Alfred Hitchcock is one of the biggest names in film history, the immortal master of suspense that would generate numerous and imperishable films, creating school and leaving perennial imprint on subsequent generations of filmmakers. Now, the stage of talkies in the genius of suspense is not the best known for the vast majority of public viewers, but the fact is that the British master also had his moment in the silent film, far less prolific than the rear sound stage, but not without good works. The film now discussed is the last one from good Hitch for silent cinema, still shoting in his native Britain, but already assimilating and accepting what since 1928 was an inescapable reality, the advent of sound in cinema. Hitchcock since his inception was already given to literary adaptations to the cinema, now adapts a bestseller by Hall Caine, in which the story of a love triangle is portrayed. It is the story of a fisherman, lifelong friend of an eminent lawyer, both meet a beautiful girl, they fall in love with her, but is the fisherman who is closer to her; being rejected by her father because over his poor economic condition, he decides to travel, make money and come back for her, she promises to wait, and he leaves her under the care of his friend, a decision that he will regret. Attention to the farewell of silent movies by Hitch.
With images of the sea and sailing world we enter a port where fishermen are working and earn their daily bread. Here we see the fisherman Pete Quilliam (Carl Brisson), who receives visit by his friend Philip Christian (Malcolm Keen), successful lawman who reports of an employment possibility. They go to the Isle of Man, where they meet young Kate Cregeen (Anny Ondra), daughter of the local business owner, and both are spellbound by the girl. It seems that Pete has more chemistry with her, but Kate's father, Caesar Cregeen (Randle Ayrton), completely rejects fisherman because of his humble condition. Pete gets, however, Kate to promise to wait for him, he will travel to Africa to raise money and approval of Caesar, leaving the girl in the care of his good friend Philip. Time passes, Kate and the lawyer have approached themselves, they have fallen in love, false news about the death of Pete makes them consume their love, but the fisherman lives, and eventually returns to the island. Upon returning, the three are reunited, both hide the truth to Pete, he and Kate get married, she has become pregnant, but the child is Philip's, who has gone away from it all, to focus on his career, he is about to be appointed Judge. Philip gets the nomination, he and Kate have not forgotten each other, she runs away from home, finally the truth can not be hidden any more and the three characters must take decisions.
The image with which all credits of the film are seen presents some large boulders in the bay, the surf caressing the rocks, fiery as the passions that move humans, we are being introduced a prelude to the story that we are about to watch. Some moralistic intention peeps out in the Hitch film, when a text box reports the thought of how no matter if a man wins it all, if in change loses his soul, a feature that curiously would not leave the cinema of the British, and the friends of the French nouvelle vague, Truffaut in the front, later would seek to claim. The prologue of this short film will be diagramming its stage, the bay and its intense waves, followed by the serene journey that makes the camera around the port, make an introduction to the world of fishermen, because they are also reached by the camera with general shots; the physical context of history has been presented to us promptly. Good Hitchcock in his cinematic language at the end of the silent era shows sober, creating pleasant images, harmonious framings, which at the times that flow, are appreciable. While there are not many outdoor shots, we have a significant example of it in the short sequence of Philip walking in the park with Kate, with imposing and beautiful general shots, but there will be other relevant sequence in this regard. I refer to the sequence in which both meet on the beach, with some interesting low-angle and high-angle shots, with pierced rocks framing the characters, setting up an interesting visual exercise that differs from the rest of the footage, another exercise outdoors where the filmmaker makes good use of these open spaces, and the posibilities of that bay. Also among the resources used we will see the classic overlayed planes, and while not use this too much, we can observe it in certain sequences, a fairly common technique in then cinema, which Hitch seemes not to have had problems in running.
