Before Alfred Hitchcock began to make sound films, and before he reached immortal fame as the master of suspense, the filmmaker took steps in silent cinema, in which about a dozen films produced. This film is his third feature, but, according to many critics and the filmmaker himself, could be considered his first film, in the sense that it is the first film containing so many major guidelines, directives, themes that would guide the rest of his pictures, is the first truly Hitchcockian film. From the beginning Hitch expressed his taste for cinema adapting a literary work, and this time the adapted novel is the work of Marie Belloc Lowndes, which as well was inspired by the notorious Jack the Ripper murders. Set in his native England, the portrayed story introduces us to a young guest at an inn, where there is much fear of a serial murderer who is killing women in the town, all blondes; the young fellow, who has a little strange habits, develops approach and attraction with the daughter of the family that hosts him, but everything is complicated when he becomes the prime suspect in the murders, especially when she is committed to the police officer handling the case. A remarkable silent film, was the first time that Hitch towered in a thriller full of intrigue, it was the first time that left imprint of his genius, the best Alfred Hitchcock had just been born.
In a British city, the first thing to appreciate is an alarmed and terrified crowd, as the body of a woman has appeared, the police begins to conduct research and warnings about this, which is not the first murder of this kind. Then we see a guest house, an inn whose housewife is Mrs. Bunting (Marie Ault), she lives with her husband (Arthur Chesney), and his daughter Daisy (June Howard Tripp), whom is courted by Joe (Malcolm Keen). Then it comes for hosting a new tenant (Ivor Novello), he has no problem paying a month in advance for a room. Joe, who is a policeman, is put in charge with the case of multiple murders, must search the murderer, while Daisy begins to meet and approaching the new host; she, despite consenting courtship of Joe and listening to his marriage proposal, actually is not convinced of marrying him. The days pass, Joe begins to suspect the host, who in turn develops pleasantness for the company of the female, there is an attraction which is reciprocated, as Daisy manifest preference for the mysterious young man, leaving aside the police. But Joe does not doubt anymore, breaks into the young's room, finds elements that incriminate him decisively, a situation from which the host flees. Local crowd thinks, as the detective, he is the culprit, and they are just about to lynch him, but there will be an opportunity to clarify everything at once.
The picture declares its intentions from the start, after seeing a picture with a certain set of contrast, the first foreground itself of the film is that of a woman screaming, screaming wildly, after which appears on the screen the words
To Night - Golden Curls. Great premonition, appropriate anguish and oppression because afterwards we appreciate the appearance of the first female corpse, suspense and death have already been exposed. We have in this statement, To Night - Golden Curls, a sort of leitmotif recurrently appearing, remembering the murderer obsession, blonde curls, blonde victims to kill; even at the end of the film, with everything clarified, and the couple hugging, will reappear the legend, it was already printed an obsession of the murderer, but interestingly, of the filmmaker as well, whose weakness for blondes and his use of them in his main films is legendary. In the same vein, it is pleasant to nottice how Hitchcock is showing some signs of being a sort of modern director making silent movies, because although obviously he is limited to the resources that silent cinema offered, his narrative was already outlining resources of a new era of cinema. Proof of this is the sequence of a detective typing the police report, eyewitness accounts about the murderer: that blank, while being written, tells us these details, which are not exposed in a traditional way with text boxes. Also, a neon fulfill the same role when its dynamism gives us more scope of the situation, it is a way of telling rather more dynamic than traditional; in the twilight of silent films, Hitchcock began to show glimpses of relative modernity in his forms, in his language, and this would be seen in his later pictures. Thus, within the repertoire of technical resources of the filmmaker, although is not yet exploited all his imagery, we can start appreciating some notable effects such as some frames overlays when the family imagines the guest walking on the floor above. With this resource, coupled with low angle shots used in that sequence, intrigue continues being engendered, uncertainty and some mystery, while in turn shows his wit, in the final years of silent films.
