The Rich Are Always With Us
Directed by Alfred E. Green
Written by Austin Parker from a novel by Ethel Pettit
1932/USA
First National Pictures (Warner Bros.)
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box]Tagline: Witty, Naughty and Gay . . a spectacular story of how the other half lives – and loves – and lies.[/box]
Sophisticated love pentangle holds the interest with lush production values and some good acting.
Caroline Grannard (Ruth Chatterton) is the richest woman in the world. She is being wooed by devil-may-care writer Julien Tierney (George Brent). She flirts madly with him but will remain loyal to weak-willed husband Greg Grannard (John Miljan). In the meantime, Caroline’s friend Marlbro (Bette Davis) is madly in love with Julien who won’t give her a tumble. When Caroline discovers her husband’s affair with Allison Adair, she divorces him.
It would seem to be clear sailing for Julien and Caroline, but she cannot resist the urge to mother and bail out the hapless Greg. Can Malbro exploit the situation to her advantage?
The story is sort of light weight but holds the interest for the film’s 71 minute running time. This was one of the first pairings of Davis with Brent, her favorite leading man, and they have an energy and charisma not matched by others in the cast. I have never figured out why Chatterton was supposed to be so captivating but she sure does wear clothes well.
Trailer
I saw this a few years ago, mostly because I will watch ANYTHING with Bette Davis. I don’t remember it that well, but I remember that it is wonderfully whacky at times, and it’s thankfully only 71 minutes. I think it would lose a lot of points if it was 80 minutes or longer.
There’s a seemingly endless supply of Davis movies in the precode period – 9 in 1932 alone. To Bette’s great dismay whenever Warners needed a pretty blonde ingenue they stuck her in the part. Here she has a bit of spunk. Michael Curtiz didn’t want her – said who would want to sleep with her?!
Some of those 1932 movies are really good! I like So Big! a lot. And The Dark Horse is a lot of fun! I’ve been wanting to see it again. Is Three on a Match from 1932? Davis doesn’t have that much to do, but you gotta love Joan Blondell and Ann Dvorak and also Bogart in his first gangster role.
I’ve yet to see So Big!, Dark Horse, or the Menace. Really looking forward to So Big! It will be a treat to see Bette and Barbara Stanwyck in the same movie. Of the 1932 films I have seen, Bette has the most actual acting to do in Cabin in the Cotton.