''The Rich Are Always with Us'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

romantic comedy-drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring

Ruth Chatterton Ruth Chatterton (December 24, 1892 – November 24, 1961) was an American stage, film, and television actress, aviator and novelist. She was at her most popular in the early to mid-1930s, and in the same era gained prominence as an aviator, ...

George Brent George Brent (born George Brendan Nolan; 15 March 1904 – 26 May 1979) was an Irish-American stage, film, and television actor. He is best remembered for the eleven films he made with Bette Davis, which included '' Jezebel'' and '' Dark Victo ...

, and

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

. The screenplay by Austin Parker is based on the novel of the same name by Ethel Pettit.

Plot

New York City socialite Caroline Grannard and her wealthy stockbroker husband Greg seemingly have a happy marriage until she learns about his affair with Allison Adair. When she confronts him, he confesses he wants a divorce. While en route to an assignment in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, novelist and war correspondent Julian Tierney, long in love with Caroline, meets her in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

after her divorce is finalized and asks her to marry him. Although she insists she no longer has feelings for her ex-husband, she asks Julian for time to consider his proposal, and he departs without her. Caroline returns to the United States and discovers Greg and Alison are expecting a baby. Malbro, who has been trying to entice Julian into a romantic relationship without much success, advises Caroline he is planning to travel to China and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in hopes of forgetting her. Caroline tells Julian she loves him as well and they spend the night together. When Allison learns about their tryst, she tries to create a scandal, implying that Caroline isn't what she seems. Allison's machinations are stopped by Malbro and Greg. On their way home, the couple become involved in a heated discussion in the car and are involved in a crash in which Allison is killed and Greg is injured severely. When Caroline visits Greg in the hospital, he begs, "Don't leave me." His doctor tells her the hope of a reconciliation will help Greg recover faster. She tells him, "I won't leave you, Greg." When Caroline sees Julian, she tells him that she cannot leave with him because she must take care of Greg. However, she arranges for a judge, hospitalized in a nearby room, to marry her and Julian before he departs for the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, and she promises to join him there once Greg has recuperated fully.

Cast (in credits order)

as Caroline Grannard *

as Julian Tierney *

as Malbro *

John Miljan John Miljan (November 9, 1892 – January 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1924 and 1958. Biography Born in 1892, Miljan was the tall, smooth-talking villain in Hollywood films for almost four deca ...

as Greg Grannard *

Adrienne Dore Adrienne Dore (born Elizabeth Himmelsbach; May 22, 1907 – November 26, 1992) was an American actress, model, and beauty pageant winner. She was first runner-up in the Miss America 1925 pageant, competing as Miss Los Angeles. Dore went on to ...

as Allison Adair * John Wray as Clark Davis * Robert Warwick as The Doctor * Walter Walker as Dante *

Berton Churchill Berton Churchill (December 9, 1876 – October 10, 1940) was a Canadian stage and film actor. Early years Churchill was born in Toronto, Ontario. After his family moved to New York City, he graduated from high school there, studied law a ...

as Judge Bradshaw * Sam McDaniel as Max, Julian's Butler

Production

, cast in the supporting role of Malbro, filmed ''The Rich Are Always with Us'' simultaneously with '' So Big!'', which was released first. ''Rich'' marked the first time she was photographed by Ernest Haller. He became her favorite cinematographer - she referred to him as "the genius" and "my miracle man" - and he worked with her on thirteen additional projects.Davis, Bette, ''A Lonely Life''. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1962; , pp. 151-153Stine, Whitney, and Davis, Bette, ''Mother Goddam: The Story of the Career of Bette Davis''. New York: Hawthorn Books (1974); , pp. 29-33 Davis was a longtime fan of leading lady

and looked forward to co-starring with her. "The film bubbled with wit and sophistication", she later recalled, "and I was thrilled to be appearing with Miss Chatterton." On the first day of shooting, Chatterton "swept on he setlike Juno," said Davis. "I was properly dazzled. Her entrance could have won an

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

nomination." Chatterton made Davis so nervous she "literally could not get a word out of my mouth" and finally told her, "I'm so damned scared of you I'm speechless!" Her spontaneous outburst helped relax both of them. "She was most helpful in her scenes with me after that. I never forgot this experience and in later years, when young actors were terrified of me, I would always try to help them get over it." Davis also was happy to be working with Brent, but her efforts to involve him at that time in a romantic relationship were as unsuccessful as her character's were; Brent and Chatterton married shortly after the film was completed.

Critical reception

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' called the film "a zealous attempt at high comedy, which unfortunately savors more of Hollywood than it does of fashionable New York society, with which it is supposed to be concerned." He added, "It results, however, in being mildly diverting, owing to Miss Chatterton's charming performance and the competent acting of others. What little it possesses in the way of a story might have been better told in one-fifth its length." He continued, "Miss Chatteron, according to all reports, now has the choice of her stories, and it is therefore surprising that she should have picked this one. Certainly, it has the virtue of being restrained in most of its scenes, but the dialogue, far from being smart, verges on the bromidic." He concluded, "Miss Chatterton gives a graceful and easy portrayal. George Brent does capitally ndBette Davis . . . also serves this film well."''New York Times'' review
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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rich Are Always With Us, The 1932 films 1930s romantic comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on American novels Films directed by Alfred E. Green Films set in New York City First National Pictures films 1930s French-language films Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Films produced by Samuel Bischoff 1932 comedy films 1932 drama films 1932 multilingual films American multilingual films 1930s American films