Signalmen wave flags to pass a message from hill to hill.The owner snaps off the head of a stalk, rolls it between his palms, blows away the chaff, and then pops a kernel into his mouth.But when the Captain enters, the cowed children snap back to attention while Maria is reprimanded for not observing strict bedtime hours and accused of undermining his authority.A diplomatic cover-up conceals the real facts: "A SPECIAL EMBASSY BULLETIN REPORTS THE SUDDEN ILLNESS OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS ANN.Making matters even more difficult was the film""s romantic sub-plot regarding the King""s daughter Princess Gwendolyn (Angela Lansbury) who was being reluctantly forced into a political-marital alliance, and the use of a hypnotic spell by her evil lady-in-waiting and ambitious court witch Griselda (Mildred Natwick) to hypnotize Hawkins (or "Giacomo") into being her dashing lover...eye-shadow, mascara, lipstick, rouge...and then perfume, the spray kind.And then get this.In the middle of the Triboro Bridge - and this woman is beautiful - she changes her pantyhose!...I jump in the back seat and I whip it out and I said, you know what this is?...If she says, ""It""s love,"" you know, I""m gonna f--- her brains out.She goes wild, you know.And she said, ""It""s the greatest single experience of my life."" And she gave me a two hundred dollar tip and her phone number in Acapulco.While the other cabbies are talking, Travis becomes lost in his own world, and then describes their dangerous work environment with "pretty rough customers" and the latest threat - a knife-wielding crazy madman who cut up another cabbie at 122nd Street:Travis: I turned on the radio, some fleet driver from Bell just got all cut up.