Rich People begins with Constance Bennett getting her car stuck in the mud during a storm. A man drives up, offering to drive her to a local gin joint, clearly with sinister intentions. Luckily Regis Toomey arrives, pretends to be an old friend of hers, and scares off the other guy. He offers to let her dry off and wait out the storm at his home, which is just ahead. She hesitantly agrees, and he spends the evening showing her his passion for statistics. After she returns home to her mansion and fiancée, he finds she forgot her undies and brings them to her. She is attracted, but he doesn't see a way to make their two worlds meet.
For a silent film, this is dialogue-heavy and looks very much like an early 30s drama; it was made as both a talkie and a silent to accommodate more theaters, and now only the silent film survives. Toomey always seemed to play the sidekick, but he is standout here in the lead and he and Bennett have incredible chemistry. Their first kiss was one you could just FEEL when it happened.
This may have been my favorite movie of the 2021 Capitolfest weekend.