"The Rich Are Always With Us" starring Ruth Chatterton

I watched another movie in the past several days that I didn't get around to reviewing because of recent events. It was a pre-coder called "The Rich Are Always With Us"(1932), starring Ruth Chatterton, who we saw once before in "Dodsworth"(1936). Chatterton was mostly a stage actress, but she has a beguiling screen presence and a lot of charisma. She could've been a big star had she chosen to. "The Rich" is about the lifestyles of a group of wealthy friends in the '30s, which was a freewheeling time as we've discovered in several recent pictures. I guess it was a carryover from the Roaring Twenties, except by the 1930s America was in the grip of the Depression and only the wealthy could afford to keep roaring.

But roar they did, at least according to Hollywood, and in this film there is wanton behavior galore. Chatterton plays Caroline Grannard, otherwise known as The Richest Woman in the World. A brief montage explains her lineage at the start of the film, then we see her in adulthood. She and her husband appear to have an open marriage, although it wouldn't have been declared as such, even in the wild 1930s. The sexual aspect would've remained unspoken, but in the movie's first scene we see Ruth dining with her boyfriend at a posh restaurant. Her husband Greg is also there with his young lover. Ruth doesn't see them at first, but when her boyfriend points them out, she tries to mask her jealousy. The rich are supposed to be above all that, dontcha know. But Ruth is jealous, and she can't hide it, because her affair is only for show. Her boyfriend is platonic, while her husband's girlfriend is madly in love with him and eager to steal him from Ruth. This will never happen - at least not yet - because these are flings of The Privileged Class, and when they go home at night, they go home together despite their boredom with one another. Boyfriends and girlfriends are for showing off in public. Later though, when the clock strikes midnight, they turn back into pumpkins of themselves and retire to the bedroom of marriage, even though they don't believe in it. What they do believe in is class structure.

A very young Bette Davis, only 24 here, plays Chatterton's best friend Malbro. Yes, I thought it was an unusual name too. Malbro also comes from wealth, and has a crush on Chatterton's boyfriend George Brent, a suave writer. Brent, in turn, has designs on Ruth, and seems to genuinely love her, but she isn't sure if he's after her for her money, so she keeps him on a string to annoy her husband Greg.

It's a royal mess, but you can count on Bette Davis to at least attempt to throw a monkey wrench into the works. She looks smaller in her youth, thinner in body and face, though you can see the dynamo she would become as she demands George Brent to love her, because he's surely wasting his time with Miss Chatterton, who sees him as a plaything. Even in 1932, in one of her first roles, you don't mess with Bette Davis.

So....let's see if we can keep the scorecard straight. Ruth Chatterton likes George Brent but doesn't love him; Brent loves her, but maybe only for her money. Ruth's husband Greg loves Ruth in a "long married" kind of way, but really has the hots for his much younger girlfriend, who hates Ruth and wants to steal Greg away from her. Then finally you have a post-collegiate Bette Davis as Malbro, who just wants somebody to love and hopes it will be George Brent, even if she has to force him to submit.

Now you can see why "The Rich Are Always With Us". Geez Louise.

Chatterton carries the picture with her charming personality and natural acting style. At a time when actors and actresses were reciting their lines in that clipped way, and speaking in voice-trained Continental accents, she comes across as much less self conscious in front of the camera. Maybe it has to do with her years on Broadway and playing to a live audience. Whatever the reason, I'm a new fan and will be on the lookout for more of her films. This one gets Two Big Thumbs Up. ////

A quick update on Pearl - it's been a roller coaster ride this weekend. After reporting on Friday that she was feeling much better, yesterday the news wasn't as hopeful. The speech therapist said she'd failed the "swallow test", to see if she could still eat solid food. Then they said she was too old for a g-tube, so we were preparing for the worst. Her nurse, though, said that she was still fighting the infection, and she might do better once it is gone. So that gave us a little hope, and today when I got to the hospital Pearl was more alert, listening to music with her eyes open. They gave her a different antibiotic which is more effective against the infection. Now they say they'll try again on the swallow test, after giving her another day or two to recover. I requested that they let me know when it is scheduled so I can be there, because I am the one who has been feeding Pearl for the last several years, and I know she can still swallow her food and eat her meals. It takes a long time, but she can do it, so I am gonna make sure they know that at the hospital. Anyhow, as of right now we are cautiously optimistic. Today was Pearl's best day so far. Thanks for your prayers and faith. We had good singin' in church this morning, too.

That's all for tonight. I'm still writing from home and I'll see you tomorrow, at the Usual Time or earlier.

Tons of love.  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)