The Idle Rich (1929)
1h 20m | PG-13
Millionaire William van Luyn falls in love with his secretary Joan Thayer and marries her. Her family, part of "the great middle class" (as blowhard nephew Henry keeps reminding us), is happy for Joan, but reluctant to take charity from Will. He moves in with them, and they keep resisting, until one day he takes drastic action.
Director: William C. de Mille
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Comedy
Video: 720p
Cast
Conrad Nagel
as William van Luyn
Bessie Love
as Helen Thayer
Leila Hyams
as Joan Thayer
Robert Ober
as Henry Thayer
James Neill
as Mr. Phil Thayer
Edythe Chapman
as Mrs. Alice Thayer
Reviews
Conrad Nagel is a millionaire who falls in love with his secretary "Joan" (Leila Hyams) and they agree to marry. Thing is, she comes from a determinedly independent middle class family who, whilst happy for their daughter, steadfastly refuse to let him help them. Undaunted, he agrees to move into the home she shares with her parents, siblings - and her rather vocal cousin "Harry" (Robert Ober) who is constantly sparring with his new in-law. In frustration, he declares that he is going to set up a hospital for the under-respected white collar worker and gave away the rest of his fortune.. How will the family react to this magnanimity...? It's quite a fun story, this - Nagel and Ober have some quite enjoyable spats; with the former clearly trying to keep his temper, before a denouement that isn't entirely unexpected. The production is a bit hemmed in, largely set in just their one room - but the audio is worth sacrificing space for, and Wiliam de Mille (older brother of Cecil) keeps the pace from slackening quite well for 80 minutes.