The Richest Girl in the World

Heiress Dorothy Hunter (Miriam Hopkins) was left an orphan by the Titanic sinking. She is known as the Richest Girl in the World. She was raised by fellow survivor John Connors who kept her in reclusive isolation. So much so that only her inner circle knows what she looks like. When she is to meet her business managers, her secretary Sylvia Lockwood (Fay Wray) takes her place as her double. Her fiancé cancels their wedding and she's perfectly fine with it. She didn't love him anyways. After his comment, she wonders if any man would love her for her and not her money. Instead of announcing the cancellation, she continues with the engagement party where she meets Tony Travers (Joel McCrea) while pretending to be Sylvia. She keeps pushing him to woo the heiress Dorothy as a test of his real motivation. Sylvia is eager to join the ruse despite her new husband's objection.

This has some fun screwball concept. It's able to stay light and fluffy. The main issue is that Tony has to thread the needle in this movie. He has to play along with Dorothy's crazy test but he also can't play along with her. The story is actually set up for a love triangle but this movie isn't trying for one. Everything is kept light as there is never any doubt of the two leads getting together. No matter how hard Dorothy pushes, Tony is never really convincing in his pursuit of rich Dorothy. This is fine but it could have been more interesting.

Miriam Hopkins was an excellent Broadway actress who found a wonderful career in films, even if she never achieved legendary status. In this 1934 movie, she plays the richest woman in the world, undoubtedly a take-off on Barbara Hutton. Desiring to find a man who can love her for herself and not her money, she and her secretary switch identities when there's a potential suitor around.

The game gets dicey when Hopkins meets the man of her dreams, Joel McCrea, and let's face it, he was the man of many women's dreams - tall, handsome, boyish, and athletic. The story continues from there with the usual mix-ups.

As one of the posters pointed out, the secretary, played by the beautiful Fay Wray, is a married woman, which means that Hopkins is actually posing as a married woman and Wray as a single one - this is a long way of saying the film was probably released before the code hit.

Hopkins and McCrea made a good duo, and good thing, because they appeared together several times. This is a pleasant and short comedy, worth seeing for its stars and '30s ambiance.

Richest Girl in the World, The (1934)

** (out of 4)

Miriam Hopkins plays Dorothy Hunter, the richest girl in the world who also happens to be a recluse. Mrs. Hunter always sends her secretary (Fay Wray) out to pretend to be here. One day at a party Hunter, pretending to be the secretary, meets a man (Joel McCrea) who claims that he could fall in love with a rich woman even if she didn't have money. This RKO comedy was certainly inspired by Barbara Hutton, who at the time really was the richest girl in the world. The built up love story was probably the creation of someone in the RKO front office but the end results are fairly disappointing considering the cast involved. The story itself is the biggest problem as is goes from A to B to C without anything new being done and by the time the film is over you can't help but feel as if you've witness nothing but one cliché after another. The highlight of the film would be a scene where McCrea and Wray are out in a canoe when a jealous Hopkins comes up in a large part to tip them over. This sequence was a very funny one but there aren't too many laughs after it. McCrea and Hopkins made enough films together to be charming and they do that here. The two of them bring their characters to life even though the screenplay doesn't offer them much. Wray is also pretty good in her role but again, the screenplay doesn't give you anything. In the end this is a completely forgettable movie that most people will overlook so unless you're a fan of the stars then it's best to just keep this one in the vault.

"The Richest Girl in the World" is reclusive Miriam Hopkins (as Dorothy Hunter). She attracts men, but wonders if it is possible to find true love. After breaking off an engagement, Ms. Hopkins meets attractive Joel McCrea (Anthony "Tony" Travers) in her regular guise, pretending to be pretty secretary Fay Wray (as Sylvia). Hopkins uses Ms. Wray to switch roles, so she can play pool rather than attend business meetings. When Mr. McCrea meets Hopkins, he is quite taken, but winds up on a canoe date with Wray, instead. Hopkins and Wray's husband Reginald Denny (Phillip "Phil" Lockwood) knock their boat over. Hopkins decides to test McCrea by encouraging him to pursue "fake" heiress Wray. It sounds silly, but everyone manages to make it mildly engaging. Norman Krasna's script even received an "Oscar" nomination. Mentor Henry Stephenson (as Connors) and maid Beryl Mercer (as Marie) are also good.

****** The Richest Girl in the World (9/21/34) William A. Seiter ~ Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Reginald Denny

I came to this film because I'd just seen its musical remake, The French Line, a campy colour affair with Jane Russell, 'presented by' Howard Hughes. The French Line isn't unwatchable, although one may want to peep through one's fingers during the cowgirl dance number, but it is outstandingly dated in terms of male-female relations. Jane Russell's richest-girl-in-the-world is warned from the start that she will put men off with her rootin' tootin' tomboyish get-up & behaviour, but it's her money and power that will really convince them she's wearing the pants.

I am mad about Joel McCrea and I like Hopkins a lot. I wanted to see what the original was like. And of course, because it's the 30s there's no such issue. Men and women can be knockabout pals, Joel McCrea is enchanted when Hopkins thrashes him at billiards, they get drunk together, fall asleep smoochily together and the happy ending is wonderfully engineered: you relax your modern PC concerns even though the penultimate scene features McCrea picking her up (protesting wildly) and (off-camera) locking her in his car. It squeaked into cinemas pre-Hays, too, so the last couple of scenes in particular are pretty racy and very funny. The two leads play beautifully together and Fay Wray is always good.