When
you watch an Alfred Hitchcock movie, you cannot but watch it with preconceived
notions and base expectations. So I watched Rich and Strange with a barrage of
expectations.
Rich
and Strange is a 1932 Alfred Hitchcock film adapted from a novel by Dale
Collins. It’s a story of a couple from suburban London – Fred (Henry Kendall)
and Emily (Joan Barry) stuck in the rut of middle class existence – an ill
paying unhappy to do job, the taxing daily commute, lack of enjoyable
entertainment.An out-of-the-blue letter from Fred’s uncle suddenly leaves them
with enough money to finally ‘live their life’ and travel the world.
The
story holds relevance even today – a couple leading a mundane life, drifting
apart, finding alternate partners and ultimately realizing where their true
love lies. Alas, the film has no element of the suspense and thrill that you
would expect from an Alfred Hitchcock film and that is the biggest dampener!
The
characters are very well etched out – Fred - the frustrated, chauvinist,
materialistic husband and Emily – the kind, nurturing, simplistic yet strong
wife. The treatment of the film is like
a silent film – no background score, minimalistic dialogues, and captions
before major scene segments – which is not too bad to watch really.
The
film has some funny moments – like when the couple goes to watch the Folies Bergere
cabaret in Paris or when Fred almost Chaplin-ishly wrecks a woman’s hat on the
London underground or adjusts his watch according to an elevator indicator in a
hotel mistaking it for a clock.
Overall,
Rich and Strange is an average watch considering it is a movie made by Alfred
Hitchcock. It demands one worthy watch for the story bearing resemblance to present
day society, for the lovely locales of the 1930s – Paris, Singapore, Colombo,
for the sets used in the movie (like creating a whole Titanic-ish ship), and above
all for Joan Barry’s rendition of a gentle, gracious yet strong woman who
doesn’t give up on love, on her relationship and even on life when they’re
almost dying on a sunken ship.
Rating: 2/5 – for the story, sets & locales
and Joan Barry
