Thirty Day Princess

Marion Gering's 1934 American film follows a princess who comes to New York to negotiate a loan for her country. When she catches mumps, an out-of-work actress who looks exactly like her is found and takes her place for thirty days. The comedy comes from the substitution. The actress does not know the protocol and covers her mistakes by improvising; the newspaper owner handling the loan has never seen the real person and notices no difference. Sylvia Sidney plays both roles, with Cary Grant in an early part. A writer who would later become known as a director also worked on the screenplay, and the sharpness of the dialogue has been credited to that. Who it's for: those who like Hollywood comedy of the thirties. Who it's not for: viewers expecting complicated plotting; the film is short and built on a single idea.