In the film we can also appreciate a nice halo of expressionism, perfectly normal being that German movement one of the largest schools then in cinema, and indeed Hitchcock prints something like that, with some light and shadows game, lighting contrasts distorting reality a bit, and contributing to the overall atmosphere of perennial suspense. In this,
the first Hitchcockian film, also is remarkable that in certain sequences suspense is generated by simplicity, details, simple details that together make up the total suspense, make us think that the murderer is the host. Small details like the suspect's first interactions with Daisy, he gets a knife, brandishing it with uncertain intentions toward her; then, as they play chess, takes a metal rod to stir the ashes of the fire, and again seems to have dishonest intentions against her, later the police find plans in his room, a female photograph as well. Until the end, all the details are incriminating against him, it seems that he is the murderer, or at least mildly, we are being insinuated of that. Further details, apparently minor ones but actually important, are for example the images of the candelabrum, constantly swinging, with which it is understood that the young man is walking, walking without stopping, restlessness and intrigue are reinforced. And the suspense is further strengthened in turn by Hitch's montage, is an at moments frantic montage in which the succession of images multiplies the emotion, foregrounds, detailed closeups of faces, objects, watches, scenarios details, feet walking. All that framework, certainly frantic assembly when needed resting on correct and accurate shots, is proof that the camera work and its expressive and narrative possibilities was always one of the most important watchwords in Hitchcock, his artistic tool was always a resource well exploited by the director. Final detail of drama and suspense we will get when see the already proven innocent about to be lynched by the crowd, when handcuffs got hooked on a fence, leaving him almost at the mercy of a human mass ready to execute him for crimes he didn't commit.
There are noticeable change from the first moment he appears, with music, tense and mysterious, diametrically opposed to the privacy and tranquility of the family, in addition to the detail of light bulb going out, the individual who appears with a scarf covering half of his face, as it indicated the descriptions of witnesses on the murderer. All these details weave intrigue, uncertainty, the master was discovering what he does best in a film. There are elements that will certainly turn the film into the first work fully identifiable as a Hitchcock's creation, classic elements of his films, we have one of his biggest vertices: the false culprit that is immersed in unexpected nightmare, and he must run to prove his innocence, and even to save his life. Added to this is the intrigue of course, it is the first film by Hitch in which the mystery and uncertainty are the main ingredients, had just born the best Hitch, he had found his definitive course in the art of cinema. And his debut in this area is successful, embryonically cemented his style and personality as a director, the entire picture is aimed to unravel the mystery, the identity of the real murderer almost remains in the background, it is not a film about a murder but above suspicion, uncertainty, and suspense is due to the effective realization of it all. It is a variety of
his suspense, the false culprit figure that has been seen many times in his later films, has here a different nuance in the treatment given, because unlike other films (
North by Northwest (1959), only to give an example), here it is not limited to display only an individual wanting to escape the Kafkaesque situation where he is caught. This feature is a bit challenging to the public, because all the little details indicate that the host is the murderer, a kind of anti-hero is configured, at least until everything is finally clear. Another detail proper of films by Hitch becomes the romance developed during all wanderings, and particularly the love triangle, so typical in his initial director stage (
Young and Innocent (1937), to give another example), and hence, for the connoisseur of the British master oeuvre, certainly this is the first film containing the main edges of Hitchcockian cinema, including the first of his classic cameos in his features. As the director himself recognized, this is the first film with all his cornerstones, or many of them at least, as even some humor we will find, is his first foray into intrigue, he found his subject, his effectiveness to capture the suspense evidences it, is a certainly necessary silent film feature.
