A Successful Calamity

A Successful Calamity is a 1932 American comedy film directed by John G. Adolfi and starring George Arliss and Mary Astor. Based on the 1917 play A Successful Calamity by Clare Kummer, the film is about an elderly millionaire who must deal with his selfish young second wife and a pair of spoiled grown children.

Meanwhile, the Wilton family are rarely spending much time together, and Henry becomes tired of his familys hectic social schedule. When Connors tells him that the poor cant go out too often, Henry decides to feign poverty to test his familys mettle. Accordingly, Henry tells his wife and children that he is ruined, and they rally to his side. They decide to give up their plans and stay home for dinner, leading to a frantic effort by the servants to come up with food. Furthermore, Emmy regrets her extravagance, Peggy gives up her engagement to George for Larry Rivers, who she is really in love with, and Eddie decides to get a job as a pilot, and goes to Partington for a letter of introduction. Partington is delighted to hear that Henry is ruined, and assumes that the stock he holds will lose its value and wants to get rid of it as soon as possible. Henry then buys Partingtons stock by acting through a third party, at a price lower than that they had agreed upon, and that Partington had paid for it in the first place. Meanwhile, Emmy says she is going out for a walk, and goes off in a car with Pietro. Avenged on his rival, Henry comes home and tells his children that he is not ruined after all, but they tell him that Emmy has gone out and seems to have deserted him. However, Emmy comes back and tells them that she had gone out to pawn her jewelry in order to help him, and that she was happiest when they were poor and could not go out, and thus able to spend time as a family.

Source: Wikipedia