Rich and Strange
- Henry Kendall: Fred Hill
- Joan Barry: Emily Hill
- Betty Amann: The "Princess "
- Percy Marmont: Gordon
- Elsie Randolph: The old lady
Finally, we are rich is an English film, the 1931 Alfred Hitchcock turned. It is based on a novel by Dale Collins. While his original title Rich and Strange is ( to German as " rich and strange " ), he ran into the U.S. under the title East of Shanghai (German " East of Shanghai ").
Action
The clerk Fred Hill returns from a frustrating business home to his little wife Emily. But the everyday monotony of trautem home, steak and kidney pudding and unassuming wife is not enough, Fred. Unexpectedly provides him his rich uncle a larger sum available, so that Fred can fulfill his dream of traveling in luxury. The couple embarks on a world tour, which is to the two first to Paris, then run through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal to the Far East. But already at the crossing of the Channel Fred is affected by seasickness. Meanwhile, Emily learns that, left alone on board the luxury liner the urbane Colonel Gordon know; the two fall in love, and also the last convalescent Fred forfeit the charms of a supposedly highly aristocratic beauty board. When Gordon Emily enlightens that the " Princess " a fraudulent adventuress is, the divorce already willing remembers pity on her affection for still wedded wife. Emily Gordon gives generously to Fred his " princess " rather forced - after it has sought a thousand pounds in the destination port the width. The reunited couple will remain only the bare minimum to compete with a cheap liner to return home. But the delicate flame of their newfound love threatens event of an accident in the China Sea to drown together with the two. Fortunately, the castaways are rescued by Chinese marauders from the sinking ship. Glad and happy to finally be home, Fred wants to modestly trautem home together with Steak and Kidney Pudding - Emily, however, ambitiously by their experiences now, insists on accelerator to raise their living standards.
Background
- Finally, we are rich carries strong autobiographical elements: the journey of the two protagonists Fred and Emily and the tests that have to survive the two find their counterpart in the marriage of Alfred and Alma Hitchcock. Hitchcock was inspired by a boat trip he had made in 1931 together with his wife and their daughter Patricia was born in 1928 and by a short break in Paris. Alma also wrote the screenplay. Striking is also a certain similarity in name between Emily and Alma on the one hand and between Fred and Alfred on the other.
- Hitchcock's then- producer John Maxwell was the idea to last, we are rich not enthusiastic. He forced Hitchcock, before shooting the film Number Seventeen, could develop little interest for Hitchcock. Finally, we are rich was financially a failure. From today's perspective, the film appears comparatively modern: it is, especially in comparison with the previous works of Hitchcock, relatively dialogarm. Moreover, he is heavily influenced by Hitchcock's humor and wit, which can be found in many of his later films and on one side with a wink human weaknesses lay bare, on the other can also be macabre and morbid. Furthermore falls on Hitchcock's creative and experimental handling of the camera, which is typical of his early films.
- The title Rich and Strange is a quote from William Shakespeare's The Tempest.
- The exterior shots were held in Marseille, Port Said, Colombo and Suez.
Criticism
The lexicon of the International film finds the film " amusing snappy ".