Rich and Strange Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Rich and Strange Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 13, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available as part of the Hitchcock: The Beginning set from Studio Canal.

1934 seems to be some kind of invisible dividing line between Alfred Hitchcock's more recognized output and some of his arguably lesser remembered earlier films. The first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much was released that year, and was followed in relatively short order by at least a couple of Hitch's best remembered British productions like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, but aside from those titles and maybe one or two others (i.e., The Lodger), even diehard film fans may be relatively unacquainted with other early (or at least earlier) films of one of the most celebrated directors in the annals of cinema. Studio Canal is helping to rectify that lack of renown with an appealing collection that aggregates ten early Hitchcock films, including one that has often been cited (rightly or wrongly) as the first British feature length sound production.

It's maybe meaningful that two of Hitchcock's films focusing rather intently on the vagaries of marriage, Rich and Strange and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, offer spousal relationships which are far from rosy. If Mr. & Mrs. Smith ostensibly played things for wry laughs, the reaction to this film may be more various, perhaps by design, perhaps courtesy of its place in Hitchcock's canon as the silent era gave way to talkies.

Rather interestingly if maybe understandably frustrating for some in that regard, while Hitch's first feature length talkie, Blackmail, famously had silent and sound versions, the sound version, while obviously rudimentary in some ways and not offering nonstop dialogue scenes, at least showed Hitch embracing the new medium, and rather forcefully so. And by the time Murder! came along a year or so later, Hitch was indulging in then innovative sound design ideas like internal monologues.

Here in Rich and Strange, though, he almost seems to take a step backward at times, with a sparsely dialogue driven outing that can also rely on something akin to intertitles and long sequences without much if any spoken material. The performances also can seem like remnants of old school hyperbolic silent acting, though kind of weirdly Hitch seems to want to hedge his bets on the theatricality of it all and can offer mises en scène which at least hint at more of a naturalistic presentational side.

The story is a kind of shaggy dog tale involving workaday type Fred Hill (Henry Kendall), who is shown to be a very unhappy cog in some kind of corporate machine in an opening vignette which offers Hitchcock at his most technically impressive, and in a short scene that is rather like some of the big business material offered in the opening of The Apartment. Henry and his wife Emily (Joan Barry) are suddenly the recipients of good fortune courtesy of a rich relative who offers to spring for a global jaunt of their choosing. Suffice it to say this expected trip of a lifetime turns out to be just that, albeit not in the way Henry and Emily probably expected.

Rich and Strange Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rich and Strange is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.20:1. While Studio Canal sent only check discs for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any additional information that might be offered in an insert booklet, and rather weirdly this film didn't have the typical prefatory text card mentioning a restoration by Silver Salt, I did find the following information online, which may be from Studio Canal's booklet: This restoration was scanned in 4k by Silver Salt Restoration in the UK, from a 35mm duplicating positive. Colour grading and restoration were completed by Silver Salt Restoration.

A restoration by Studio Canal, supervised by Jahanzeb Hayat. I've also received further confirmation from Silver Salt itself that this was a wetgate transfer done on their Arri XT. This is a really stunning looking presentation that is in my estimation one of the two strongest in the Hitchcock set, along with Blackmail. Contrast and tonal variations in gray scale are really gorgeous, and detail levels on some patterned costumes and props is typically very precise looking. Image stability is exemplary and there are really no overly distracting signs of age related wear and tear. Grain resolves without any issues.

Rich and Strange Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rich and Strange features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio, and the technical limitations of the era's recording techniques are probably the biggest drawback to the track, though there are occasional ebbs in amplitude if not total dropouts, as in a brief moment in the underscore at around the one minute mark during the opening credits. Big brass cues probably fare the worst in terms of fidelity, while winds and pizzicato strings tends to be a bit less troublesome. Dialogue is generally well rendered. Optional English and German subtitles are available.

Rich and Strange Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Unexpectedly Personal: Charles Barr on Rich and Strange (HD; 15:06) has some interesting biographical information about Hitchcock's early work in Films.


• Audio Commentary by film historian Troy Howarth


• Hitchcock / Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview (HD; 11:04) plays to stills.


• Introduction by Director / Film Historian Noël Simsolo (HD; 3:54) is subtitled in English.


• Stills Gallery (HD)

Rich and Strange Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is probably best approached as something of a curio in Hitchcock's long and venerable filmography. Video is among the best in the Studio Canal set, and audio is serviceable if a relic of its time. The supplements are very enjoyable and informative, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.