East of Shanghai (1931)

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

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Dale Collins (novel), Alfred Hitchcock (adaptation)

Stars:

Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont

Cast

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

Storyline

Fred and Emily Hill are leading a boring life in London. They receive a big inheritance by a rich relative and now they can realize all their dreams. They leave for a cruise behaving as rich people....but this is the beginning of the end. Richness makes they soon forget their love and family.

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Plot Keywords:

1930s | cruise ship | deception | false identity | fraud | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1932 (UK)

Also Known As:

East of Shanghai

Filming Locations:

Dover, Kent, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British International Pictures (BIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title "Rich and Strange" 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."

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Goofs

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.

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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?

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Alternate Versions

When originally released theatrically in the UK, the BBFC made cuts to secure a 'A' rating. All cuts were waived in 2000 when the film was granted a 'U' certificate for home video.

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Connections

Referenced in The Story of 'Frenzy' (2001)

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Soundtracks

The Clown's Carnival
(uncredited)
Music by Hugo Riesenfeld

User Reviews

Rich And Strange ***

An atypical project for Hitchcock, this breezy and stylish (if quite dated) comedy-drama is actually reminiscent of the films of Ernst Lubitsch – though the light touch displayed here by the Master Of Suspense, unfortunately, comes off as heavy-handed on occasion (his reliance on intertitles for ironic counterpoint, for instance)! Still, Hitchcock manages a number of effective moments, notably the virtuoso opening 'rush hour' sequence and the shipwreck at the finale. The main cast consists of forgotten 'stars' but, looking at their filmography, I was surprised to discover that Henry Kendall appeared much later in the Hammer film THE SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961; which I recently watched on the big screen while in Hollywood!), Joan Barry had also featured in Hitchcock's first talkie BLACKMAIL (1929), whereas German actress Betty Amann (who plays a vamp here) was the star of Joe May's expressionist classic ASPHALT (1929; whose Region 2 DVD edition from the renowned "Masters Of Cinema" label I have just ordered!). While not the best early Hitchcock I've watched (even among the non-thrillers), for all kinds of reasons, RICH AND STRANGE survives as an interesting curiosity.