Champagne

1928 "A Picture of the Finest Vintage"
5.4| 1h33m| en| More Info
Released: 19 August 1928 Released
Producted By: British International Pictures
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Betty, the rebellious daughter of a millionaire, decides to marry the penniless Jean—against her father's will—and runs away to France and lives a life of luxury on the profits from her father's business. Pretending his business is crashing, her father finally puts a stop to her behavior, which forces Betty to support herself by getting a job in a night club.

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Reviews

Pluskylang Great Film overall
ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Rainey Dawn Betty Balfour plays "The Girl" who is a fun-loving, sorta dingy, party girl in this lighthearted romantic comedy. She's pretty, bubbly & sparkles like "Champagne". Appropriate title for this film.The Girl goes off on and parties on her father's money and he is going to teach her a lesson by telling her he's broke - the stock market fell. Now she will find a way to go on herself.Not much to this film. I'm finding it more of a snore-fest than I am interested in watching it - it's cute but not my style. That's not to say that others won't like it because there is an audience for these types of films - I'm just not one of them.The one early, silent romantic comedy I enjoyed from Hitchcock was Easy Virtue 1928 (it deals with the once taboo subject of divorce).3/10
TheLittleSongbird It is a shame because when it comes to my personal favourite directors Alfred Hitchcock is #1. He has had some disappointments, but most of his films range from very good to masterpiece and even his weakest films are far from irredeemable. Along with Juno and the Paycock, Number 17 and Jamaica Inn, Champagne is one of his lesser films. There is definitely some interest value, the music is wonderful, the sets are attractive, Betty Balfour is very charming and quirky, the scene with the drunk is very funny and especially good is the camera work which is very inspired and still looks good. Particularly good is the shot from the glass, a sign of Hitchock's visual mastery coming through early. The club scene was a mixed bag, it looks stunning but just drags on forever. Hitchcock doesn't direct incompetently, there are moments but there was the sense that he wasn't very interested in the project and that he wasn't in his comfort zone, not enough of his style came through. Apart from Balfour, the acting is very theatrical particularly from Gordon Harker, while to call Jean Bardin bland is an insult to the word bland. There isn't a single character to root for, they are not very likable, being over-theatrical and airhead-like, and it is the case of being underwritten and overacted. The script didn't come across as that funny, consisting of silly and sometimes drawn-out situations and little of it genuinely sparkles, some of it even comes across as dated. There have definitely been worse special effects but they were inconsistent in quality, some are okay others were hokey. But the story was the biggest let-down, it was tediously paced and there was nowhere near enough to sustain the length(maybe the reason for why a few scenes felt dragged out, to fill in what little there is of the story). In short it just wasn't memorable, to sum it up in one world it would be dispensable. Overall, not completely flat but lacks sparkle outside of the visuals, music and Balfour's performance. Well, the twist ending was nice but came too late to make us properly care. 4/10 Bethany Cox
MartinHafer The film begins with a flighty and spoiled rich lady crashing her plane near a cruise ship. You soon learn that it was NOT an accident--she just missed the ship and thought nothing of destroying an expensive plane to make it to the ship where her fiancé is waiting. They are planning to elope but her father is furious--especially since it all seems like a fun adventure to the daughter instead of serious business. So, to teach her a lesson, the father tells her that he is broke and she'll have to support herself. Well, considering the type person she is, this seems like a great plan (too bad Paris Hilton's parents never saw this film) and the wedding plans soon fizzle.Next they show the formerly rich girl trying to behave like a normal lady--cooking and taking care of her now "poor" father. So, feeling desperate to help support herself and Dad, she applies for work on a cruise ship. Oddly, she really never seems to actually do that much working once on board. However, what does happen is that a wolf gets a hold of her and things look bad--leading to a cute surprise ending.All in all, a very entertaining film and something that might surprise some Hitchcock fans, as it's nothing like his later films. A decent silent light comedy that's worth a look because of its story and high watchability.
Balthazar-5 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.