MovieChat Forums > Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) Discussion > The Man Tormenting Barbara

The Man Tormenting Barbara

posted 5 years ago by ajr01 (52)
6 replies | jump to latest

How did the man hanging around Tony's apartment (where little Barbara had taken refuge under an alias named Betsy Weir from a children's story) know so much about her real background? He has obviously deduced the whole orphan story is a load of nonsense, and may come from a more affluent background. Was he a paedophile (which in the 1930's would have been a tantalizing theme, particularly in a children's movie) or based on that late scene, he would have kidnapped her in order to obtain a ransom from Barbara's father? (Perhaps inspired by the Charles Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932, a recent event). The movie, perhaps rather cleverly, leaves these questions unanswered. I must say that actor plays the role well. When I saw that movie as a child, I was petrified of that scene of the man grinning at her sleeping through the window, and was always scared of that happening to me in real life.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (2184) 5 years ago

Yeah, that was way creepy and since the man had tried to lure her previously with candy and was only stopped when caught by the Dolans, the Dolans were very wrong to leave Barbara alone. The dialogue near the end implied the man was a kidnapper on the make for ransom, when he tried to pry Barbara's father's name out of her and she would not tell. As for knowing her background he was snooping around and must have had exceptional hearing.

[–] ajr01 (52) 5 years ago

Thanks for the reply. There is now a very good print of Poor Little Rich Girl on YouTube, and this forced me to look at some scenes I may have overlooked. This man lived in the same apartment building. He was constantly eaves dropping where Barbara was, so that he could find any information. When "Puddin' Head" used the phone in the hall, he called the Bureau of Missing Persons to find out if anyone had reported a missing "Betsy Weir", which was her current nom de plume. (His wife was extremely sceptical about the orphan story, and worried by including her in their act, they could be charged with kidnapping). The guy was behind his door listening in on the conversation, and there his suspicion was confirmed, that there was some other explanation for her being there. But I am not sure if he picked up that she was necessarily from a wealthy background, as much as I am sure he would have loved that to be the case, so he could collect his tidy ransom.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (2184) 5 years ago

I don't think the man was present during the remark about manicured hands but may have made his own observations regarding hairstyle, clothing, etc.

[–] ajr01 (52) 5 years ago

Now this has forced me to watch the whole movie from start to finish! Boy, there are details that can escape your mind after not seeing it for a while. When Barbara initially showed herself to Tony and the pet monkey, she followed him, but he did not take too kindly about her remarks about his face, leaving her alone. So she was standing outside the family's basement apartment on the sidewalk, and seeing her there, they felt sorry for her, inviting her in. Ransomer was standing on the staircase outside near the landing to the right, and he might have identified Barbara was wearing a school uniform, minus the hat. In the USA, school uniforms are a rare thing, particularly in that era, except for some posh schools, (and of course you made mention of her hair styling and manicured hands too) he quickly worked out something was amiss about a girl from most probably an affluent background, being invited to accept hospitality with a working class Italian migrant family! The girl who ran away from the orphanage just did not gel. By peeping & eavesdropping over the next couple of days, his suspicions were confirmed, (which wasn't hard as he was on the same floor as the Dolans) and the seeds were sown for his dastardly plan of action, which thankfully were thwarted by Puddin' Head, at the last minute.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (2184) 5 years ago

Surely it can't have been that bad to watch this wonderful movie again!

(And don't call me Shirley.)

[–] ajr01 (52) 5 years ago

When did I do that? Regardless, I loved watching the movie again, in the colorized version. I was just a bit hazy about some details.