Rich Man's Folly is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by John Cromwell and written by Edward E. Paramore Jr. and Grover Jones. The film stars George Bancroft, Frances Dee, Robert Ames, Juliette Compton, David Durand, Dorothy Peterson, and Harry Allen. The film was released on November 14, 1931, by Paramount Pictures.[1][2] This modern adaptation of the 1848 novel Dombey and Son is regarded as Hollywood's first major screen adaptation of a Charles Dickens work.[3]

Rich Man's Folly
Promotional still of Juliette Compton for the film
Directed byJohn Cromwell
Screenplay byEdward E. Paramore Jr.
Grover Jones
StarringGeorge Bancroft
Frances Dee
Robert Ames
Juliette Compton
David Durand
Dorothy Peterson
Harry Allen
CinematographyDavid Abel
Edited byGeorge Nichols Jr.
Music byHerman Hand
W. Franke Harling
Bernhard Kaun
Rudolph G. Kopp
John Leipold
Oscar Potoker
Production
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Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • November 14, 1931 (1931-11-14)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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Cast

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Criticism

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Director John Cromwell commented on the film and actor George Bancroft in an interview with historian Kinglesy Canham (circa 1975):

”...Rich Man’s Folly was a very good opportunity [to make something more than a routine picture]; it was a modern dress version of Dickens’ Dombey and Son, and it should have been absolutely splendid for Bancroft except that it required in the actor a consciousness of the material—of which he had none! To him it was always just another part to play in the same old manner. He had no realization of the opportunities that were there, so they were simply missed.”[4]

Preservation status

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Although the film does still exist, Rich Man's Folly has not been seen publicly in decades. It has never been released onto VHS or DVD, and no re-showings or television broadcasts are known to have taken place. A surviving copy currently exists in the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Paramount created a promotional film in 1931 called The House That Shadows Built, with excerpts of Rich Man's Folly featured.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Sandra Brennan (2015). "Rich-Man-s-Folly - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "Rich Man's Folly". afi.com. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Cartmell, Deborah (July 30, 2015). Adaptations in the Sound Era: 1927-37. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 9781623560423.
  4. ^ Canham, 1976 p. 62-63

References

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  • Canham, Kingsley. 1976. The Hollywood Professionals, Volume 5: King Vidor, John Cromwell, Mervyn LeRoy. The Tantivy Press, London. ISBN 0498016897
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