Our Betters (1933)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (play)
Jane Murfin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 March 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Although the British upper class may be our betters in society, they are certainly not our betters in morality.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Heiress | Sister | Gigolo | Wedding

Cast

Constance Bennett	...	Lady Pearl Grayston
Violet Kemble Cooper	...	Duchess Minnie (as Violet Kemble-Cooper)
Phoebe Foster	...	Princess Flora
Charles Starrett	...	Fleming Harvey
Grant Mitchell	...	Thornton Clay
Anita Louise	...	Bessie Saunders
Gilbert Roland	...	Pepi D'Costa
Minor Watson	...	Arthur Fenwick
Hugh Sinclair	...	Lord Harry Bleane
Alan Mowbray	...	Lord George Grayston
Harold Entwistle	...	Pole - the Butler
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Virginia Howell	...	Mrs. Saunders (scenes deleted)
Walter Walker	...	Mr. Saunders (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 12 March 1917 and closed in June 1917 after 112 performances. It was revived on 20 February 1928 with Ina Claire as Pearl, Constance Collier as the Duchess, Reginald Bach (who also directed) as Thornton Clay, and with Lillian Kemble-Cooper and Madge Evans. The revival ran for 128 performances and closed in June 1928.

Quotes:

Arthur Fenwick: You're my guiding star. My ideal! I don't know what I'd do if you failed me. I don't think I could live if I ever found you weren't what I think you are.
[bends to kiss her hand]
Lady Pearl Saunders Grayston: [looking down at his bent head] You shan't, if I can help it.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Celluloid Closet (1995)

Soundtrack:

The Wedding March

Pre-Code behavior meets Wildean epigrams

No, it's not brilliant, although it has the woman-friendly stamp of director George Cukor all over it. If for nothing else, in fact, watch it for Hattie Carnegie's exquisite gowns, worn to perfection by the exquisite Constance Bennett. But if you give it half a chance, you might find yourself quite caught up in this tale of upper-class English morality, and the success it can bring to an early-disillusioned woman. Like "What Price Hollywood?" this is a collaboration of director Cukor, writer Jane Murfin, and star Constance Bennett, and they all shine. Bennett is especially adept at conveying the brittle facade that her character has constructed to hide the pain of an empty life.

The dialogue is as crisp as it gets in the 1930s. Oh, and don't miss that final line. Too fab!