Review of Rich and Strange (1931) by Devon — 20 Sep 2008

Surprisingly, Rich and Strange is said to have been one of Hitchcock's personal favourites from his own body of work. This is probably due to the fact that parts of the film are actually autobiographical in nature, as Hitch and his wife (who together wrote this film) had just themselves been on a cruise around the world.

But I'm sure Hitch didn't try to hook up with a fake princess. It's a very unusual film really. It's not a typical Hitchcock film in terms of story, but the visuals can be seen to be his, and there's a dark streak of humour running through the film.

There is surprisingly little dialogue considering it was made several years after the first talkie, so even for the time it may have seemed a little dated. The set of the ship (which was in a water tank) is quite impressive for the day, and the film is interesting in its own way, but I'm not quite sure what its message was.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side? Rich people have loose morals? It's strange indeed.