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IMDbPro

Rich Man, Poor Girl

  • 19381938
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 12m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
383
YOUR RATING
Robert Young and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
A rich businessman wants to marry his secretary, but first he has to pass muster with her middle-class family.
Play trailer2:46
1 Video
22 Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
A rich businessman wants to marry his secretary, but first he has to pass muster with her middle-class family.A rich businessman wants to marry his secretary, but first he has to pass muster with her middle-class family.A rich businessman wants to marry his secretary, but first he has to pass muster with her middle-class family.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
383
YOUR RATING
    • Reinhold Schünzel
  • Writers
    • Joseph Fields(screen play)
    • Jerome Chodorov(screen play)
    • Edith Ellis(play "White Collars")
  • Stars
    • Robert Young
    • Lana Turner
    • Lew Ayres
    • Reinhold Schünzel
  • Writers
    • Joseph Fields(screen play)
    • Jerome Chodorov(screen play)
    • Edith Ellis(play "White Collars")
  • Stars
    • Robert Young
    • Lana Turner
    • Lew Ayres
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 13User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:46
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos22

    Lana Turner and Robert Young in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lana Turner and Robert Young in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Robert Young and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Robert Young, and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Robert Young, Don Castle, Ruth Hussey, Gordon Jones, Guy Kibbee, and Sarah Padden in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Robert Young, and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Robert Young, and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Don Castle, Ruth Hussey, Guy Kibbee, and Sarah Padden in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lana Turner, Robert Young, Don Castle, Ruth Hussey, Guy Kibbee, and Sarah Padden in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Robert Young, and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Robert Young, and Hal K. Dawson in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)
    Lew Ayres, Robert Young, and Ruth Hussey in Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Young
    Robert Young
    • Bill Harrison
    Lana Turner
    Lana Turner
    • Helen
    Lew Ayres
    Lew Ayres
    • Henry Thayer
    Ruth Hussey
    Ruth Hussey
    • Joan Thayer
    Rita Johnson
    Rita Johnson
    • Sally Harrison
    Don Castle
    Don Castle
    • Frank
    Guy Kibbee
    Guy Kibbee
    • Pa
    Sarah Padden
    Sarah Padden
    • Ma
    Gordon Jones
    Gordon Jones
    • Tom Grogan
    Virginia Grey
    Virginia Grey
    • Miss Selma Willis
    Marie Blake
    Marie Blake
    • Mrs. Gussler
    Herbert Ashley
    • Stationmaster
    • (uncredited)
    Barbara Bedford
    Barbara Bedford
    • Kate
    • (uncredited)
    James Conaty
    • Nightclub Patron
    • (uncredited)
    Jules Cowles
    Jules Cowles
    • Man With Radio
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Hal K. Dawson
    • Mr. Allen
    • (uncredited)
    Bess Flowers
    Bess Flowers
    • Typist Sitting Next to Helen
    • (uncredited)
    Beatrice Hagen
    Beatrice Hagen
    • Typist
    • (uncredited)
      • Reinhold Schünzel
    • Writers
      • Joseph Fields(screen play)
      • Jerome Chodorov(screen play)
      • Edith Ellis(play "White Collars")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This film was a success at the box office, earning MGM a profit of $240,000 ($4.1M in 2017) according to studio records.
    • Quotes

      Bill Harrison: Those industrial accident statistics you quoted last night, are they on the level?

      Henry Thayer: Absolutely.

      Bill Harrison: Oh, thank you, Ma.

      Henry Thayer: Why you take hospitalization alone...

      Ma: You let Bill eat his breakfast, Henry.

      Bill Harrison: That's alright, Ma.

      Henry Thayer: Just to show you the injustice: you take a millionaire's appendix. It goes wrong; what happens? They take him to the hospital, cut it out, charge him five, ten, fifteen thousand dollars for the job and he never even feels it.

      Bill Harrison: Never feels it?

      Henry Thayer: Paying the bill, I mean.

      Bill Harrison: Oh.

      Henry Thayer: Now then, you take your poor labourer's appendix that starts acting up. He goes to a clinic. The same surgeon operates on him but doesn't charge him a dime. So he doesn't feel it either, does he?

      Bill Harrison: uh-uh.

      Henry Thayer: But, get between them. Look at the other 80% of the population, me for instance, the great middle class. Let's assume that my appendix goes haywire; sooner or later, I've got to come across with five hundred smackers. And before I've paid it, I've gone without clothes and starved myself to death for a year. Is that fair?

      Bill Harrison: No.

    • Connections
      Referenced in The John Garfield Story (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Sailing, Sailing, Over the Bounding Main
      (1880) (uncredited)

      Written by Godfrey Marks

      Sung a cappella by Sarah Padden twice

    User reviews13

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Nothing special but worth catching for the cast
    Mild social commentary comedy drama is of more interest for its cast than the rather facile situations it presents. A bread and butter feature of the kind that all the studios churned out to fill a double bill and feature their stable of promising newcomers and reliable character actors this one is packed full of actors and actresses that went on to better things.

    Without a doubt the person who made the biggest splash following this is Lana Turner in her nascent phase here. She's sweet, still a brunette and full of the dewy youth and kittenish sexuality she exuded in the early phase of her career before changing into a harder article after The Postman Always Rings Twice, not fully in the spotlight but definitely holding the screen. The other person who would emerge with a major career is Robert Young but he'd have to wade through years as a second string leading man before hitting the top in TV. He's competent and charming as ever but his character isn't too clearly defined. Another fine performer-Ruth Hussey, still a few years away from The Philadelphia Story, isn't really given a very strong character either for someone who is supposed to be the lead but she is an appealing presence as always.

    For the supporting cast the always reliable Guy Kibbee is on hand as Ruth's kind father and the ill-fated Rita Johnson is saucy as Young's sister. The standout in support however and not in a good way is Lew Ayers jackass cousin Henry. Through no fault of the actor the character grates every second he's on the screen and it's only because of Ayer's natural charm that he is even mildly bearable.

    The picture is in no way special but still worth catching once for seeing the type of quality cast Metro was able to assemble for even the most ordinary script.
    helpful•5
    0
    • jjnxn-1
    • Aug 12, 2013

    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 12, 1938 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 12 minutes
      • Black and White

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