BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Smoreni Zmaj nor is every movie good if it's signed by Alfred Hitchcock. OK, fact is that this is the first British "talkie", and it's even started as silent film. But many silent movies are better than this one. Fact that it was made in 1929. explains and excuses technical imperfections, even acting, but not the story that is completely undeveloped. In this form it could be used for decent episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but to stretch it into 85 minutes movie is pointless.5/10

jacobs-greenwood Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, who adapted the Charles Bennett play, this slightly above average drama is credited with being the first British sound film. Unfortunately, the sound quality is abysmal. After watching it on TCM, I learned from Robert Osborne that the lead actress's (Anny Ondra, from Austria-Hungary - now Poland) lines were being dubbed in real-time (by Joan Barry, uncredited) off "stage", which helped explain a bit of this (but not all of it).This film opens with a 10 minute long sequence, done strictly with music like a silent film (since the film was shot during the transition period; the silent version released is said to be better than this sound one), which is outstanding. It establishes several locales and police officer characters.Alice White (Ondra), who maintains an "on again, off again" relationship dating Detective Frank Webber (John Longden), flirts with an artist (Cyril Ritchard) while dining with her beau. After dumping the detective, she goes with the artist to his apartment where she goes too far to be shocked by his advances. When he won't be denied her sexual favors, she kills him with a bread knife and flees. However, she was seen leaving by a moocher (Donald Calthrop) who was hanging out nearby and entered the apartment building after she fled.After a sleepless night walking the streets in frightened despair, Alice sneaks upstairs to her bedroom which happens to be above her family's cigar shop. Her mother (Sara Allgood) visits her room just after she'd gotten into bed and tells her to come have breakfast. Alice joins her family (her father is played by Charles Paton) and a neighbor who, naturally, are discussing the (now discovered) murder that occurred the previous night. Preoccupied, Alice hears nothing besides the work KNIFE being spoken over and over again.Detective Webber arrives and has a brief conversation with his girlfriend, in the shop's phone-booth, about the glove of hers he'd found, and concealed from the other detectives, at the crime scene. While showing it to her, the moocher turned blackmailer, enters the phone-booth to reveal he's got her other glove! My favorite scene follows, and I won't spoil it other than to say that the prey (the Scotland Yard detective and his girl) turn the tables on their blackmailer, which leads to the requisite Hitchcock chase. This transition, including the realization on the detective's and then the blackmailer's faces, is done quite well.Additionally, it's interesting to see flashes of the master that Hitchcock would become: the use of an institution, in this case a museum complete with an Egyptian statue and harrowing rooftop, as a backdrop for the chase (ala Saboteur (1942) and North by Northwest (1959), and the women's screams (Ondra's with the landlady's that discovers the body) that are combined ala The 39 Steps (1935) (e.g. with a train whistle).

Syl Sir Alfred Hitchcock was already a well known film director mostly for his silent films. This film is his talking picture. Blackmail is a short film but worth noting in studying Hitchcock's film catalog. This film stars Anna Ondry who plays a shopkeeper's daughter. She is beautiful and charming. She gets into trouble when she defends herself by killing the artist and leaving the scene. Hitchcock's includes his favorites like Sara Allgood. The film doesn't have too much suspense but we do feel for Alice in her situation but the plot is predictable for the most part. The cast is small enough and focuses on Alice mostly.

TheLittleSongbird Is Blackmail among Alfred Hitchcock's best films? No. Is it one of his better early era efforts(pre-39 Steps)? Alongside The Lodger, yes. It isn't without flaws, John Longden's performance is rather stilted with a mixture of over-acting and under-acting, and while the dubbing is not bad at all there were times where with instances of restricted sound technique that the film may have benefited a little better by being silent instead. It looks very good, not among the most audacious of Hitchcock's films but a significant improvement over the production values of Juno and the Paycock. The expressionistic images still look great and give the film an eerie look that suits the story really well without being too obvious. The first class photography helps also, especially in the British Museum sequence. The music is generally fine too, to begin with it could have been much more subtle and been used a little less but quite quickly was much more fitting. The story is taut and suspenseful, even early in his career what was so distinctive and good about what he was most famous for comes through very strongly. It is ambiguous too, but that adds to the suspense and done in a way that doesn't feel heavy-handed. The climax is the first of his films to use a famous landmark, and is very satisfying. Hitchcock directs very assuredly, and it is in Blackmail also where he delivers one of his best cameos(they are always fun to spot). Apart from Longdon, the acting was good, sometimes a little theatrical but considering that some of the roles did need a broad approach at times it wasn't a big issue. Sara Allgood stands out in support, bringing out similar qualities to what made her the best thing about Juno and the Paycock, while the best overall performance comes from Anny Ondra who is wonderful. Overall, most interesting. 8/10 Bethany Cox