''The Richest Girl in the World'' is a 1934 American romantic comedy film directed by

William A. Seiter William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director. Life and career Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senn ...

and starring Miriam Hopkins,

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

and

Fay Wray Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 – August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international r ...

Norman Krasna Norman Krasna (November 7, 1909 – November 1, 1984) was an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and film director who penned Screwball comedy film, screwball comedies centered on a case of mistaken identity. Krasna directed three films ...

was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpl ...

. It was remade in 1944 as ''

Bride by Mistake ''Bride by Mistake'' is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Richard Wallace, and starring Alan Marshal and Laraine Day. The screenplay is by Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron, based on a story by Norman Krasna, and is a remake of ...

'' with Laraine Day and Alan Marshal.

Plot

When the sinks, infant Dorothy Hunter is orphaned, but inherits a fortune. She is brought up by John Connors, whose wife also perished in the disaster. He goes to such great lengths to protect her privacy that, though she has grown into adulthood and acquired the title of the richest girl in the world, the newspapers do not have an up-to-date photograph of her. She returns to America, but asks her friend and secretary, Sylvia Lockwood, to impersonate her in a meeting with the managers of her trust fund, who also do not know what she looks like. After seeing how happy Sylvia is with her new husband, Phillip, she broaches the topic of setting a wedding date with Donald, her longtime fiancé. He is forced to admit that he has fallen in love with someone else and was getting up the nerve to tell her. Since she is not the least bit in love, she congratulates him. However, it is too late to cancel the party in which she had planned to announce their wedding. At the party, Dorothy and Sylvia continue pretending to be each other. Dorothy meets Anthony "Tony" Travers and, after winning $60 from him playing carom billiards, takes a great liking to him. However, stung by Donald's confession that he was never sure if he was attracted to her or her money, Dorothy decides to see if Tony would prefer her to the woman Tony thinks is her. She does all in her power to encourage him to court "Dorothy", even lending him money to do so. Connors warns her that she is being foolish, that no man could resist choosing such a seemingly wealthy and beautiful woman, but Dorothy is adamant. Sylvia and Phillip reluctantly play along. Tony is invited to a weekend retreat. Connors, Sylvia, and Phillip arrive a day late, using the bad weather as an excuse to give Dorothy time alone (except for the servants) with Tony. By this point, Dorothy is deeply in love. Tony tells her how much he likes her, but then adds that the richest girl in the world "wouldn't have him anyway". Unable to bear being his second choice, she tells him that he would probably succeed if he proposed, so he does. Sylvia, having been forewarned by Dorothy, accepts him. That night, however, Tony sees Phillip sneaking into Sylvia's room. The next morning, he breaks the engagement. Dorothy claims that Phillip came into her bedroom, putting Tony to the ultimate test. When Phillip shows up for breakfast exceptionally pleased with himself, Tony punches him. Then, finally realizing who he really loves, he picks Dorothy up and carries her off to get married, still not knowing her true identity, and in spite of what he believes she did the night before.

Cast

* Miriam Hopkins as Dorothy Hunter *

as Anthony "Tony" Travers *

as Sylvia Lockwood *

Henry Stephenson Harry Stephenson Garraway (16 April 1871 – 24 April 1956) was a British actor. He generally portrayed amiable and wise Gentleman, gentlemen in many films of the 1930s and 1940s. Among his roles were Joseph Banks, Sir Joseph Banks in ''Mutiny ...

as Jonathan "John" Connors * Reginald Denny as Phillip Lockwood * Beryl Mercer as Marie, Dorothy's Maid * George Meeker as Donald *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as Jim Franey *

Herbert Bunston Herbert Bunston (15 April 1874 – 27 February 1935) was an English stage and screen actor. He is remembered for his role as Dr. John Seward in the Broadway and film versions of ''Dracula''. Bunston was born in Charmouth and briefly attended ...

as Dean Cavandish, Chief Trustee *

Burr McIntosh William Burr McIntosh (August 21, 1862 – April 28, 1942) was an American lecturer, photographer, film studio owner, silent film actor, author, publisher of ''The'' ''Burr McIntosh Monthly'',Edgar Norton as Binkley, Dorothy's Butler

Production

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal ...

produced the film personally while being production head of RKO. He bought the script with his own money when

was being blackballed by

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Richest Girl in the World (1934 film), The 1934 films 1934 romantic comedy films American black-and-white films American romantic comedy films 1930s English-language films Films directed by William A. Seiter Films scored by Max Steiner Films set in 1934 RKO Pictures films 1930s American films English-language romantic comedy films