RICH AND STRANGE (1932) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge
Director: Alfred Hitchcock Writers: Alfred Hitchcock, Alma Reville, and Val Valentine (based on the novel by Dale Collins) Starring: Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph
What I love about these box sets of films you've never heard of by actors and directors that are on sale for really cheap prices is that you can discover little gems that are relatively impossible to find. A friend of mine recently purchased a 10-film boxed set of old Hitchcock films, old in that they're from his '30s era when he still worked in England. "Rich and Strange" was one of the films, and what's surprising is that it's not a suspense film, which was what most of Hitch's film were, yet it's still a really good film in its own respect. There's no espionnage, no kafkaesque vision of a man innocently believed to be guilty; just a small, light satire on the lives of the noveau riche, done with lots of energy and style. And no fierce birds or transvestite schizophrenics.
The beginning of "Rich and Strange" (I've never heard of it before either) is actually one of the best openings of a Hitchcock film I've ever seen. It's kind of like a pre-Terry Gilliam view of the working class as zombies, all except one character - Fred Hill (Henry Kendall) - who's the only one of the large group of employees who has trouble with his umbrella when they all go outside into the rain. It's a fantastically orchestrated sequence which I imagine Gilliam saw when he was a child, and this set his sense of humor from that point on (just a theory...).
When Fred gets home to his wife, Emily (Joan Barry), the two are surprised with a letter from a relative who's dying and has decided to give them a ton of money to do whatever they want before he dies (he figures he might as well do it now, maybe so they like him better or something). So the two hop a boat, and decide to cruise around the world, following a brief stop in Paris. On their cruise, the two become distanced from one another due to a couple cicumstances (Fred gets massively seasick), and each of them venture into little affairs: she with a rich Commander (Percy Marmont); he with a supposed Princess (Betty Amann).
One thing that's amazing about his early films is how trite they are. On average, they last about 80 minutes or so, yet cover a surprising amount of material, including some great set pieces. "Rich and Strange" is not so vast as his other early films, but rather tells a leisurely fun story in a short amount of time. There's no real suspense here, save a bit at the end when the cruise boat is almost sunk by raging waters. Instead of suspense, Hitchcock gives us a more lighthearted story, told in an energetic manner, and with lots of humor.
Throughout the film, title cards pop up to comment or tell us something about the story. Maybe Hitchcock was trying to humor us, mocking the old days of silent film when title cards had to explain everything. Whatever it does, the use of title cards do create some chuckles along the length of the film, and give it a humorous undertone.
But despite its comic tone, it also has a satirical edge in respect to those who have quickly become wealthy without doing anything but be related to someone with a certain amount of wealth. The characters in this film yearn for wealth in the beginning, but as the film goes on, find that wealth does not automatically mean happiness. Without becoming preachy, Hitchcock addresses this minor problem pretty well.
The only drawback is a film which does kind of run out of steam towards the end, showing that Hitchcock doesn't always have to direct suspense, but it's definitely what he does best. Still, the direction in this film is extremely good, and the script and acting creates a film which is silly and fun to watch. Who needs a film with international intrigue and spies every time anyway? "Rich and Strange" is definitely not one of Hitch's best films, but it is definitely worth a viewing or two.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***
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