Blackmail (1929)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Charles Bennett (play)
Alfred Hitchcock (adaptation)

Release Date:

6 October 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

See and Hear It - Our Mother Tongue As It Should Be Spoken

Plot:

Alice White is the daughter of a shopkeeper in 1920's London. Her boyfriend, Frank Webber is a Scotland...

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Murder | Blackmail | Knife | Police

Cast

Anny Ondra	...	Alice White
Sara Allgood	...	Mrs. White
Charles Paton	...	Mr. White
John Longden	...	Det. Frank Webber
Donald Calthrop	...	Tracy
Cyril Ritchard	...	Mr. Crewe (the artist)
Hannah Jones	...	Mrs. Humphries (the landlady)
Harvey Braban	...	The Chief Inspector (sound version)
Ex-Det. Sergt. Bishop	...	The Detective Sergeant

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-12 (1995) | Sweden:15 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | Spain:T | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1989) | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Bloomsbury, London, England, UK

Company:

British International Pictures (BIP)

Trivia:

In one key shot, the villain Cyril Ritchard is photographed with a thick shadow (caused by the arm of an overhead chandelier) across his upper lip. Hitchcock wanted the image to evoke the old-fashioned, heavily mustached villain found in many silent films. He later called this touch "my farewell to silent pictures".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alice first asks Crewe to button the dress, her hands are behind her back holding the dress. In the next shot, her hands are on her hips.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Det. Frank Webber: Well, we finished earlier tonight than I expected.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Lodger (2009)

Soundtrack:

Miss Up-to-Date

Pretty good for its time

I watched Blackmail last night on BBC Four having hard it was Britain's first 'talkie' and an Alfred Hitchcock classic. A really good thriller for the early-mid 20th century and is obviously directed by Hitchcock. Not to mention a good opportunity to see London as it was in 1929! Quite a simple story lines with Anny Ondra who stars as our sweet timid heroine, Alice White, who is blackmailed after she killed man who tried to rape her.

The beginning is rather weird as you'll see when watch it and because of this, for one reason or another, I failed to understand it. Hitchcock performs a similar trick as he did later on in his career in Psycho, introducing Alice after he introduces the supporting characters.

The film sadly lacks action scenes as there is a pretty long build up and after the murder takes place we are more focused upon the psychological damaged inflicted upon Alice as she deals with the fact that she has taken another man's life. It is very obvious she is being dubbed, as her mouth and Joan Barry's flawless, girly English accent do not clash at some points during the movie. Ondra was may I add a very pretty lady for her time and I couldn't help but notice a jaw-resemblance to Meryl Streep. Most people won't know what I mean, but I could see it.

Hitchcock was a perfect choice to direct and did it considerably well, taking advantage of all the possible SFX's that were available in the late 20s. He also has a very clear cameo appearance – on a train being annoyed by a child early on in the picture.

A real treat and an enjoyable way to spend my Saturday night!