drop Dead Fred'' (1991). Early life Cates was born ...

Plot

In Regency England, an exotically dressed woman is found in the fields, speaking a language no-one can understand. She ends up at the home of the Worrall family, the local gentry. Their Greek butler, Frixos, thinks the woman is a fraud from the start. Mr Worrall sends her to the magistrate to be tried for vagrancy, but Mrs Worrall agrees to care for her. Mr Gutch, a local printer and newspaper reporter, takes an interest in the case, especially after the woman claims via

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...

to be

. Gutch talks to the farm workers who found her and learns she had a book from the Magdalene Hospital in London on her. When the Worralls leave on a trip the servants inspect her for a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

, which they believe all natives of the

South Seas Today the term South Seas, or South Sea, is used in several contexts. Most commonly it refers to the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator. In 1513, when Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term ''Mar del Sur'', ...

have and are shocked to find Princess Caraboo has one on her thigh. Frixos tells Gutch he now thinks Princess Caraboo's a genuine princess. Mr Worrall uses her presence to recruit investors for the spice trade which will be facilitated by her when she returns to her native land. Gutch brings in Professor Wilkinson, a linguist who is initially dismissive of Caraboo's story but has enough doubt to refuse to say she is a fraud. The local society finds Princess Caraboo fascinating and they flock to attend parties and soirees with her. Mr Gutch begins investigating people connected with the Magdalene House. Lady Apthorpe takes Caraboo to a ball held for the

Prince Regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...

, who is fascinated by her. Gutch learns Caraboo is actually Mary Baker, who worked as a servant for Mrs Peake. He sneaks into the ball to warn her she's been found out, but she refuses to acknowledge what he tells her. Mrs Peake comes and confronts Caraboo and identifies her as Mary Baker. She is locked up. The local magistrate and Mr Worrall want to hang her. Mrs Worrall gives Mr Gutch documents implicating her husband and the magistrate in a bank fraud. He uses these to work a trade, he will bury the story if Mary Baker can go to America. Gutch, who has fallen in love with Mary, leaves with her for the United States.

Cast

* Jim Broadbent as Mr. Worrall * Wendy Hughes as Mrs. Worrall * Kevin Kline as Frixos * John Lithgow as Professor Wilkinson * Stephen Rea as Gutch *

Peter Eyre Peter Gervaise Joseph Eyre (born 11 March 1942) is an American-born English actor. Eyre was born in New York City, the son of Dorothy Pelline ( née Acton) and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age ...

as Lord Apthorpe *

Jacqueline Pearce Jacqueline Pearce (20 December 1943 – 3 September 2018) was a British film and television actress. She was best known for her portrayal of the principal villain Servalan in the British science fiction TV series ''Blake's 7'' (1978–1981), ...

as Lady Apthorpe * John Wells as Reverend Wells * John Lynch as Amon McCarthy *

John Sessions John Marshall (11 January 1953 – 2 November 2020), better known by the stage name John Sessions, was a British actor and comedian. He was known for comedy improvisation in television shows such as ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'', as a panellist o ...

as Prince Regent *

Arkie Whiteley Arkie Deya Whiteley (6 November 1964 – 19 December 2001) was an Australian actress who appeared in television and film. Early life and education Whiteley's parents were the renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley and cultural figure We ...

as Betty *

Jerry Hall Jerry Faye Hall (born July 2, 1956) is an American model and actress. She began modelling in the 1970s and became one of the most sought after models in the world. She transitioned into acting, appearing in the 1989 film '' Batman''. Hall was t ...

as Lady Motley *

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

as Mrs. Peake

Reception

''Princess Caraboo'' received mixed reviews. It holds a rating of on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on reviews.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Caraboo 1990s romantic comedy-drama films 1994 comedy films 1994 drama films 1994 films American romantic comedy-drama films Beacon Pictures films Biographical films about fraudsters British romantic comedy-drama films Cultural depictions of George IV Fictional-language films Films set in Bristol Films set in England Films set in the 1810s Films shot in England Films shot in Wales TriStar Pictures films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s British films