FANTASY AND DESIRE IN HITCHCOCK'S 'RICH & STRANGE':

Following an age-old tradition of mine, falling ill over the transitioning new year, while the rest of London partied and celebrated the arrival of 2013, I was tucked up in bed with a huge mug of tea & my notebook, watching and writing about Alfred Hitchcock's 1931 film 'Rich and Strange' (IMDB | Rotten Tomatoes). This dark comedy pre-dates almost all of Hitch's most celebrated and appreciated films and although he had not yet fallen into what would become his unofficial title, the master of suspense, he stays true to his roots of playing with the audiences emotions (see: the cuts from the shots of Fred & Emily on the deck of the boat to the shot of the ocean rising above the porthole of their cabin). While watching this film, the ever-present themes of fantasy and desire were constantly being portrayed and a question in my head appeared, as it always does, what is Hitchcock trying to say?


The Shakespearian references in the opening titles & in a title screen of the film are one of the things that first trigger questions in the audiences mind. The actors are referred to as 'players' in the opening credits, a term from the 16th century that was used to describe actors who travelled in packs to perform shows. Theatre in 16th century England was an escape from the ever-changing monarchy which caused religious uproar and a general bad time for the country. The fact that Hitchcock added this small

change to the usually orthodox title credits suggests that he wanted to make a point that the actors, and subsequently their characters, desire some sort of escapism. (see also: the scene in the midst of the travelling montage where Fred & Emily visit a theatre- possibly offering a literal and physical interpretation of the opening title 'players' reference, and suggesting the actors in the film and the performers in the theatre are similar. Subsequently, the bearded man who pinches Emily's behind could be seen as a reminder of reality, that they are living a dream and will someday have to return to reality, however instead of dealing with the problem, Emily suggests leaving, showing once again, a running away from reality)

The other Shakespearian feature of the film is the direct quote from The Tempest, and, although it is one of the few Shakespeare plays I have not read/seen/heard the plot of, the quote itself seemingly sets us up for the story to come and also strengthens the point that deliberately, Hitchcock wanted to show the escapism and change that is desired by many average people. 

The cruise ship is the vehicle of transportation taking Emily and Fred away to their fantasy-world, almost presenting itself as somewhere in-between fantasy and reality. Both of the affairs start on the boat, with the railings of the ship visible in both, almost keeping them penned in to this fantasy world. The Arabian land in which the ship docks at shortly after Fred meets his 'Princess' is presented to us without a title card, which is interesting in the fact that the majority of the other lands are titled. The town they visit, and the people we see working there, present an almost contrast to London at the start of the film where Fred was working. His uncomfortable and undesirable commute on the underground and his strict, mundane job are both paralleled with a contrast of people of the 'fantasy' land walking around freely in the sunshine, and casually making sales in small stalls. The contrasts between the two places continue, with the weather and colour both also adding to the effect of a desired place in the latter.

A dark, rainy London factory is replaced by...

A bright, sunny, Mediterranean paradise. 

The boat provides a location for the first kisses of both of the affairs, and with features of a ship being prominent in both of the shots, such as portholes and railings, we can take that Hitchcock is portraying that the cinematic space is key in the romances. It is almost as if the boat, (as previously mentioned, the vehicle that is taking F & E towards their fantasy world), is almost involved in the relationships. The question is being presented to us that if normality continued and F & E remained in their mundane life, would they feel the distance between them that they felt on the ship? Do our routine and busy lives distract us from what we truly want in life? 

We can expand on this by looking at the metaphor in which F gives of his fantasy 'princess' and E. F compares his 'princess' to "champagne", while referring to E as "water", an interesting description which can tell us more than appears of the film. Water is a needed for our survival, whereas champagne is simply a luxury, one that not everyone can have but is nice when drunk. The effects of too much champagne can lead to sickness, a negativity, while water is sustainable and in any amount is a positive. The effects the two women have on F is similar to the two drinks described and therefore, we see that Hitchcock is saying that reality, in the metaphor, the water, is what is needed in order to live properly.

Continuing on from the champagne description of the 'princess', we can look at the portrayal of fantasy as a negative thing. Is Hitch telling us that there are limits to what is acceptable to fantasise about. Surely the 'princess', who we later find out to be nothing but a con artist, is representing the negatives of fantasising, and the lack of limitations in fantasy worlds is being shown to be a factor that can lead to bad things. 

The ship sinking at the end of the film is representing the end of the fantasy. Aside from the sinking of the vehicle transporting them to their fantasy, the fact that the camera and F & E never leave their cabin shows their lack of ability to access the fantasy world anymore. What once held their 'perfect' affairs is now literally crashing down around them signalling the devastation it has caused. 

The film ends with a Chinese ship coming and helping a distressed F & E, and their desire at the start of the film, to escape reality, is now turned on its head, with their only desire being to get safely back to normality. This flip on the recurring themes of the film presents us with a closed ending, which Hitchcock later took on board with his most famous films, giving the audience the desired closure in which they have been craving through the nail-biting suspense for the whole time.