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:

Knife | Blackmail | Detective | Murder | Glove

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:

Much of the film was originally shot silent; when sound became available during the course of shooting, director Alfred Hitchcock re-shot certain scenes with sound, thus making it the Master of Suspense's first talkie. There was one complication with this change, however. Leading lady Anny Ondra had a thick German accent which was inappropriate to her character, Alice White. Joan Barry was chosen to provide a different voice for her, but post-production dubbing technology did not exist then. The solution was for Barry to stand just out of shot and read Alice's lines into a microphone as Ondry mouthed them in front of the camera. This is generally acknowledged as the first instance of one actor's voice being dubbed by another, even though the word "dub" is technologically inappropriate in this case.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the artist is talking to the landlady, his walking stick is tucked under his arm. When he turns around, it is hanging on his forearm.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Lodger (2009)

Soundtrack:

Sonny Boy

Hitchcock's first sound film

One of Hitchcock's early films, it was one of the first films to come out of England with sound during the end of the silent film era. An interesting film, we see several great shots of dolly's with the early staircase scene. Several well shot montages with wonderful dissolves and sound bridges. For 1929, Hitchcock shows the world with the film that he's a talented film maker. A risky scene, the audience gets to watch the main actress of the film undress behind her curtains. While the murder is never seen, the provocative and private scene of her undressing is present. Another interesting note, the main character of the film is the murderer! Throughout the film, the audience judges whether or not she is an innocent murderer or a killer. Hitchcock makes an early name for himself with this film with toying with the audience throughout the suspense of the film.