I guess "Rich Man, Poor Girl" is supposed to be akin to "You Can't Take it With You" in that the Thayers are kind of whacko.This is a pleasant film about a wealthy man, Bill Harrison (Robert Young), who falls in love with his secretary, Joan Thayer (Ruth Hussey). She is a member of the Great Working Class.When she brings him home to meet the family, Joan realizes how far apart they are in terms of class and upbringing. She thinks they should wait to marry. To move the date sooner, Harrison moves in with the family. But when he tries to help them, his generosity isn't always well received.Lana Turner plays Helen, Joan's sister. Here she's probably 17 or 18 and adorable. Helen is thrilled that there's going to be a rich man in the family and can't wait. Her cousin Henry (Lew Ayres) is constantly giving bombastic lectures about the curse of "the great working class" and boy, does he sound timely. His speeches could be written today. For instance, he complains that a poor man can walk into a hospital and be treated, a wealthy man can afford to be treated, but what about the middle class? He has to pay and it could easily wipe him out.This is certainly a lively film, with Turner a standout. It's light but fun.

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.

There are two things interesting about this film. First off, a particularly strong cast for a B picture. The second thing that is interesting about this film is that it is a switch on an engagement of a rich man and a poor girl -- it's the poor folk who are the snobs here (well, not all of them, but that's really the point of the film).Robert Young was excellent here, and it reminds me that I often wondered why he wasn't more successful in films (of course, that lack of success led to one of the most successful careers in television, so who's complaining?). Here he plays the rich man who wants to marry the somewhat poor girl...his secretary.Ruth Hussey is the female lead -- the secretary. She's also excellent here.And then you have the supporting roles. Lana Turner in a very different role for her, and she's so young here it's almost difficult to recognize her. When she was older, I liked Lana Turner very much, but I was not particularly impressed here with her one especially big scene' it just seemed forced.Guy Kibbee (always a welcome face in film) plays the father here, and it works just right.Lew Ayres plays the ne'er do well brother who is always losing a job and who really dislikes the rich. He comes across as a whiner. His role is sometimes a bit like oin "Holiday", but in "Holiday" it worked...here it doesn't.Sarah Padden is wonderful as the very common-sense mother.The film would be much better if they chopped the first 5 or so minutes off. It starts off terribly and irrelevantly. It gets much better as Young is introduced to the family (except for the reaction of Lew Ayres) and goes to live with them in their middle class apartment for a few days. It all seems rather lighthearted, but the mood changes drastically toward the end of the film...and then...Definitely a B film, but an interesting one...just ignore the opening scenes.

Even though it's lighthearted, this film does touch on several issues that were important at the time: joblessness, income inequity, old age. It's only about six inches deep, but most movies at the time were only about an inch deep.And Ruth Hussey holds her own against Lana Turner (who does a creditable acting job, by the way).The only downside [** spoiler alert **]......is...... the ending. In the space of three or four minutes, most of the characters surrendered their principles, on which the entire movie is based. Very disappointing, as if the author/playwright/screenwriter ran out of time and wrapped things up quickly and sloppily.But overall, a mostly enjoyable film, with a glance at social problems.