The narrative strength of the picture lies partly in the first shots appreciated, the resource becomes powerful narrative tool of silent film, of silent stage of the great Hitch. The director says goodbye to his time in the silent cinema paying tribute to the resources of that phase of the cinema, and so we see some images or elements that narrate without words, and an exemplary sequence of this is the one with Kate's diary. Two female hands explore the tiny notebook where when turning pages we see the interaction of both, with Philip, the closeness that the characters have developed, particularly being eloquent the sheet where she strikeout "Mr. Christian" to write "Philip". Extraordinary use of narrative tool, wordless and through an image we are witnessing the change in their feelings, it has definitely been an approach, and is a good example of how the master performed his last brushstrokes managing the expressive and narrative resources that the projecting silent cinema offered in its dusk. Another moment as well exemplary becomes when Philip and Kate consume their torrid affair, in the family mill, she drives the gears of the mill, while the camera focuses these gears moving, we know what is happening, again Hitch uses an expressive and at the time narrative tool of silent movies, communicating without words for the last time, at least in a soundless film; then the mill will come back to scene when Caesar compares it with a mill of God, slowly rotating, causing discomfort and remorse in clandestine lovers. The film however gets acquiring a darker aesthetic, as the psyche of the characters is degrading, in particular according to Kate, and her slow debacle, because she has virtually led a double life. It is true that in some sequences a marked theatricality halo in its conception is noticed -the final sequence with the three of them is a good example of it-, but overall the feature does not feel like it fell too much in those depicts.
It prevails on the movie a not so dynamic or loose camera, although is efficient in administering the shots, generating medium shots, long shots, American shots, good frames of the protagonists also; as stated, in his farewell of silent films, Hitchcock uses a sober and serene, not spectacular language, even to say that Hitch was sopposedly more pending of the talkie
Blackmail and its realization, since both features were held almost simultaneously; those were prolific years for the British. Hitchcock set the adaptation of a novel where the protagonists are beings prisoners of the circumstances, their unbridled passions, some passions which generally have fatal outcomes, but the picture is not given that, a picture that certainly seems to have left unsatisfied writer Hall and filmmaker as well. The protagonists and their plight suggest a tragic corollary, like a pressure cooker ready to explode, but finally the director chooses rather a harmless, lukewarm outcome, that does not feel entirely according to the circumstances presented, and a likely source of nonconformity from the writer. It's a simple story, without much ornaments or spectacular twists in its development, is a story that rests on passions, jealousies, lies, love and hate, that's why it is quite human, so it feels true, close and plausible. As acting attraction we have the Ondra, beautiful playing well her mercurial character, we delight seeing her beautiful and graceful, Kate's youthful spontaneity and volubility are well embodied by the Polish actress, who gives freshness and innocence to the island girl. The story is known, and there are even videos, of beautiful Ondra auditioning for the first sound film by Hitchcock,
Blackmail, released the same year as this feature. Apparently the Eastern Europe accent of actress, although did filmmaker doubt at the beginning, eventually convince him though, and thus closed the Polish the stage of the silent cinema for Hitchcock, and inaugurated the sound stage, certainly a nice trivia. She is the subject of most of the close-ups of the film, and that is something to thank, for these close ups of her beautiful face are the aesthetically more attractive matter of the movie, reflecting and emphasizing her lightness and frivolity, because at times there is real uncertainty of what will the girl do, who behaves like a weathervane for most of the film. I think the film can not be considered as a masterpiece, it is still far from the greatest achievements, both silent and sound by filmmaker, but it's a good movie, something necessary and unmissable for Hitch fans, his last silent film.
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the biggest names in film history, the immortal master of suspense that would generate numerous and imperishable films, creating school and leaving perennial imprint on subsequent generations of filmmakers. Now, the stage of talkies in the genius of suspense is not the best known for the vast majority of public viewers, but the fact is that the British master also had his moment in the silent film, far less prolific than the rear sound stage, but not without good works. The film now discussed is the last one from good Hitch for silent cinema, still shoting in his native Britain, but already assimilating and accepting what since 1928 was an inescapable reality, the advent of sound in cinema. Hitchcock since his inception was already given to literary adaptations to the cinema, now adapts a bestseller by Hall Caine, in which the story of a love triangle is portrayed. It is the story of a fisherman, lifelong friend of an eminent lawyer, both meet a beautiful girl, they fall in love with her, but is the fisherman who is closer to her; being rejected by her father because over his poor economic condition, he decides to travel, make money and come back for her, she promises to wait, and he leaves her under the care of his friend, a decision that he will regret. Attention to the farewell of silent movies by Hitch.
