Thirty Day Princess (1934)

Thirty Day Princess (1934)

Coming up next is 1934's "Thirty Day Princess", in which we see a princess from a poor country come to America to help raise money for her country's cause.  When she becomes ill and must be quarantined, a lookalike takes her place and falls in love.  Can this lookalike keep her new romance once her foray as a princess is over?

The film's cast includes Sylvia Sidney, Cary Grant, Edward Arnold, Henry Stephenson, Vince Barnett, Edgar Norton, and Lucien Littlefield.

New York banker Richard Gresham is on vacation in the European kingdom of Taronia.  He bumps into the country's ruler, King Anatol XII, at a local health spa.  When he and the king get to talking, the monarch says he wants for his country what the people of America have: electricity, telephones, hot water.  Gresham agrees to help him get the money, but he needs someone to represent Taronia in America.  Someone the public will fall in love with.

When the king's daughter and the heir to the throne of Taronia, Princess Catterina, comes by, Gresham knows he has found exactly the person who will win over the American people to Taronia's cause.

She agrees to the visit and arrives in New York with much fanfare.  Fresh off the boat, the Princess gives a radio interview on the docks.

Listening to the interview is newspaperman Porter Madison III, who thinks that Gresham's scheme will be the ruin of the American people.  He's ready to stop the Taronian aid any way he can.

After the interview, the Princess collapses.  The doctor tells Gresham she's got the mumps and must be quarantined for a month.  Gresham gets the idea to have a stand-in.  He instructs his men to search high and low for a lookalike of the Princess.

Enter actress Nancy Lane.  She's flat broke, out of work, and almost starving.  She goes to the automat and is seen by Gresham's men, who pick her up and take her to Gresham.

He offers her a job as the princess.  At first, she can't quite believe it.  Then he asks her how she would like to make ten thousand dollars.  "Mister, I won't conceal it from you," she says.  "I would like to make ten thousand dollars.  In fact, I'd like to make ten hundred dollars.  Even ten dollars wouldn't be beneath me."

Nancy agrees on the condition that she pass a dress rehearsal in front of someone close to the Princess.  One of the Princess's escorts arrives and can't tell the difference.  Nancy takes the job.

She's immediately given a crash course in the history of Taronia and her ancestors.  She's also got to perfect her accent and way of speaking to match that of the Princess.

At a ball, Nancy meets Porter Madison (whom Nancy is told to pay particular attention to.)  At first, Madison doesn't want to be there, but he becomes disarmed by the "Princess's" charm.

The two end up spending the rest of the evening together.  It's not a job for Nancy.  She genuinely enjoys it.

They spend a lot of time together, and both fall in love.  At a nightclub, a man recognizes "Nancy" and comes up to her.  When Nancy doesn't respond to him, he becomes agitated, and Madison knocks him out.  In the rush to leave, Nancy leaves the "Princess's" purse behind.

Nancy's landlady reports her missing, and the item ends up in the paper with her picture.  Also in the paper is the Princess's wild nightclub scene in which she left behind her purse.  Fearing people might put two and two together, Nancy goes to Madison's office as herself and says she's not missing.  She puts on an act and hurries so she can get back to playing the Princess.  The crisis is averted.

Another crisis arises when Princess Catterina's fiance Count Nicholaus arrives.  The not-too-bright man realizes something's off about the "Princess".  For her part, Nancy can't stand the man.  Sadly, Count Nicholaus comes in at a most inopportune time.  Nancy and Madison are alone, and Madison gets upset at seeing that the Princess has another beau. 

When she begins her tour of the USA, she insists that Count Nicholaus be thrown off the train.  Either he goes or she does.  Off the train he goes.  Nicholaus, not wanting to be put off, makes a call to Taronia.

After a successful tour, Nancy has one more duty to undertake: a formal reception to thank everybody for their hospitality.  Gresham wants to make a fool of Madison, and he tells Nancy to "decorate" him with a bogus order that he cooked up.  She doesn't want to do it at all.

Princess Catterina, now fully recovered, asks to see Nancy.  Nancy tells the Princess all about how Gresham wants to use her to humiliate Madison.  She can't bring herself to do it, because she loves him.  The Princess has an idea.

The Princess tells Nancy that she will be the one going to the reception, and she'll make everything right.  At the reception, Gresham suspects nothing.

The Princess calls both Gresham and Madison to her and plans to decorate them for services rendered.  She gives Gresham the phony order (much to his irritation) and she gives Madison her country's highest order.

A shout from Nicholaus causes the proceedings to halt.  He says he can prove that the Princess is really Nancy Lane.  Curtains open, and King Anatol XII stands ready to confront the "impostor".

Of course, the Princess can prove who she is to her father, who gets very angry at Nicholaus for wasting his time.  The Princess tells Madison where to find the girl he fell in love with.

When he goes to her, he's irritated at being tricked.  She's upset that he is so angry.  Nancy decides to give up the ten thousand dollars.

While she's explaining, Madison falls in love with her all over again.  He takes her in his arms and kisses her.

Cast rundown:

   Sylvia Sidney.................................Nancy Lane/Princess Catterina

   Cary Grant....................................Porter Madison III

   Edward Arnold...............................Richard M. Gresham

   Henry Stephenson..........................King Anatol XII

   Vince Barnett.................................Count Nicholaus

   Edgar Norton.................................Baron Passeria

   Lucien Littlefield.............................Parker

And that's all for Thirty Day Princess.  It's a very light romantic comedy and great fun to watch.  Sylvia Sidney is completely charming as the out of work actress who gets a lucky break when she gets to play a princess.  And it's fun to watch her and Cary Grant break $18,000 worth of crystal stemware at a formal reception.

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