La femme la plus riche du monde

Heiress Dorothy Hunter (Miriam Hopkins) was left an orphan by the Titanic sinking. She is known as the Richest Girl in the World. She was raised by fellow survivor John Connors who kept her in reclusive isolation. So much so that only her inner circle knows what she looks like. When she is to meet her business managers, her secretary Sylvia Lockwood (Fay Wray) takes her place as her double. Her fiancé cancels their wedding and she's perfectly fine with it. She didn't love him anyways. After his comment, she wonders if any man would love her for her and not her money. Instead of announcing the cancellation, she continues with the engagement party where she meets Tony Travers (Joel McCrea) while pretending to be Sylvia. She keeps pushing him to woo the heiress Dorothy as a test of his real motivation. Sylvia is eager to join the ruse despite her new husband's objection.

This has some fun screwball concept. It's able to stay light and fluffy. The main issue is that Tony has to thread the needle in this movie. He has to play along with Dorothy's crazy test but he also can't play along with her. The story is actually set up for a love triangle but this movie isn't trying for one. Everything is kept light as there is never any doubt of the two leads getting together. No matter how hard Dorothy pushes, Tony is never really convincing in his pursuit of rich Dorothy. This is fine but it could have been more interesting.

When a movie stars Joel McCrea, you can pretty much guarantee it will be enjoyable...and so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed this film. It's cute and enjoyable and Miriam Hopkins is quite nice as well.

When the film begins, you learn that the heiress Dorothy Hunter is a bit of an enigma. No one knows what she looks like and folks about to meet her are curious what she looks like. However, what they don't realize is that this 'Dorothy Hunter' is a fake...hired by the real one (Hopkins) because she wants to retain her privacy. This has created a problem, however. How will she meet men and how will she handle it when she meets a nice guy? Well, she gets to try this out when Tony (McCrea) enters her life. She CONTINUES to pretend to be someone else and her assistant continues to pretend to be Dorothy. The problem is that Tony finds he's falling for BOTH women!

This is a sweet film and the stars do a nice job...almost nice enough to give this one an 8. The script isn't easy to believe but the cast do their best to breath life into it.

"The Richest Girl in the World" is reclusive Miriam Hopkins (as Dorothy Hunter). She attracts men, but wonders if it is possible to find true love. After breaking off an engagement, Ms. Hopkins meets attractive Joel McCrea (Anthony "Tony" Travers) in her regular guise, pretending to be pretty secretary Fay Wray (as Sylvia). Hopkins uses Ms. Wray to switch roles, so she can play pool rather than attend business meetings. When Mr. McCrea meets Hopkins, he is quite taken, but winds up on a canoe date with Wray, instead. Hopkins and Wray's husband Reginald Denny (Phillip "Phil" Lockwood) knock their boat over. Hopkins decides to test McCrea by encouraging him to pursue "fake" heiress Wray. It sounds silly, but everyone manages to make it mildly engaging. Norman Krasna's script even received an "Oscar" nomination. Mentor Henry Stephenson (as Connors) and maid Beryl Mercer (as Marie) are also good.

****** The Richest Girl in the World (9/21/34) William A. Seiter ~ Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Reginald Denny

Hopkins is Dorothy Hunter, the richest girl in the world who has her secretary front for her in public. Due to her wealth she is positive that she will never fall in love. Once she meets McCrea though, she falls and falls hard.. The only question - can he pass the test? Will he prefer Wray, because he thinks she's the rich one, or will he go for Hopkins, pretending to be the secretary. Charming and fun romantic comedy. Hopkins looks really lovely.

Miriam Hopkins was an excellent Broadway actress who found a wonderful career in films, even if she never achieved legendary status. In this 1934 movie, she plays the richest woman in the world, undoubtedly a take-off on Barbara Hutton. Desiring to find a man who can love her for herself and not her money, she and her secretary switch identities when there's a potential suitor around.

The game gets dicey when Hopkins meets the man of her dreams, Joel McCrea, and let's face it, he was the man of many women's dreams - tall, handsome, boyish, and athletic. The story continues from there with the usual mix-ups.

As one of the posters pointed out, the secretary, played by the beautiful Fay Wray, is a married woman, which means that Hopkins is actually posing as a married woman and Wray as a single one - this is a long way of saying the film was probably released before the code hit.

Hopkins and McCrea made a good duo, and good thing, because they appeared together several times. This is a pleasant and short comedy, worth seeing for its stars and '30s ambiance.