À l'est de Shanghaï

Yes, Joan Barry - what a beautiful woman! That however isn't the only reason to watch this fabulous film. It's got a wickedly irreverent and genuinely funny sense humour throughout. Its story is thoroughly engaging and for 1932 it's remarkably well made.

The first five minutes is a montage of dreary office life in 1930s London - a superb homage to King Vidor's THE CROWD. This establishes the setting of a bored suburban young couple in want of excitement. Then they get it and to quote the old adage: be careful what you wish for because it might come true!

This is so different to most films of this period, certainly compared with American films in terms of story. Possibly because The Depression was so much worse in America, Hollywood pictures tended to be either uplifting aspirational stories or preachy sermons warning of the perils of ambition. In England, life in the 1930s was for most, actually a little better than it was in the 1920s so this picture isn't reacting to the shock of The Depression. In typical English style, this just laughs at those who think they're better than they are. At the time however it was seen as a little bit too cruel and unsympathetic which really harmed its box office appeal.

What makes this so enjoyable today (besides Joan Barry, whom I might have mentioned a few times is gorgeous!) is its glimpse into the life of normal, everyday people in 1932 and how remarkably similar it was to today - except for the weird accents of course! If however it was just a brilliant time capsule it would be interesting but because this is so well made, so naturalistically acted and filmed and edited with such energy it's thoroughly entertaining. Unlike a lot of early thirties pictures, it's not stagey, stationary or slow and the screenplay by Mr and Mrs Hitchcock, basing the characters a little on themselves makes Fred and Emily feel very real and genuine.

Although ultimately the truth that money doesn't buy you happiness is revealed, it's a warm, witty and charming film. It has a refreshingly different vibe to American films of the time with its topless showgirl, it's explicit adultery and disregard for received morality. It's quintessentially English, quaintly 1930s but somehow also feels quite modern......and Joan Barry is lovely!

Many people think of Hitchcock, and when many of them do, they think of 3 movies: Birds Psycho Rear Window. But this film along with many other rarely heard of Hitchcock films are great! This one particulary because it was Hitchcock's first use of a blonde in sound films. Many would follow. Hitchcock also made this film sort of autobiographical of himself. I recommend it to all Hitchcock fans.

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.

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

This 1931 movie is of interest simply because it is one of Alfred Hitchcock's early films that he made in Great Britain. It is also of interest because of the titles between sections of this film as though it were a silent film. That makes us very aware that silent movies had just been replace by 'talkies'. The copyright date is shown as 1931 on the film, not 1932 as IMDB has it listed. A man whose life has become mundane and tiresome is given money by a relative to enjoy life with. He and his wife set off on a cruise around the world. "Rich and Strange" begins well and certainly has its interesting moments. However, it bogs down after about the first half hour and doesn't recover until the last few minutes. Far too much time is spent aimlessly following the relationships outside the marriage by both the husband and wife of the couple. It seems that this part of the film is overblown. A highlight of the film is the spinster played by Elsie Randolph who is quite hilarious. Joan Barry is also very watchable as Emily. However, "Hitch" had not quite hit his stride yet and his best work was yet to come. This movie is mainly for diehard Hitchock fans.