“A MARITAL MISADVENTURE”

By Raymond Benson

Most film historians agree that the great Alfred Hitchcock became the Master of Suspense with his British production, The Man Who Knew Too Much. But Hitchcock had been directing movies since 1925—nine silent titles and seven sound features preceded that 1934 landmark. While a couple of these earlier titles are quite good, such as The Lodger (1927) and Blackmail (1929), the rest are mostly oddballs that don’t reflect the types of films for which Hitchcock would be known.

Rich and Strange, released in Britain at the end of 1931 and in America (retitled East of Shanghai) in early 1932, is one of these oddities. That is not to say it’s an unworthy entry in Hitchcock’s filmography. While it will never be considered one of his numerous masterworks, Rich and Strange is such a curiosity that it’s interesting and entertaining enough for the discerning Hitchcock fan or vintage film buff. Everyone else, though, will assuredly stop watching after thirty minutes.

Based on a 1930 novel by Dale Collins, the screenplay was written by Alma Reville (Mrs. Hitchcock) and Val Valentine. Hitchcock also worked on the script uncredited. Allegedly it is somewhat inspired by a round-the-world cruise the Hitchcocks had taken. Is it autobiographical? Some historians claim that some elements might be, but it’s more likely that Rich and Strange is the couple’s shared fantasy of a marital misadventure.

Billed and marketed as a comedy, the movie does contain humorous moments in the vein of Hitchcock’s sardonic wit and sometimes rather prurient sensibility. The first third is certainly more comic than the rest, the middle becomes tragically serious, and the final act is action-adventure on the high seas. Yes, it’s an oddball movie.

Fred and Emily Hill are a middle-class married couple who are happily married, and yet they don’t realize they’re happy. Fred (Henry Kendall) is bored with his job in London and dissatisfied with their living conditions. Em (Joan Barry) is a bit shrewish but only because of Fred’s malaise. Then, out of the blue, Fred receives a large early inheritance from an uncle. The couple ditches it all and goes on a round-the-world cruise. From the get-go, Fred discovers that he easily succumbs to seasickness aboard the ship, which puts a damper on the festivities. In Paris, they are shocked by the Folies Bergère. By the time they get to the Mediterranean, Em has become infatuated with handsome Commander Gordon (Percy Marmont). Fred, too, begins an affair with a sexy German “Princess” (Betty Amann). Thus, the Hills’ marriage is threatened by their attractions to other partners. It takes the sinking of a tramp steamer, where they end up after losing all their money, and being captured by Chinese pirates, to save it.

Rich and Strange could be called a warm-up to Hitchcock’s 1941 Hollywood comedy, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which also revolved around a bickering couple played by Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. While even that picture is not held in high regard in Hitchcock’s filmography, it’s much better than Rich and Strange. True, there is a ten year difference in technical advancements and in Hitchcock’s development as a director. In fact, Rich and Strange seems to still have one foot in the silent era. Quite a bit of the movie has no dialogue and there is an abundance of unnecessary title cards. Obviously, when Hitchcock made Rich and Strange, he was still learning—and experimenting with—how to make sound pictures.

Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray is the 4K restoration recently done by the BFI and it looks the best this reviewer has ever seen it. In the USA, the title has mostly appeared on knock-off bootleg compilations on VHS and then DVD in poor quality. The movie comes with optional English subtitles, and an audio commentary by film historian Troy Howarth. The only supplements are an introduction (in French with subtitles) by Noël Simsolo, and an audio excerpt about the film from the famed Hitchcock/Truffaut interviews. The theatrical trailer and more Kino Hitchcock trailers complete the package.

Rich and Strange is for Alfred Hitchcock completists and fans of early British cinema.

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