Young and Innocent (1937)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Josephine Tey (novel)
Charles Bennett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

A romantic murder-mystery drama!

Plot:

Man on the run from a murder charge enlists a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Escape | Murder | Beach | Actress

Cast

Nova Pilbeam	...	Erica Burgoyne
Derrick De Marney	...	Robert Tisdall (as Derrick de Marney)
Percy Marmont	...	Col. Burgoyne
Edward Rigby	...	Old Will
Mary Clare	...	Erica's Aunt
John Longden	...	Det. Insp. Kent
George Curzon	...	Guy
Basil Radford	...	Erica's Uncle
Pamela Carme	...	Christine
George Merritt	...	Det. Sgt. Miller
J.H. Roberts	...	Henry Briggs - Solicitor
Jerry Verno	...	Lorry Driver
H.F. Maltby	...	Police Sergeant
John Miller	...	Police Constable

Also Known As:

The Girl Was Young (USA)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (2006) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Germany:6 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1986) | USA:Unrated | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

The hand that pulls Nova Pilbeam's character out of the hole in the mine scene was that of her future husband Pen Tennyson; they met on this film.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the performance of the first song heard and seen at the Grand Hotel, the drummer's visible playing (tapping on the drum head) does not nearly match the percussion sounds (cymbal strikes, drum rolls, rim shots, etc.) on the soundtrack.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Husband: Christine!
Christine: Don't shout, I tell you! Don't shout!

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers (2009) (TV)

Soundtrack:

No One Can Like the Drummer Man

A wonderful film, don't miss it

This is a good Hitchcock film, but on the lighter side. The acting may be disputed (certainly many dispute about it!), but in my opinion it is a very solid, entertaining, and well-acted picture. It does have much of Hitchcock about it (not surprisingly) and is well worth watching. All of the classic Hitchcock elements are there, and they fit together wonderfully: the musical score, the camera work, the twists and turns in the plot, the thrilling scenes, the build-up, the director himself ... and not to forget the story! This is built up very carefully, and contains many, many interesting side-glances and elements. But one needs to watch the film very carefully, or more than once, in order to find these. It is indeed a sort of '39 Steps', and a precursor to several later Hitchcock films, but in its own way it occupies a place rather different than any other Hitchcock film. I am referring to a certain 'bucolic' atmosphere, which is perhaps only equalled by 'The Trouble With Harry'. The parallels to this film have perhaps not yet been adequately explored.