Rich and Strange (1931)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Dale Collins (novel)
Alfred Hitchcock (adaptation)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Believing that an unexpected inheritance will bring them happiness, a married couple instead finds their relationship strained to the breaking point.

Plot Keywords:

Inheritance | London | Married Couple | Black Cat | Source Music

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 12

6:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Henry Kendall	...	Fred Hill
Joan Barry	...	Emily Hill
Percy Marmont	...	Commander Gordon
Betty Amann	...	The Princess
Elsie Randolph	...	The Old Maid

Also Known As:

East of Shanghai (USA)

Runtime:

UK:92 min | USA:83 min | Canada:81 min (Ontario)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:A (1931) (cut) | UK:U (2000) | Finland:K-12 (1995) | Canada:G (Ontario) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British International Pictures (BIP)

Trivia:

The title comes from Ariel's song in "The Tempest": "Full fathom five thy father lies, / Of his bones are coral made, / Those are pearls that were his eyes: / Nothing of him that doth fade, / But doth suffer a sea-change / Into something rich and strange."

Goofs:

Continuity: In an early scene, Emily is shown using a marker to draw a caricature of herself into a photograph with Commander Gordon. The photo is shown again two more times in the movie, and each time the drawing is slightly different.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Fred Hill: Hello Em.
Emily Hill: Hello Fred. I think you'll like me in this dress when it's done. Oh, have you broken your umbrella?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Story of 'Frenzy' (2001) (V)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

Early Hitchcock - Out of Focus

I found this film wildly entertaining and not up to Hitchcock's other earlier works. First of all the story in awful and that is always a bad sign. Fred is a complete dud and you would wonder why anyone would have anything to do with him. Maybe that Hitch's point. I guess there are all sorts of men like Fred. Maybe I'm one and just don't know it but everyone around me does.

The story itseld has no focus, a series of incidents hung together by placecards. There are a couple of Hitckcock touches that I noticed that might be of interest to Hitchcock fans but no one else. This is a movie that I would probably have never watch if it did not have Hitch's name to it. It seemed to me that it started out as silent movie and then was changed to a talkie.

If you are a Hitch fan you might want to see this otherwise skip it and watch "The 39 Steps", "Young and Innocent" or "The Lady Vanished" instead.