Thirty Day Princess: A Screwball Mumps Mess

Wait, the mumps?

If you have a high tolerance for 1930s screwball comedies and don’t mind a plot that hinges entirely on the most inconvenient illness imaginable, you’ll probably have a decent time with Thirty Day Princess. If you’re the type who needs a movie to make sense in the modern world, maybe skip this one. It’s light, it’s breezy, and it’s arguably one of the most stressful ways to secure a national loan I’ve ever seen.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Thirty Day Princess (1934) through its definitive frames.

Sylvia Sidney pulls double duty here as the princess and the lookalike actress. It’s not exactly The Parent Trap, but there is this weird, frantic energy to her performance that makes you wonder if she had a nap between scenes. She’s running around New York trying to convince financiers that she’s royalty, and the whole thing feels like a high-stakes improv sketch.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Thirty Day Princess (1934) through its definitive frames.

Cary Grant doing his thing

Cary Grant is in this, obviously. He’s playing the guy who’s supposed to be impressed by the princess, but he’s really just playing Cary Grant. He’s smooth, he’s tall, and he’s constantly leaning against things. There’s a scene where he’s trying to navigate the whole “is she or isn’t she” mystery, and he just looks like he’s having a great time, even when the dialogue gets a little too fast for its own good.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Thirty Day Princess (1934) through its definitive frames.

The script has the fingerprints of Preston Sturges all over it, which you can tell because people are constantly interrupting each other. It reminded me a bit of the frantic pacing in Kiki, where the chaos is supposed to be funny, but sometimes it just leaves you feeling like you need a glass of water and a quiet room.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Thirty Day Princess (1934) through its definitive frames.

• The mumps-related plot twist is legitimately hilarious because of how serious the characters treat it.
• The costume department clearly had a budget for hats, and they used every cent of it.
• Some of the extras in the background look like they’re just waiting for the craft services table to open.
• The ending is exactly what you expect, which is fine, because who watches this for the surprises?

It’s not perfect. The middle chunk of the film sags a bit while everyone stands around in drawing rooms talking about money. It doesn’t have the weight of The White Monkey or the grit of those older dramas, but that’s okay. It’s a movie that knows it’s just here to fill an hour and a half.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Thirty Day Princess (1934) through its definitive frames.

Also, does anyone actually get the mumps anymore? The movie treats it like a death sentence for a diplomatic mission, which is just delightful nonsense. Thirty Day Princess is a weird little relic. It’s not trying to change your life. It’s just trying to get you to giggle at a fake princess for a while. Sometimes, that is enough. 👑