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:

inheritance | unfaithfulness | infidelity | adultery | husband wife relationship | 

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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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Connections

Featured in Perspectives: Jonathan Ross: Alfred Hitchcock - Made in Britain (2013)

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Soundtracks

Ruben Sax
(uncredited)
Music by Urbenal

User Reviews

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.