Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

wes-connors "The Richest Girl in the World" is reclusive Miriam Hopkins (as Dorothy Hunter). She attracts men, but wonders if it is possible to find true love. After breaking off an engagement, Ms. Hopkins meets attractive Joel McCrea (Anthony "Tony" Travers) in her regular guise, pretending to be pretty secretary Fay Wray (as Sylvia). Hopkins uses Ms. Wray to switch roles, so she can play pool rather than attend business meetings. When Mr. McCrea meets Hopkins, he is quite taken, but winds up on a canoe date with Wray, instead. Hopkins and Wray's husband Reginald Denny (Phillip "Phil" Lockwood) knock their boat over. Hopkins decides to test McCrea by encouraging him to pursue "fake" heiress Wray. It sounds silly, but everyone manages to make it mildly engaging. Norman Krasna's script even received an "Oscar" nomination. Mentor Henry Stephenson (as Connors) and maid Beryl Mercer (as Marie) are also good.****** The Richest Girl in the World (9/21/34) William A. Seiter ~ Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Reginald Denny

Michael_Elliott Richest Girl in the World, The (1934) ** (out of 4)Miriam Hopkins plays Dorothy Hunter, the richest girl in the world who also happens to be a recluse. Mrs. Hunter always sends her secretary (Fay Wray) out to pretend to be here. One day at a party Hunter, pretending to be the secretary, meets a man (Joel McCrea) who claims that he could fall in love with a rich woman even if she didn't have money. This RKO comedy was certainly inspired by Barbara Hutton, who at the time really was the richest girl in the world. The built up love story was probably the creation of someone in the RKO front office but the end results are fairly disappointing considering the cast involved. The story itself is the biggest problem as is goes from A to B to C without anything new being done and by the time the film is over you can't help but feel as if you've witness nothing but one cliché after another. The highlight of the film would be a scene where McCrea and Wray are out in a canoe when a jealous Hopkins comes up in a large part to tip them over. This sequence was a very funny one but there aren't too many laughs after it. McCrea and Hopkins made enough films together to be charming and they do that here. The two of them bring their characters to life even though the screenplay doesn't offer them much. Wray is also pretty good in her role but again, the screenplay doesn't give you anything. In the end this is a completely forgettable movie that most people will overlook so unless you're a fan of the stars then it's best to just keep this one in the vault.

James Hitchcock Mistaken identity has always been a classic theme of comedy; many comic characters in Shakespeare or Moliere, for example, disguise themselves as somebody else, but the device is even older, dating back at least to the days of the Greek and Roman theatre. The advantage of this device is that it enables the dramatist to make the most of the ensuing confusion for humorous purposes. The plot of 'The Richest Girl in the World' is one with which classical dramatists would have felt at home. The central character is Dorothy Hunter, the heiress to a large fortune. (The similarity of surnames suggests that the model for Dorothy may have been the Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton). She is worried that potential suitors will love her for her money and not for herself. She therefore changes places with her attractive secretary Sylvia. If any man shows an interest in the supposed 'Sylvia' (who is really Dorothy in disguise), she suggests to him that the supposed 'Dorothy' (really Sylvia in disguise) has fallen in love with him and would welcome a proposal of marriage. The real Sylvia is happily married and has no interest in any of Dorothy's suitors; the point of this charade is that if the man shows any interest in the fake 'Dorothy' he has thereby failed the test and proved himself unworthy of the real Dorothy's hand. The film chronicles Dorothy's attempts to play this trick on her latest beau, Tony.This plot could have been the basis of an intriguing comedy, but it is not really developed well enough. This is less the fault of the actors than of the script. In this age of the turgid three-hour blockbuster it seems strange to criticise a film for being too short, but an hour and ten minutes were not sufficient to bring out all the comic possibilities of the situation, and the conclusion of the film is both rushed and muddled. (Perhaps the film was originally the B-movie in a double bill with a set, and limited, running-time, which would explain the scriptwriter's haste to get everything tidied up as soon as possible.) Dorothy's elderly guardian, Jonathan, does suggest that she may be guilty of psychological cruelty in pushing her deception of Tony so far, but the film makes no attempt to explore the deeper implications of her behaviour. Her wealth is, after all, an important part of her identity, so by posing as her own secretary she has effectively persuaded Tony to fall in love with her under false pretences. The film, however, prefers to ignore the philosophical implications of this deception. Like many comedies of the period, this is a light film, in the sense that it is lighthearted but also in the sense that it is lightweight. Even in the era when it was made, it was probably seen as no more than an amusing trifle. It has not stood the test of time well, and today comes across as trivial and faded. 5/10

bruno-32 I saw this short film, about 1 hour and 10 minutes, and saw the resemblance to the richest woman in the world...Miss Hutton. Miss Hopkins was a good actress, but not very attractive. I would put her in the same category of Glen Close today. Fay Wray, her costar was far prettier.., but a featured player. The curiousity of Joel McCreas character of wheather he would pick Miss Hopkins or Miss Wray, kept me interested, until towards the end, which was unplausable. SPOILER: Now it may be that the film was badly edited at that time, but it was obvious to me, when they came to climax scene. Joel had just said good night to Fay at her room. Then they show Joel going over to Miriams room, which was just a few steps away and he knocks on her door wanting to talk to her. She responds that she was too tired and said good night. Disappointed, he walks over to the steps leading downstairs and sits there pondering, until he see's Fay's husband going directly into her room. Obviously, Joel's upset. The next morning at breakfast he blasts all of them, and punches Fay's husband on the jaw. Just then,Miriam 'confess's' to Joel, that it was her in that room where Fay was suppose to have been. Now, how can that be possible, unless the rooms are connected in such a way, that we couldn't see. That ruined it for me.