The Asheville Film Society will screen Rich and Strange on Tuesday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas.
Rich and Strange
Movie Information
In Brief: As is the case with any artist's creative progression, Alfred Hitchcock took some time to find his voice. Rich and Strange (1931) is in some respects the closest he came during his early British career to codifying the tone that would define later work like The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps, with one distinct difference — it's not a thriller. There are no spies or murderous plots, just a class-conscious satire with a fractured romance at its core. The film follows a young working class couple whose relationship is upended by the influence of an unexpected inheritance that gives them just enough financial leeway to ruin their lives. While it may lack some of the charisma of his later work, Hitchcock's auterial fingerprints are not hard to find on this one — from a remarkable opening sequence to the use of intertitles that harken back to his first job in the industry designing title cards for silent films. It may not be the best film Hitchcock ever made, but it's certainly worth a watch on the basis of its intimation of his future development.
| Score: | |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Starring: | Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph |
| Rated: | NR |
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