One thing is for sure: the meaning of this title is in the physical/literal sense, not the sentimental/commiserate sense. They may be with us, as in they exist around us, but they are not "with" us, as in they're on our side and relate to us. It is so easy to hate rich people and this movie did nothing to ameliorate such sentiments. "The Rich are Always with Us" is a movie about high society philandering with class. That was already such a well-tread topic even in 1932 that adding to that genre wasn't worth it.
High-society super-rich girl Caroline Grannard (Ruth Chatterton) was married to a stock broker named Greg (John Miljan) and both had side pieces. Caroline was fooling around with a writer named Julian Tierney (George Brent), who loved her to pieces, while Caroline's best friend, Malbro (Bette Davis), had a hankering for Julian.
Recap:
Caroline married to Greg but messing around with Julian. Caroline best friends with Malbro who has a crush on Julian. A triangle with extra going on.
Meanwhile, Greg (Caroline's husband) was seeing a socially stupid girl named Allison (Adrienne Dore). Both Greg and Caroline had good reason to be seen with their paramours so long as an appearance of business and propriety was kept. Greg upset that arrangement when, in a rather sloppy fashion, he was caught kissing Allison. Although Greg was a bit embarrassed, Allison was not. She was quite bold and pretty much threw the relationship in Caroline's face.
That opened the door for Caroline to get a divorce and marry Julian if she so pleased, but it seemed she still had a soft spot for her pathetic husband.
"The Rich" was so full of pretentiousness and desperation. Everyone was either pretentious, desperate, or both. Julian was desperate to marry Caroline. Malbro was desperate to marry Julian. Allison was desperate to marry Greg. Greg and Caroline weren't desperate, but they were certainly pretentious. The whole mess between them all seemed unreal like a game that only rich people play. Regardless of how one felt or what injustice was done they all had to go on being dignified and classy because appearances meant more than anything. The most undignified person was Allison and she paid dearly for it.
It was just another movie that made rich people appear fake and unlikeable. Sure, you can call it a romance, but even the romantic talk was stiff and unrelatable. The song and dance they all did was so out of tune and out of touch that it made the whole movie tasteless.
2.99 on Amazon Prime.
High-society super-rich girl Caroline Grannard (Ruth Chatterton) was married to a stock broker named Greg (John Miljan) and both had side pieces. Caroline was fooling around with a writer named Julian Tierney (George Brent), who loved her to pieces, while Caroline's best friend, Malbro (Bette Davis), had a hankering for Julian.
Recap:
Caroline married to Greg but messing around with Julian. Caroline best friends with Malbro who has a crush on Julian. A triangle with extra going on.
Meanwhile, Greg (Caroline's husband) was seeing a socially stupid girl named Allison (Adrienne Dore). Both Greg and Caroline had good reason to be seen with their paramours so long as an appearance of business and propriety was kept. Greg upset that arrangement when, in a rather sloppy fashion, he was caught kissing Allison. Although Greg was a bit embarrassed, Allison was not. She was quite bold and pretty much threw the relationship in Caroline's face.
That opened the door for Caroline to get a divorce and marry Julian if she so pleased, but it seemed she still had a soft spot for her pathetic husband.
"The Rich" was so full of pretentiousness and desperation. Everyone was either pretentious, desperate, or both. Julian was desperate to marry Caroline. Malbro was desperate to marry Julian. Allison was desperate to marry Greg. Greg and Caroline weren't desperate, but they were certainly pretentious. The whole mess between them all seemed unreal like a game that only rich people play. Regardless of how one felt or what injustice was done they all had to go on being dignified and classy because appearances meant more than anything. The most undignified person was Allison and she paid dearly for it.
It was just another movie that made rich people appear fake and unlikeable. Sure, you can call it a romance, but even the romantic talk was stiff and unrelatable. The song and dance they all did was so out of tune and out of touch that it made the whole movie tasteless.
2.99 on Amazon Prime.