Our Betters is a 1933

1933 in film

-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....

 American

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 satirical

Satire

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...

 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 directed by George Cukor

George Cukor

George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...

. The screenplay by Jane Murfin

Jane Murfin

Jane Murfin was an American playwright and screenwriter.Born in Quincy, Michigan, Murfin began her career with the play Lilac Time, which she co-wrote with Jane Cowl. The Broadway production opened on February 6, 1917 and ran for 176 performances...

 and Harry Wagstaff Gribble is based on the 1923 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...

.

Plot

When American heiress Pearl Saunders learns her groom, Lord George Grayston, has married her for her money, she is devastated by the news but chooses to remain wed. Pearl socializes with a group of wealthy expatriate

Expatriate

An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...

 friends, including divorced duchess Minnie, gossip-loving Thornton Clay, philanthropic princess Flora, and Arthur Fenwick, her older lover and benefactor.

Pearl introduces her younger sister Bessie to English aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

 and urges her to pursue a relationship with Lord Harry Bleane. Although she is the target of Fleming Harvey's affections, Bessie is seduced by the glamour of high society and joins her sister for a weekend at the Grayston country estate. When Minnie discovers her gigolo Pepi D'Costa is romancing Pearl, she publicly exposes their indiscretion. Mortified at having her innocent sister learn about her unseemly behavior, Pearl retreats to her room, while Minnie prepares to return to London. Fearful her reputation will be tarnished by Minnie's gossip, Pearl plots to delay her departure and tries to ingratiate herself with the rest of her guests. When Bessie accuses her of hypocrisy

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie....

, Pearl has second thoughts and steers her sister away from Harry and back to the doting Fleming. She then convinces Minnie to stay another night and learn the latest tango

Tango (dance)

Tango dance originated in the area of the Rio de la Plata , and spread to the rest of the world soon after....

 steps from effete dance instructor Ernest.

Production

Producer David O. Selznick

David O. Selznick

David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...

 enlisted Elsa Maxwell

Elsa Maxwell

Elsa Maxwell was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day....

, a gossip columnist

Gossip columnist

A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities from show business ,...

 whose reputation as a hostess of successful society parties was widely known, to serve as a consultant for the film's costumes (designed by Hattie Carnegie

Hattie Carnegie

Hattie Carnegie was a fashion entrepreneur based in New York City from the 1920s to the 1960s. She was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary as Henrietta Kanengeiser....

) and its general tone.

The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Cast

• Constance Bennett
  Constance Bennett
  -Early life:She was born in New York City, the daughter of actor Richard Bennett and actress Adrienne Morrison, whose father was the stage actor Lewis Morrison , a wealthy performer of English and Spanish ancestry...
  
   ..... Lady Pearl Grayston
• Anita Louise
  Anita Louise
  -Life and career:Born Anita Louise Fremault in New York, New York, she made her acting debut on Broadway at the age of six, and within a year was appearing regularly in Hollywood films...
  
   ..... Bessie Saunders
• Violet Kemble-Cooper
  Violet Kemble-Cooper
  Violet Kemble-Cooper was a stage and film actress born in London and descended from a well known theatrical family; the Kemble family. Her father was Frank Kemble-Cooper and her sisters and were Lillian Kemble-Cooper and Greta Kemble Cooper.She made her first stage appearance in 1905 in her...
  
   ..... Duchess Minnie
• Charles Starrett
  Charles Starrett
  Charles Starrett was an American actor best known for his starring role in the Durango Kid Columbia Pictures western series. He was born in Athol, Massachusetts.-Career:...
  
   ..... Fleming Harvey
• Grant Mitchell
  Grant Mitchell (actor)
  Grant Mitchell was an American stage actor on Broadway and character actor in many Hollywood films of the 1930s and 1940s...
  
   ..... Thornton Clay
• Gilbert Roland
  Gilbert Roland
  Gilbert Roland was a Mexican-born American film actor.He was born Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and originally intended to become a bullfighter like his father. When the family moved to the United States, however, he became interested in acting when he was...
  
   ..... Pepi D'Costa
• Minor Watson
  Minor Watson
  Minor Watson was a prominent character actor. He appeared in 111 movies made between 1913 and 1956. His credits included, Boys Town , Yankee Doodle Dandy , Kings Row , Guadalcanal Diary , Bewitched , The Virginian , and The Jackie Robinson Story .He is buried in Alton Cemetery...
  
   ..... Arthur Fenwick
• Hugh Sinclair
  Hugh Sinclair (actor)
  Hugh Sinclair was a British actor born in London, England, the son of a clergyman. He was educated at Charterhouse School and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first marriage was to the actress Valerie Taylor...
  
   ..... Lord Harry Bleane
• Alan Mowbray
  Alan Mowbray
  Alan Mowbray MM, , was an English stage and film actor who found success in Hollywood.Born Alfred Ernest Allen in London, England, he served with distinction the British Army in World War I, being awarded the Military Medal for bravery...
  
   ..... Lord George Grayston
• Tyrell Davis
  Tyrell Davis
  -Selected filmography:* His Glorious Night * Let Us Be Gay * Strictly Unconventional * The Magnificent Lie * The Road to Singapore * Temptation's Workshop * Our Betters...
  
   ..... Ernest

Critical reception

Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times called the film "a highly praiseworthy pictorial interpretation of the stage work" and added, "It is an intelligently worked out film, thanks to the director, George Cukor, and while it does not bother much about cinematic art, the scenes are always beautifully photographed and nicely staged. It has heaps of amusement and some hearty laughter, and Mr. Maugham's fine hand still is apparent notwithstanding certain tactful studio changes."