This Week in History: A look at movie reviews from the Orange Bubble

“Dick Powell scores pretty high with the dames, we are told, but he gives us something of a pain in the neck. Quite otherwise with Josephine Hutchinson,” reads a 1934 column in The Daily Princetonian.

That year, critics from the ‘Prince’ had headed to the corner of Nassau and Vandeventer to review “Happiness Ahead,” directed by Mervyn LeRoy of “The Wizard of Oz” fame. Despite its irritating leading man, the ‘Prince’ insisted that Princeton students watch the film on the Garden Theatre’s single screen if only to listen to three featured songs. The ‘Prince’ reviewed every film on the Garden’s marquee that week, as well as additional screenings at the since-shuttered Arcade Theatre.

Movie critics? At the ‘Prince’? In an age without Letterboxd or IMDb, Princeton students had to learn about the year’s biggest blockbusters somehow. To meet this need, from February 1933 to 1935, the ‘Prince’ ran a small column called “Current Cinema” every Monday. These critiques were often hidden between cigarette ads and exam schedules. As one student complained in December 1933, many of the reviews in the ‘Prince’ were “too critical and assuming.” J. G. Benziger ’36 picked a similar bone in April of that year. In a note to the editor critiquing the credibility of the critics, Benziger noted in their review of “Die Forsterchristl,” a film set entirely in Vienna, the critics wrote of “nice shots of grand old Salzburg.”

Like the films it reviewed, “Current Cinema” faded into oblivion on Feb. 11, 1935, evolving into the “Screen and Stage” column the next Monday, which consolidated critiques of films with stage plays.

The ‘Prince’ has never fully disengaged with the silver screen and has published some interviews with movie stars, like Princeton native and Superman himself, Christopher Reeve. However, the ‘Prince’ now only sporadically publishes movie reviews, with the most recent being an “Anora” review from March of 2025.

Although the ‘Prince’ is less involved in film, another campus group is: the Undergraduate Student Government (USG). On most Fridays and Saturdays, the USG Movies Committee rents a screen at the Garden Theatre for students to enjoy a free night out. Showings range from new movies, like “Highest 2 Lowest,” to bonafide cult classics, like “Napoleon Dynamite.”

“We choose [movies] based on what’s hot and on topic,” said Lauren Pak ’27, a member of the Movies Committee. “Then we also show throwbacks.” Pak is a former head Web Development and Design editor for the ‘Prince.’

The committee occasionally shows early access screenings through a partnership with companies such as Amazon and MGM Studios. The production companies reach out if they want Princeton students to watch and “test” a new movie, providing feedback for the studios.

“It’s a good way for you to pitch in what you thought,” Pak said. “And reading reviews and seeing what other people thought is also really nice to know.”

Students can now review the USG’s current cinema screenings on their Instagram every weekend. “Tiger Tomatoes” is led by Kevin McAllister ’26 (not of “Home Alone” fame) and is a relatively new addition to the Princeton movie-going experience.

“I think it’s a really fun way to get involved and stay engaged with the movie. It especially gives students a platform to be heard and feel heard, [which is] really cool,” McAllister told the ‘Prince.’

Students are invited to rate films out of 100 and write a short review. According to Pak, the funniest and “most memorable” quotes are featured on USG’s Instagram story, and the average Princeton rating is compared to the movie’s Rotten Tomatoes rating.

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The committee plans to show “It Was Just An Accident” and “Just Mercy” at the Garden Theatre this weekend. Although students’ opinions on these films aren’t hidden between ads for Chesterfields and library paste anymore, they can still be found peppering social media feeds, tucked between photos from parties and football games.

Lucia Zschoche is a contributing writer for Features and Archives for the ‘Prince.’ Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.