Actors: Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Percy Marmont, Betty Amann, Elsie Randolph
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Rich and Strange
RICH AND STRANGE (also known as "East of Shanghai" in the U.S.) is a British movie written and directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1932.
Fred and Emily Hill are married for 8 years now and Fred is longing for a different life when a wealthy uncle unexpectedly makes available to them a large sum of money. Both decide to see the world and start their journey in Paris before shipping out in Marseilles, France. Their cruise will lead them to Arabia, Suez and Asia.
During the journey, Emily will fall for Commander Gordon, a gentleman-farmer, and Fred Hill for The Princess, a woman who's in fact a high-class prostitute who'll make a fool of him. In Singapore, at the end of this boat trip, Fred and Emily decide each to part and leave with their lover but, at the last moment, Emily takes pity on Fred, comes back to the hotel and tells her husband what everybody knows : the Princess is a fake. When the Princess hastily leaves the hotel with Fred's money, the young couple decides to come back to London on the first low-cost steamboat departing for England.
One night, the boat hits a reef and the crew abandons the young couple on the jetsam, alone on the China sea. Although convinced that their last hour has arrived, Fred and Emily will be finally saved by Chinese pirates.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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Analysis of Rich and Strange
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- inconveniently married while playing footsy
Wandering in wilderness
Yes
Lover is...
- an imposter
Water adventure?
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- homemaker/wife
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- (woman) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- sad
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 90%-100%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- prostitute/concubine
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 40%
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type
- (woman) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- German
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Asia/Pacific/Middle East
Yes
Asian country:
- China
Water?
Yes
Water:
- pleasure/love boat
- peddle boat
- lost at sea
City?
Yes
City:
- London
- Paris
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- thoughtful
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
Check here if B&W
Yes
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- English
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Orchestra/classical
