Rich and Strange (1932)

Tired of his suburban rut – from cramped home to crowded train to his office and back again – Fred Field one night complains to his wife Emily that he wants a more adventurous life, and to be able to buy her fine clothes. That same night, he receives a letter from his uncle, offering him the money to fulfil that very ambition.

Taking off on a world cruise, he and his wife have a high time in Paris, but seasickness confines Fred to his cabin in the Mediterranean while Emily gradually finds consolation in the company of the genial Commander Gordon, whom she finds easier to talk to than her rather self-centred husband.

When Fred recovers, he encounters the beautiful and seductive "Princess", and is soon touring all the ports of call in her company, finding her more exciting than his simple wife. Their affair is consummated during a fancy dress ball, and Fred decides to leave Emily – with Commander Gordon – in Singapore.

When Emily tells Gordon that she doesn't want to lose Fred, he informs her that the "Princess" is only an adventuress, and that she and Fred deserve each other. Warned by Emily, Fred refuses to listen until he finds that the "Princess" has left – with a thousand pounds of their money.

Forced to travel home by cheap steamer, Fred and Emily find themselves stuck in their cabin when the ship starts to sink after a collision; convinced they are facing death, they discover the ship still afloat next morning and manage to board a Chinese junk, which has come to loot. Reassured by each other during the rigours of the subsequent journey, they settle gratefully back into their old lives.

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