The Idle Rich

The Idle Rich presents very good acting and directing. I particularly liked that everyone talked over each other in a way that matches reality rather than waiting for the first person to finish.

However, the film has serious defects. There is no music, even for the titles. The camera is completely static; not a single movement. But worst of all is the editing that wouldn't pass muster in an introductory film course. A scene is broken up by a scene of a door, no talking or action and then back to the plot. Both action and reaction shots are included several times with deadly silence for the reactions. In one, a person's arm disappears in the reaction. Obviously one or the other shot or a combination of cutting was intended. Instead, it's all there. In other scenes the action stops but the film continues interminably. One mistake in a very early talkie is to be expected but these multiple errors make me wonder if this wasn't the final cut but rather a preliminary print that somehow snuck into the vault by mistake.

Of all the major US studios, MGM was the last to make sound films as apparently the studio head, Louis B. Mayer, thought that talkies were a fad! As a result, their early sound films are a bit rough compared to other films of the day. So, while many 1929 films have decent sound quality, many of the early MGM talkies sounded tinnier and were a bit more stilted when it came to the dialog. This can easily be said about "The Idle Rich"...a decent film but one whose sound deficiencies are pretty obvious...especially when everyone seems to be talking over each other in many scenes.

Interestingly, the film was directed by William C. De Mille, Cecil's older brother. Also interesting is that they worked for different studios...William with MGM and Cecil with Paramount. Also, oddly, Cecil changed his last name to 'De Mille' as I suppose it sounded more sophisticated than 'de Mille'!

When the film begins, a rich boss and his secretary declare their love for each other. Despite never having dated, he asks her to marry him and he's eager. But she seems pensive...unsure if her lower-middle* class family would be able to handle her new wealth. To me, this is a NICE sort of worry to have...though in the film it's really a big worry for some odd reason. And, when you see the family, some of them seem almost snobbish about class...buying into the notion that they and the rich shouldn't mix. To me, however, I think it's less about class and more about some of the lady's family being jerks. How is the boss going to handle this?

As I mentioned above, the film suffers when it comes to sound. I also think the whole class angle isn't developed well, as the boss seems like a nice guy...lacking pretense and being down to earth. This makes the snobby opinions of the family seem silly. Also, it's roots as a play seem pretty obvious and the film is a bit stagy...with little, if any, action and no outdoor scenes. Overall, a mildly interesting look into 1929 but not exactly a film which screams 'you MUST see me!'.

*The summary says 'middle class'. Well, perhaps for 1929 they are, but a large family living in an apartment, to me, doesn't yell 'middle class' but, perhaps, lower middle class...at least by today's standards.

Bessie Love steals the show as the kid sister in this comedy about money and snobbishness.

Leila Hyams plays a working secretary who falls for her rich boss (Conrad Nagel) but agrees to marry him only if he moves in with her middle-class family. After the honeymoon poor Nagel moves in with the family in their hot and overcrowded New York apartment. The family is pretty stereotypical, especially the workhorse mom (Edythe Chapman) and the raving cousin (Robert Ober).

But Bessie Love saves the day in a loose and funny performance as the kid sister who WANTS the money while the rest of the family pretends not to be interested in Nagel's millions. Nagel also has fun as the displaced millionaire forced to live in a small apartment and listen to the neighbor's jazz records at all hours. Hyams is pretty and earnest in a one-note role.

Love has a great scene of hysteria when she learns that Nagel is giving away all his money to become "middle class." It's similar to her great scenes in THE Broadway MELODY and CHASING RAINBOWS.

Co-stars included Kenneth Gibson as Frank, Paul Kruger as the boy friend, and James Neill as the father.

Sound is quite good for a 1929 talkie, but it's funny when the actors muff their lines. The editing is lousy.

The film is stage-bound due to early sound technology and existing elements are a little visually shaggy with quite a bit of noise in the sound recording, but it is still extremely watchable and most enjoyable.

The film opens in an office with wealthy William van Luyn (Conrad Nagel) giving dictation to his secretary Joan Thayer(Leila Hyams). Suddenly he declares his love to her and she to him. He proposes marriage and she heartily accepts. But practical Joan brings up a potential problem - the difference in their respective classes may cause their families to clash. Joan isn't worried Bill's family will not accept her - she's afraid her family will not accept him! This puts the film on a completely different footing as so many rich man/poor woman true love stories of the era in which the wealthy family distrusts the unwealthy fiancée and tries to disrupt the romance. Instead this is a case study on class consciousness in reverse.

Next we meet the Thayer clan at home ready to meet their relative to be. Joan's mom, dad, and brother are normal enough, but Joan's live-in cousin is a kind of Bolshevik for the middle class. He corners poor Bill at every opportunity and talks to him about the woes of - not the poor - but the middle class, those who don't have enough money not to worry but who do have enough money and pride not to qualify for or accept charity. As someone else has already written, though, Bessie Love steals the show as Joan's kid sister Helen. She is very anxious to climb that social ladder and have material goods and comforts and here her sister has brought in the possible means to all of her dreams.

After they are married, Joan insists that the couple live in their family's hot little flat in her old bedroom so that Bill can learn about the ways of the middle class. Mom and dad think she's a bit screwy, but of course won't turn them away. At first Bill seems to be putting on a brave face as he acts like Gulliver in Lilliput encountering closets, couches, and bedrooms two sizes too small, not to mention the lack of privacy. However, Joan's plan works better than she planned or desired, as two weeks into their stay Bill announces that he plans to give away all of his money to build a hospital and a foundation for "the great middle class". How will the family react? How will all of this work out? Watch and find out.

Conrad Nagel gives a delightful performance as a genuinely nice guy who just happens to be rich and just can't figure out what all of the fuss and hostility is about. Bessie Love really does seem like Leila Hyam's kid sister even though Ms. Love is actually seven years older than Ms.Hyams. Great ensemble acting by some of MGM's lesser known stars and highly recommended.

William DeMille, brother of Cecil, directed one of the finest of MGM's early talkies. Conrad Nagel plays a millionaire who marries his secretary and then sets out to change her middle-class family's bias against the upper class.

Although the film - based on a play - is confined to mainly one set, it never appears stagy, thanks to a good variety of camera setups and seamless editing. And the cast is uniformly excellent, with Nagel again proving why he was one of the most in-demand actors of the early talkies, with his strong speaking voice. The recorded sound is also very clear.

As far as I know, TCM has shown this gem only once, but it's high time they make it available again