Ricco e bizzarro

Rich and Strange or East of Shanghai, is a British romantic comedy dating from the transitional period between silent and sonic film. It was not very popular at the box office, but remains one of the director's (Alfred Hitchcock) favorite works from the period. The reasons seem obvious enough. Unlike the classic Hitchcock thriller/mystery/comedy "The Lady Vanishes" released several years later, Rich and Strange was an adaptation of a semi-comedic novel which was not plot-heavy but did rely on equally strong characterization. Hitchcock took the change of pace for a ride, and played with visual experiments, jokes and even visual metaphors which, if you notice them and think about them, actually enhance character development.

Some reviewers have complained about the use of placecards - actually I think this was intended to enhance the comedic aspect of the film. Take a look back two years at Hitccock's "Blackmail" for comparison. This film was originally intended and partially shot silent. Hitchcock neither used placecards nor did he need them to convey his points in Blackmail.

There are some classic bits of Hitchcock camera-work here. During meaningless conversations, meaningless framing is used seemingly to mock the action of the film itself. The classic example of this is a pair of symmetrically arranged scenes where two of the main characters are walking to and from a social event on a cruise ship, blathering away, while the camera follows their feet and Emily's (Joan Barry) dragging dress. Jarring, yet humorous!

Joan Barry's stunning and adorable portrayal of Emily -our protagonist- is a bit of a perverse male fantasy - she is beautiful, intelligent (when she needs to be) and undervalues herself terribly - so her loyalty to a husband deserving of much much less is a bit exasperating. She is married to a whining, opportunistic, bore named Fred, and becomes romantically attracted to the charming Commander Gordon. The story boils down to this: Emly and Fred lead a life which causes Fred to whine (but this, it becomes clear later, is genetic and part of the fiber of his being).

One night, they receive an early inheritance and decide to take a cruise around world and live the good life. Fred, however, remains the miserable lout he was at the beginning, but adds to his follies alcoholism, philandering, and seasickness. Money does not cure everything - a bit of cliché, but, with Rich and Strange, it doesn't end there.

All of the acting is quite good, though as some have noted, it is sometimes over-the-top (perfectly appropriate for a comedy, IMO).

Before becoming the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock made this odd little romantic comedy that's a bit biographical. Fred Hill (Could be short for Alfred H.) and his wife Emily depart their dreary middle class life to go on a world cruise via a rich uncle. Fred gets mixed up with a sexy con artist while Emily courts a rich older man. There are a ton of Hitchcock touches (Fred is to meet the con artist in room 22. All around are references to the number 22. Fred and Em argue about each other's affairs while a Salvation Army band plays across the street, and in a truly exciting sequence, Fred and Em's ship begins to sink. The camera never leaves their stateroom (Shades of the camera never leaving the crashing plane in "Foreign Correspondent") An unusual, sometime entertaining work. A must for Hitchcock fans. Others just looking for a scary Hitchcock film to rent should go with a more familiar title

RICH AND STRANGE is certainly nothing like stereotypical Hitchcock. Even early movies like The Lodger -- which was some five years older than this one -- contained some sort of crime or mystery. Even his comedies -- The Trouble With Harry, for example -- revolved around murder and mayhem. But not this movie.

It's old and it's a comedy, but its title really says it all. Rich and very, very strange. Hitchcock's sense of humor is very plain here, and there are several laugh-out-loud scenes (when Fred Hill tries to set his watch, and later when he tries to get into bed, for example). But as the movie goes on, they become less frequent.

The action stops focusing on the comedic aspect of this young couple's acquiring a great sum of money and spending it on a world cruise. Instead it focuses on the serious aspects of their dual extra-marital affairs on the ship, and later their actions when it wrecks and sinks.

And once there, the movie is hardly comedic at all. Hitchcock's darker side comes out when a sailer drowns while his comrades watch on in fascination, and the scene with the rescued black cat is especially disturbing.

So what to say about Rich and Strange? The acting is fine, Hitchcock's directing is up to par (especially with the silent opening scenes), and the plot is engaging. But the movie goes from screwball hilarity to morbid survival, and then ends where it began so abruptly that the viewer is left wondering when he or she dozed off and missed the last half of the movie.

It's not stereotypical Hitchcock at all, but by no means does this make it a bad movie. The film is quite good but hard to stomach on account that it is so bizarre.

7/10

For an early 'talking picture', this is an excellent film. Hitchcock fans will probably be disappointed, but I was not. Having been born in London in the 30's, I found the opening sequences fascinating and so well directed and edited. Anyone interested in Hitchcock should at least view the first 10 minutes or so of this film. One begins to see what a great director Hitch was - even without the mystery and horror.

This movie is interesting to me because of it's concentrating on Hitchcock's romance formula which runs through most of his films. In this film it IS the story. Hitch's recurring theme of romance is the partnership of man & woman; the way that partnership is formed, renewed & nurtured. I have always liked his concept of love & romance. It greatly enriches his films. It is a truer & nobler view of this part of life than is usually seen. I like to think that it mirrors the relationship of him & his wife (billed in the titles as Alma Reville; her maiden name). There is certainly more than a hint of things to come. The hero obsesses in much the way as the master did over several of the women he made stars of. I would imagine that Alma had to play much the same role as Joan Barry at some point. Oh well, Hitch was Hitch. He was supposed to be a cruel practical joker too. The movie starts out way too slow for modern audiences. Hang in there or fast forward if you can't stand it. The structure is quite interesting in that it is a hybrid of the silent & sound movie. The first sequence is silent & music is cleverly used in the bit with the umbrellas. All thru the movie portions are silent with faux sync or other tricks. Sometimes the sound quality is awful but bear in mind that getting ANY sound at all was a technical feat in those days. Could probably be cleaned up with Cakewalk (sound program) or similar. Somebody should make the effort. The film lab work too is less than stellar. I have worked the film labs & I really think some of the footage was developed in strong British tea. All in all a quirky & somewhat dated film but good for those who are studying the master.