Champagne (1928)

A spoiled heiress defies her father by running off to marry her lover. However, Daddy has a few tricks up his sleeve.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Alfred Hitchcock, Walter C. Mycroft (story by)

Stars:

Betty Balfour, Jean Bradin, Ferdinand von Alten

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Betty Balfour	...	The Girl
Jean Bradin	...	The Boy
Ferdinand von Alten	...	The Man (as Theo Von Alten)
Gordon Harker	...	The Father

Storyline

A spoilt rich girl leads a life of luxury on the profits from her father's champagne business. To bring her back down to earth he tells her that all the money has been lost so she goes to seek her fortune.

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Plot Keywords:

popping a cork | champagne | man wearing a tuxedo | reading a newspaper | spoiled brat | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 1928 (UK)

Also Known As:

Pezsgő

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British International Pictures (BIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 106 min (2012) (theatrical) 105 min (2012 restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film includes the first freeze-frame shot.

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Goofs

In the shot showing the waiters waiting in the mostly empty dining room, they all sway in different directions even though in real life they would be swaying the same way due to the boat's movement.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Man in lifeboat: You'd better hurry, Miss, before she sinks.

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Connections

Referenced in The Trouble with Harry Isn't Over (2001)

User Reviews

Source of hidden gold...

Although the film shows plenty of evidence of being made by the Master, most viewers will probably find it light compared to the 'more substantial' 'serious' films. But Hitchcock's metier is cinema, not suspense, and Champagne contains some choice examples of how Hitch thought cinematically in a way that no other director has done. A case in point is the magnificent visual joke towards the end of the film, when our heroes are aboard an ocean liner. From time to time they are bothered by a drunk who staggers into them and other passengers. However, before long, the ship hits a storm and sways around like a cork, causing everyone to stagger from wall to wall... except the drunk... On a more profound thematic level, this is one of the earliest Hitchcockian essays on the necessity of lying in one's bed if one has made it (cf The Birds). Incidentally, it's just occurred to me how much the Betty Balfour character in this prefaces those of Grace Kelly in Rear Window and Melanie Daniels in The Birds.