After killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.After killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.After killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.
- Awards
- 2 wins
Ex-Det. Sergt. Bishop
- The Detective Sergeant
- (as Ex-Det. Sergt. Bishop - Late C.I.D. Scotland Yard)
Johnny Ashby
- Boy
- (uncredited)
Joan Barry
- Alice White
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Johnny Butt
- Sergeant
- (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock
- Man on Subway
- (uncredited)
Phyllis Konstam
- Gossiping Neighbour
- (uncredited)
Sam Livesey
- The Chief Inspector (silent version)
- (uncredited)
Phyllis Monkman
- Gossip Woman
- (uncredited)
Percy Parsons
- Crook
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMuch of this movie was originally shot silently. When sound became available during the course of shooting, Sir Alfred Hitchcock re-shot certain scenes with sound, thus making it his first talkie. There was one complication with this change, however. Leading lady Anny Ondra had a thick Czech accent which was inappropriate to her character, Alice White. Joan Barry was chosen to provide a different voice for her, but post-production dubbing technology did not exist then. The solution was for Barry to stand just out of shot and read Alice's lines into a microphone as Ondra mouthed them in front of the camera. This is generally acknowledged as the first instance of one actress' voice being dubbed by another, even though the word "dub" is technologically inappropriate in this case.
- GoofsWhen Alice "unlocks" the door to the building where she lives, it starts to open as soon as the key reaches the door. It was clearly not only not locked, but not even latched. However, she goes through with the motion of unlocking it.
- Quotes
Alice White: You and your Scotland Yard. If it weren't for Edgar Wallace, nobody'd ever heard of it.
- Alternate versionsOriginally filmed as a silent movie, running 75 minutes; Hitchcock later added newly shot scenes and had other existing footage dubbed to create a talkie version, running 86 minutes.
- ConnectionsEdited into Der Zinker (1931)
- SoundtracksMiss Up-to-Date
(1929) (uncredited)
Words by Frank Eyton and music by Billy Mayerl
Performed by Cyril Ritchard
Featured review
Alfred Hitchcock's first talkie is an intriguing film, not entirely successful but still more enjoyable than some of the other films Hitch made around this time. The story starts with a woman cheating on her boyfriend, a Scotland Yard detective. When the man she's with tries to rape her, she kills him in self-defense. Afterwards a criminal who pieces it together blackmails her and her detective boyfriend.
A little creaky but that's to be expected under the circumstances. The film started out being made as a silent before it was decided to turn it into a sound picture. In spots it reverts back to a silent (without intertitles). This actually works in the film's favor. There are some really nicely done lengthy sequences with no dialogue, such as her walk home after she's killed the guy, punctuated by a scream. Good acting all around. Nice direction from Hitch. The museum climax is excellent; an early example of the defining set pieces that would become a Hitchcock trademark. Definitely worth a look if you're a fan. Or even if you're not, provided you enjoy pictures from this period. Not everyone does, unfortunately.
A little creaky but that's to be expected under the circumstances. The film started out being made as a silent before it was decided to turn it into a sound picture. In spots it reverts back to a silent (without intertitles). This actually works in the film's favor. There are some really nicely done lengthy sequences with no dialogue, such as her walk home after she's killed the guy, punctuated by a scream. Good acting all around. Nice direction from Hitch. The museum climax is excellent; an early example of the defining set pieces that would become a Hitchcock trademark. Definitely worth a look if you're a fan. Or even if you're not, provided you enjoy pictures from this period. Not everyone does, unfortunately.
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $160
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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