Young and Innocent

Hitchcock is in a class by himself. I'll give any of his films multiple viewings. The story and structure of "Young and Innocent" resemble "The 39 Steps," with a young woman helping a young man on the run thwart the police and prove his innocence. This film is a standout, though, not because of the story or acting (both charming), but because of a virtuoso bit of directing by the Master, in which the location of the killer is revealed. As I watched the scene unfold for the first time, I remember thinking, "This is what makes Hitchcock Hitchcock." I wish I had never seen any Hitchcock films so I could watch them all again for the first time. His is a brilliant body of work, and this is an often overlooked example of his mastery of the film art.

"Young and Innocent" is one of the best of Alfred Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood movies. It contains all of the features that characterized the finest of his British movies, and is (as many others have commented) a film often undeservedly overlooked amongst Hitchcock's large collection of classics.

The actors would all be unfamiliar to most contemporary American viewers, but it is a fine cast that does full justice to a good story, and that responds well to Hitchcock's expert direction. Derrick de Marney is engaging as the unjustly accused hero Robert Tisdall, and his character is balanced nicely by good performances from the rest of the cast (several of whom appeared in more than one of Hitchcock's British movies).

As is often the case with Hitchcock's British pictures, the title is capable of multiple interpretations. At the least, it could refer either to the hero, to the heroine, or to the overall atmosphere and themes of the movie. Young Tisdall is being chased by the law, but we know from the beginning that he is innocent, and his knowledge of that innocence enables him to remain upbeat and even playful despite the dangers and complications he faces. Erica (Nova Pilbeam), his reluctant friend and helper, is innocent in a different sense. In the story she finds her youthful naivete, especially the assumptions she has acquired in growing up as a chief police constable's daughter, challenged by the real world - perhaps for the first time in her life. Pilbeam is not a glamorous heroine (and this may be one of the reasons why "Young and Innocent" is unjustly neglected), but she was a good choice to portray the youthful earnestness and resulting moral dilemmas of her character.

Despite the film's short length, it is filled with classic Hitchcock touches of detail, artistry, and humor, many of which are more low-key than those in his more familiar Hollywood films. It is worth watching several times in order to catch and appreciate all of the details. Three sequences are especially worth noting: (i) the renowned tracking shot at the climax of the film, which is not only a fine technical achievement but also an ideal way to set up the suspenseful conclusion; (ii) the birthday party in the middle, which encapsulates in very subtle ways most of the themes and contrasts of the movie, and (iii) the sequence towards the beginning involving the hero's conference with his lawyer, his court appearance, and his escape, a sequence which is filled with comic details too numerous to catch all at once (including one of the director's most humorous cameos).

Any Hitchcock fan should thoroughly enjoy "Young and Innocent". Beyond that, any fan of thrillers who can look past an unfamiliar cast, and who is willing to look for the subtle touches that characterized the great director's British work, will also find the film a satisfying experience.

This is a good Hitchcock film, but on the lighter side. The acting may be disputed (certainly many dispute about it!), but in my opinion it is a very solid, entertaining, and well-acted picture. It does have much of Hitchcock about it (not surprisingly) and is well worth watching. All of the classic Hitchcock elements are there, and they fit together wonderfully: the musical score, the camera work, the twists and turns in the plot, the thrilling scenes, the build-up, the director himself ... and not to forget the story! This is built up very carefully, and contains many, many interesting side-glances and elements. But one needs to watch the film very carefully, or more than once, in order to find these. It is indeed a sort of '39 Steps', and a precursor to several later Hitchcock films, but in its own way it occupies a place rather different than any other Hitchcock film. I am referring to a certain 'bucolic' atmosphere, which is perhaps only equalled by 'The Trouble With Harry'. The parallels to this film have perhaps not yet been adequately explored.

Sort of a blueprint for any number of later, more bloated Hitchcocks: The man falsely accused of murder; the sympathetic miss who helps him, the set pieces in creepy places. This one has a lighter, more picaresque feel than most of the Master's movies, with irrelevant but diverting supporting characters, Maguffins, an unstarry cast, and an unusual dollop of humor. It's also blessed by a screenplay that leaps nimbly from improbability to improbability, as much as its more famous contemporaries, like "The 39 Steps" or "The Lady Vanishes."

The light tone throughout tips us off that everything's going to turn out all right, so there's less suspense than we associate with Hitchcock. Still, it's beautifully photographed (with one really stunning crane shot), beautifully paced, and enjoyably acted. The unstoried Nova Pilbeam is a standout: She's the ideal Hitchcock heroine, blonde, slender, and spirited.

Aside from the suspense, there are several notable scenes. Two minutes into things, and a man opens a front door. Suddenly facing us just beyond the railing is a roiling wall of water, an angry sea about to pour over us. I grabbed my seat cushion, hoping it would float. Then there's the flop house full of snoring vagrants, dead cockroaches, and peeling paint. Right away, I reached past my highball glass and took the wife's Coke. Topping that, is the drive into the mine tunnel. It's a marvel of special effects and timing, with an effect as stunning, I believe, as anything in today's digitally drenched cinema. Nonetheless, I checked the garage to make sure my car was still on all fours. The final scene was a contrast since I'd just watched a 40's musical with wild-man drummer Gene Krupa. Here, it's like watching a wind-up toy slowly losing its mind.

Nova Pilbeam is not exactly a glamor girl, with her over-sized brow and snub nose; still and all, for an 18 -year old she's one heck of an actress. This is a pretty slender exercise for Hitchcock, nothing terribly profound and a lot like The Thirty-Nine steps of two years before. Too bad De Marney doesn't generate the kind of charisma or sympathy the Robert Donat part calls for. Hitchcock was to plow this furrow of racing against the law a number of times. Here, it's Pilbeam going against her civic duty and constable father to help prove accused murderer De Marney's innocence. Their bond of trust grows over time, showing once more that young love often sees what the law cannot-- at least as far as the movies are concerned.

This may not be top-flight Hitchcock. Still, there are the usual humorous touches, darkly suggestive moments, and imaginative moves with the camera. So if you've got a spare hour and half, see why England should never have allowed that funny looking, fat guy an exit visa.