edwagreen This wonderful 1938 film depicts the basic differences between upper and lower class families when the wealthy Robert Young falls deeply in love with his secretary, Ruth Hussey. Hussey speaks and acts as if she is upper class. Yet, she is devoted to her family and will not wed the Young character until he gets to know her family better.She may not have come from a rich family, but she sure came from a family with close ties building a foundation of love.Lew Ayres steals the film as the nephew who came to live with the family at the age of 14. He certainly shows extreme socialist views as he goes from one job to another. Lana Turner,as Hussey's sister, is great as the sister longing for a better life.With it all, people are people and love shall ultimately conquer all-even when there are great economic differences among the people.

vincentlynch-moonoi 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.

MartinHafer Ruth Hussy is the secretary to her rich boss (Robert Young). Suddenly, out of the blue, they realize how much they love each other and plan to marry. But first, he needs to meet her family. During this kooky meeting, it becomes obvious to Ruth that her working-class background is so completely unlike Young's upper-crust world that they should slow down--and wait to marry. So, to help things along, Young decides to 'slum it'--to hang with her family and get to know them better. However, some of her family are pretty annoying and what will happen when Young tries to help out and improve their lives? Oddly, his kind gestures aren't always appreciated.This is a pretty enjoyable comedy with some fun performances. However enjoyable though, it is a bit uneven and is not a great comedy--just a nice one that fans of old films will likely like. When you watch, get a load of Lana Turner before her big Hollywood makeover. She sure looked very, very different--and a lot more natural.

DeepJedi After first being awestruck over Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice, I was eager to see any film she appeared in. Rich Man, Poor Girl appeared without fuss on television and a part of my heart was stolen by a black and white image! Oh the wonder of film. I recall the film as being 'worthwhile' even if you weren't in Love with Lana but I was left wishing I had recorded it! I looked the film up afterwards in my movie guide and it said that the film is remarkable only as a record of Lana Turner's beauty, describing her as radiant. I agree wholeheartedly. Imagining the film with another actress in Lana's role, I can only see an average film.Lana makes every single one of today's screen beauties fade into mediocrity by comparison. See this film if you want to see a bona fide legendary screen beauty in full bloom.