Customer Reviews

Blackmail [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Blackmail"

A pair of gloves is the only evidence in a murder case. One is found by the detective working the case, the other by a sinister eyewitness who wants to "Blackmail" the killer. No, this is not a TV movie about OJ Simpson, this is early Hitch!(Only he could have known.)

In 1929 Alfred Hitchcock was already displaying his innate senses of style, suspense, shadowy figures, sensuality and lets not forget his wonderful sense of humor. This film has all those qualities that makes his films so recognizable.

Alice is bored,and steps out on Frank, her Scotland Yard boyfriend. Her "date" offers to paint her portrait. She agrees, but once in his apartment, he attacks her and she kills him in self defense.

The investagation leads her Detective boyfreind to realize she is the killer, but keeps it to himself. There is another witness, one that can blow the lid off the whole case. Alice's guilt is getting the best of her(shades of "Tell Tale Heart" by Poe). Will she turn herself in before it's too late, or will they keep this secret buried.

"Blackmail started out as a silent but with films like the "Jazz Singer" opening in the States, Hitch decided to add sound to this one making it the first British "Talkie". The film stars Anny Ondra (she's marvelous)as Alice,John Longden as Frank, and Donald Calthrop as the blackmailer.

Looking for Hitch: I spied him in the first 10 minutes in quite a comical cameo, don't miss it!

A wonderful look at an early film of a budding genius. Hitch fans will enjoy this one!....Laurie

This movie was one of the first Hitchcock movies I ever saw, and it made me want to see more. It was the first "talkie" filmed in Britain, and the lead actress, Anny Ondra, had to be dubbed due to her thick accent.
Ondra stands out to me, she is a delight as the blackmailed young lady. It is a pity that she was not used again by Hitchcock.

This movie is better than the other versions and even though it is a Hitchcock I still don't like it that much. This was Hitch's first talkie, but not a good start. I don't think it was super but it beats the other two versions by a long shot! Watch it and see what you think!

Blackmail is Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie, and is sometimes advertised as "England's first talkie." While some of it is very dated, the film contains several nice Hitchcock touches, including the beginning shot of a primitive 1920s police radio car, and a concluding chase scene shot on location at the British Museum. Along the way we see a very young Cyril Ritchard (better known today as Captain Hook in "Peter Pan") as the villain. Originally shot as a silent film, when redone as a talkie the heroine's voice had to be dubbed due to her strong foreign accent.

BLACKMAIL, made as a silent film by Hichcock and ultimately dubbed, produced one giant step forward for movie fans. It is worth all of the price to see the hugely innovative camera work that Hitchcock used to roll out this 1929 movie. He took a simple story that really needed no more than a stage; connected the scenes with interesting movement and understandable transitions; then held your attention with camera work decades ahead of the time. The bonus of the movie is watching the actors ham it up--especially the nasty extortionist--using a mime-expression style of acting for its' 1920s time so that the audience always, without fail, recognized the villain seducer, always taciturn hero, guilty woman, tough detective, slimey blackmailer, etal. As an extra bonus, the story made certain that nobody nice was sent to jail. If the story had been filmed today, the blackmailer would have gone up in flames after falling from the British Airlines ferris wheel, but in 1929 Hitchcock did the next best thing and . . . well, I say, you'll have to watch the movie to see the blackmailer's appropriate finish. My final, extra bonus, was watching Scotland Yard's Flying Patrol in their patrol wagon; the radioman receiving apparently morse code messages through a headset. Ah! Ah! How this movie had history . . . .

A young woman woman flirts with a man much to the dismay of her fiance, who leaves in anger. She and her new handsome artist friend go to his studio where he persuades the young lady to pose for him - a'la naturel; tragedy ensues. A surprisingly taut and suspenceful film, although the sound techniques are primitive and scratchy. This is an early Hitchcockian example of what was to become the director's specialty: the leading player is a victim, caught in circumstances beyond his control. Hitchcock disliked Ondra's reedy voice, and it was dubbed by an actress named Joan Barry: it was a painstakingly difficult feat considering the primitive techniques of early sound films: it took many takes before the speech was in sync.

This was Hitchcock's first talking picture, originally conceived as a silent. The female lead had a strong foreign accent and her lines were dubbed at the time of shooting by another actress who stood just outside of camera range while our heroine silently mouthed the lines. See this film for a wonderful early performance by Cyril Ritchard (later Captain Hook in the Broadway play and subsequent film of Peter Pan) as a sinister artist with ignoble intentions.

After makeing what was sopposed to be a slent film, Hitchcock decided to add sound and make the first Talkie in the U.K. Actually, contrary to what many say, I found the movie quite enjoyable to watch. I could understand almost everything said as well. Granted Anny Ondra had a heavy accent and had to have someone else speak for her and yes you could tell at times--but NOT enough to ruin the flow of the movie.

Hitchcock made a real winner with Blackmail, a movie about a woman who kills a man to escape being raped (pretty subversive for 1929!!)and an ex-convict Blackmailer who holds a clue proveing that Alice (the lead woman's name) did it.

The movie's first 50r 10 minutes went fairly slow for me because the were shot silently. I thought that this was Hitch's greatest mistake makeing this gem. Anyway when the Talking Starts it immediatly grabs your attention. Then it slows after a while but quickly picks itself up and once again your hooked.

This is also- (I think) a visually stimulateing movie. He (as usual masters the camera. Also watch for the famouse knife sequence!

The reason I chose only 3 stars is for it's slow beginning and the breif slow period in the very middle. I Also didn't like the score but I cant hold that against it.

This isn't only a movie that every Hitch fan should watch but is a movie for anyone who likes older movies. Check it Out!!!

As always noted, there are places here where Hitch gets very clever with sound (the famous "knife" scene, yadda, yadda), but often it's terribly awkward, the way of many early sound films. ('Course, I have a VHS copy with shameful sound and picture quality that cost me $5.)

I saw the rarely-screened alternate silent version last year at a Hitchcock retrospective and it's easily superior (four stars?). My optimistic side thinks that it's only a matter of time before someone releases it, now that we're entering the restoration-happy DVD age. I call for Criterion to put out a disc with both versions and the usual supplemental material. I'd buy it (well, after I buy a DVD player).

"Blackmail" is actually most interesting to see how even this early in his game, Hitch was confidently playing ambiguous games with the audience's sense of morality.