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| Joan Barry in Rich and Strange (1931) |
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Main Cast: Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph
"Rich and Strange is an off-beat and interesting, if not totally successful, film. Clearly, devotees of Alfred Hitchcock will take to it more than average filmgoers; the latter will probably be disappointed to discover that it is not a thriller, as they might expect from the 'Master'. But if they can get over this disappointment, they will find much to appreciate, including a story that doesn't go exactly where one expects and an odd mixture of the comic and the melodramatic. True, Hitchcock doesn't blend these two styles seamlessly, but that helps to give the film its unique impact. The film is schizophrenic in other ways, especially in its attempt to be both a silent film and a talkie, and this can be disconcerting; but it does allow the director to take advantage of the fluidity of the silent camera. (He also has a delightful time experimenting with a few new effects, such as making the words on a dinner menu fly off the page.) And the opening commuter sequence is a gem. Henry Kendall and Joan Barry are a bit wan as the leads; she in particular has a peculiar delivery, and he has several moments that grate, but they overall are adequate. Much better are Betty Amann as the gold digging princess and the wonderful Elsie Randolph, whose old lady is both annoying and strangely endearing. If the various components of Rich and Strange never really coalesce, the film is still intriguing and enjoyable.
Partly a sophisticated sex comedy, partly a grim seafaring melodrama, Rich and Strange had the negative effect of confusing the public in general and Hitchcock's fans in particular, and as a result the film, which remains one of Hitch's best early talkies, died at the box office." - www.allmovie.com
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