In a British city, the first thing to appreciate is an alarmed and terrified crowd, as the body of a woman has appeared, the police begins to conduct research and warnings about this, which is not the first murder of this kind. Then we see a guest house, an inn whose housewife is Mrs. Bunting (Marie Ault), she lives with her husband (Arthur Chesney), and his daughter Daisy (June Howard Tripp), whom is courted by Joe (Malcolm Keen). Then it comes for hosting a new tenant (Ivor Novello), he has no problem paying a month in advance for a room. Joe, who is a policeman, is put in charge with the case of multiple murders, must search the murderer, while Daisy begins to meet and approaching the new host; she, despite consenting courtship of Joe and listening to his marriage proposal, actually is not convinced of marrying him. The days pass, Joe begins to suspect the host, who in turn develops pleasantness for the company of the female, there is an attraction which is reciprocated, as Daisy manifest preference for the mysterious young man, leaving aside the police. But Joe does not doubt anymore, breaks into the young's room, finds elements that incriminate him decisively, a situation from which the host flees. Local crowd thinks, as the detective, he is the culprit, and they are just about to lynch him, but there will be an opportunity to clarify everything at once.
The picture declares its intentions from the start, after seeing a picture with a certain set of contrast, the first foreground itself of the film is that of a woman screaming, screaming wildly, after which appears on the screen the words To Night - Golden Curls. Great premonition, appropriate anguish and oppression because afterwards we appreciate the appearance of the first female corpse, suspense and death have already been exposed. We have in this statement, To Night - Golden Curls, a sort of leitmotif recurrently appearing, remembering the murderer obsession, blonde curls, blonde victims to kill; even at the end of the film, with everything clarified, and the couple hugging, will reappear the legend, it was already printed an obsession of the murderer, but interestingly, of the filmmaker as well, whose weakness for blondes and his use of them in his main films is legendary. In the same vein, it is pleasant to nottice how Hitchcock is showing some signs of being a sort of modern director making silent movies, because although obviously he is limited to the resources that silent cinema offered, his narrative was already outlining resources of a new era of cinema. Proof of this is the sequence of a detective typing the police report, eyewitness accounts about the murderer: that blank, while being written, tells us these details, which are not exposed in a traditional way with text boxes. Also, a neon fulfill the same role when its dynamism gives us more scope of the situation, it is a way of telling rather more dynamic than traditional; in the twilight of silent films, Hitchcock began to show glimpses of relative modernity in his forms, in his language, and this would be seen in his later pictures. Thus, within the repertoire of technical resources of the filmmaker, although is not yet exploited all his imagery, we can start appreciating some notable effects such as some frames overlays when the family imagines the guest walking on the floor above. With this resource, coupled with low angle shots used in that sequence, intrigue continues being engendered, uncertainty and some mystery, while in turn shows his wit, in the final years of silent films.
In the film we can also appreciate a nice halo of expressionism, perfectly normal being that German movement one of the largest schools then in cinema, and indeed Hitchcock prints something like that, with some light and shadows game, lighting contrasts distorting reality a bit, and contributing to the overall atmosphere of perennial suspense. In this, the first Hitchcockian film, also is remarkable that in certain sequences suspense is generated by simplicity, details, simple details that together make up the total suspense, make us think that the murderer is the host. Small details like the suspect's first interactions with Daisy, he gets a knife, brandishing it with uncertain intentions toward her; then, as they play chess, takes a metal rod to stir the ashes of the fire, and again seems to have dishonest intentions against her, later the police find plans in his room, a female photograph as well. Until the end, all the details are incriminating against him, it seems that he is the murderer, or at least mildly, we are being insinuated of that. Further details, apparently minor ones but actually important, are for example the images of the candelabrum, constantly swinging, with which it is understood that the young man is walking, walking without stopping, restlessness and intrigue are reinforced. And the suspense is further strengthened in turn by Hitch's montage, is an at moments frantic montage in which the succession of images multiplies the emotion, foregrounds, detailed closeups of faces, objects, watches, scenarios details, feet walking. All that framework, certainly frantic assembly when needed resting on correct and accurate shots, is proof that the camera work and its expressive and narrative possibilities was always one of the most important watchwords in Hitchcock, his artistic tool was always a resource well exploited by the director. Final detail of drama and suspense we will get when see the already proven innocent about to be lynched by the crowd, when handcuffs got hooked on a fence, leaving him almost at the mercy of a human mass ready to execute him for crimes he didn't commit.
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