A Prince's Young Love is a dusty but sweet little romance

If you are in the mood for something that feels like eating a very large, very sugary piece of cake while wearing a tuxedo, this is for you. You should watch this if you like movies where people stare at each other for a long time without saying anything. If you want a fast-paced thriller, you will absolutely hate this and probably fall asleep by the twenty-minute mark. 😴

It’s set in the Second Empire, which means lots of medals and very stiff collars. Everyone looks like they’re being poked in the back with a stick to keep their posture straight.

The Prince and the Pills

Willy Fritsch is the main guy here. He plays a nobleman who is clearly bored of being a nobleman.

He meets the daughter of a pharmacist. Her name is Trude Marlen in real life, and she has these huge eyes that seem to be constantly surprised by everything.

The pharmacy is actually the coolest set in the whole film. It’s got all these tiny wooden drawers and blue glass bottles that I really wanted to reach out and touch.

I spent a lot of time looking at the labels on the jars in the background. I couldn't read them, but they looked very official and dusty.

The way the light hits those jars is probably the most beautiful thing in the movie. It’s better than the actual romance, if I’m being honest.

There is a scene where they walk through a garden and the flowers look so fake it's almost charming. You can see the shadows of the studio lights if you squint hard enough at the top of the screen.

Willy Fritsch has this grin that makes you forget he’s playing a total snob. He’s got that 1930s movie star energy where he just looks like he’s always about to tell a joke.

It's a bit like The Patsy in terms of how much it relies on the lead's charm. But it’s way more serious about itself, which makes it a little slower.

Stiff Collars and Stiff Acting

The Prince’s family is, of course, appalled that he wants to marry a commoner. They spend a lot of time sitting in very expensive-looking chairs and frowning.

The script is full of these long speeches about duty. Duty this, duty that... we get it, you’re very important and have a lot of rules. 🙄

I noticed that the sound gets a bit crackly whenever someone shouts. It makes the Prince sound like he’s yelling through a tin can when he gets angry at his dad.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of A Prince's Young Love (1933) through its definitive frames.

There’s a dinner scene that feels like it took three days to film. Everyone is eating soup so slowly you’d think it was made of liquid gold and they didn't want to spill a drop.

Hubert von Meyerinck shows up at one point. He’s always playing these weird, spindly guys who look like they’ve never seen the sun in their entire lives.

He adds a bit of life to the palace scenes, which are usually pretty dull. Without him, the palace would just be a bunch of people standing around in uncomfortable hats.

• The hats in this movie are massive.
• One lady wears a hat that looks like a small bird’s nest that’s been hit by a truck.
• I think I saw a fly land on the Prince's shoulder in one scene, but then it disappeared.
• The pharmacist has a mustache that should have its own credit in the cast list.

The movie doesn't really care about the actual politics of the time. Bismarck is mentioned, but mostly it's just an excuse to show off the fancy military uniforms.

It reminds me a little of Chances because of the whole 'forbidden love' thing. But this one is much more focused on the fancy houses and the social climbing.

Is it actually good?

The romance itself is... fine, I guess? They don’t have much to talk about besides how they can’t be together, which gets old after an hour.

But the movie gets much better once the Prince stops moping around the garden. The last twenty minutes actually move pretty fast compared to the rest of it.

I liked the part where the Prince tries to act like a normal person in the pharmacy. He’s so bad at it that it actually becomes funny, even if the movie didn't mean it to be.

The ending is a bit of a letdown if you’re looking for big drama. It just kind of... happens, and then the credits roll.

I think the writers ran out of paper at the end. Or maybe they just wanted to go home and take off those itchy-looking costumes.

It's way less intense than something like Satan on Earth. But it’s got that same weirdly stiff energy that early sound movies sometimes have.

Overall, it’s a nice way to spend an afternoon if you have a warm blanket and some tea. Don't expect it to change your life or make you think too hard.

It's just a sweet, slightly dusty story about a guy who wants a girl. And a lot of very, very nice furniture. 🪑

I’d give it a watch if only to see the pharmacy bottles again. They really were the stars of the show for me.