The narrative strength of the picture lies partly in the first shots appreciated, the resource becomes powerful narrative tool of silent film, of silent stage of the great Hitch. The director says goodbye to his time in the silent cinema paying tribute to the resources of that phase of the cinema, and so we see some images or elements that narrate without words, and an exemplary sequence of this is the one with Kate's diary. Two female hands explore the tiny notebook where when turning pages we see the interaction of both, with Philip, the closeness that the characters have developed, particularly being eloquent the sheet where she strikeout "Mr. Christian" to write "Philip". Extraordinary use of narrative tool, wordless and through an image we are witnessing the change in their feelings, it has definitely been an approach, and is a good example of how the master performed his last brushstrokes managing the expressive and narrative resources that the projecting silent cinema offered in its dusk. Another moment as well exemplary becomes when Philip and Kate consume their torrid affair, in the family mill, she drives the gears of the mill, while the camera focuses these gears moving, we know what is happening, again Hitch uses an expressive and at the time narrative tool of silent movies, communicating without words for the last time, at least in a soundless film; then the mill will come back to scene when Caesar compares it with a mill of God, slowly rotating, causing discomfort and remorse in clandestine lovers. The film however gets acquiring a darker aesthetic, as the psyche of the characters is degrading, in particular according to Kate, and her slow debacle, because she has virtually led a double life. It is true that in some sequences a marked theatricality halo in its conception is noticed -the final sequence with the three of them is a good example of it-, but overall the feature does not feel like it fell too much in those depicts.
It prevails on the movie a not so dynamic or loose camera, although is efficient in administering the shots, generating medium shots, long shots, American shots, good frames of the protagonists also; as stated, in his farewell of silent films, Hitchcock uses a sober and serene, not spectacular language, even to say that Hitch was sopposedly more pending of the talkie Blackmail and its realization, since both features were held almost simultaneously; those were prolific years for the British. Hitchcock set the adaptation of a novel where the protagonists are beings prisoners of the circumstances, their unbridled passions, some passions which generally have fatal outcomes, but the picture is not given that, a picture that certainly seems to have left unsatisfied writer Hall and filmmaker as well. The protagonists and their plight suggest a tragic corollary, like a pressure cooker ready to explode, but finally the director chooses rather a harmless, lukewarm outcome, that does not feel entirely according to the circumstances presented, and a likely source of nonconformity from the writer. It's a simple story, without much ornaments or spectacular twists in its development, is a story that rests on passions, jealousies, lies, love and hate, that's why it is quite human, so it feels true, close and plausible. As acting attraction we have the Ondra, beautiful playing well her mercurial character, we delight seeing her beautiful and graceful, Kate's youthful spontaneity and volubility are well embodied by the Polish actress, who gives freshness and innocence to the island girl. The story is known, and there are even videos, of beautiful Ondra auditioning for the first sound film by Hitchcock, Blackmail, released the same year as this feature. Apparently the Eastern Europe accent of actress, although did filmmaker doubt at the beginning, eventually convince him though, and thus closed the Polish the stage of the silent cinema for Hitchcock, and inaugurated the sound stage, certainly a nice trivia. She is the subject of most of the close-ups of the film, and that is something to thank, for these close ups of her beautiful face are the aesthetically more attractive matter of the movie, reflecting and emphasizing her lightness and frivolity, because at times there is real uncertainty of what will the girl do, who behaves like a weathervane for most of the film. I think the film can not be considered as a masterpiece, it is still far from the greatest achievements, both silent and sound by filmmaker, but it's a good movie, something necessary and unmissable for Hitch fans, his last silent film.
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