Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
Rich Man, Poor Man Synopsis
Betty Wynne is forced to work as a maid in a boarding-house after her mother's death. There she falls in love with one of the residents, Bayard Varick. Another of the lodgers, old Henry Mapleson, so admires Betty's sunny disposition that, in order to promote her well-being, he forges a document suggesting that she is the long-lost granddaughter of millionaire John K. Beeston. The insensitive old businessman, whom nobody loves, softens under Betty's influence and soon comes to love her dearly. Bayard, however, believing that Beeston ruined his father in a business deal years earlier, refuses to visit Betty in the rich man's house. Imagining that Bayard no longer loves her, Betty agrees to Beeston's wish that she marry her cousin, but when Bayard learns of Mapleson's forgery, he hurries to Beeston's estate to claim his sweetheart. The old man is reluctant to give her up but finally relents when he discovers that Bayard is his long-lost grandson.
The Pride of Jennico Synopsis
In the days of romance when fortune and glory were carved by the sword, Basil Jennico, the descendant of a proud and haughty house, walking among the old ancestral chambers, dreams of his gallant forebears and their daring deeds performed for the smile of a lady fair. Inspired by his lofty heritage and the atmosphere of nobility and bravery in which he has been reared, Basil longs for love and adventure. At this romantic period of Basil's life, his aged uncle, the lineal head of his house, dies, and makes Basil swear by the sword that he will always uphold the pride of Jennico. Basil becomes Lord of Tollendhall and master of the broad acres of the Duchy of Lausitz, but titles, estates and splendor do not compensate for the absence of love. Princess Ottilie, a beautiful, whimsical maiden, is urged by her guardian, the Earl of Dornheim, to marry Prince Eugen, a worthless rogue, whom Ottilie fears and loathes. To avoid marrying Eugen, the Princess affects her escape from the castle in the guise of her maid, Marie, who follows after her mistress. The two are overtaken by a storm and seek the shelter of Jennico Castle. Marie is introduced to Jennico as the Princess, but Jennico falls madly in love with Ottilie, whom he believes to be the maid. Love and pride struggle for supremacy. Jennico is heart-broken, because his sworn duty to maintain the dignity of his house prohibits his marriage to the maid. The willful, fascinating maid intimates to Jennico that the Princess admires him, and, repressing love for duty, he courts the "princess." The marriage is arranged. Princess Ottilie and her maid confer and arrange to change places at the altar. Jennico greets his bride, heavily veiled, but when at last he looks upon her face he sees the piquant, mocking Ottilie and thinks he has married the maid. Love bids him accept his happiness, but his pride asserts itself and he resents the supposed deception. Ottilie, noticing his anger and piqued because he is not content with her, regardless of her apparent low rank, leaves him. Desperate for the love of the absent and tantalizing beauty, he seeks the supposed maid, encounters the bitter enmity and jealousy of the defeated Prince Eugen and his trusted force; but, despite all opposition and against all odds, he wins his way to Ottilie's heart at his sword's point, to find that valor has not only won him a heart of gold, but a title that adds luster to the pride of Jennico.
"Rich Man, Poor Man" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Pride of Jennico" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
Rich Man, Poor Man