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Topic:
The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: "Strangers on a Train" on TCM tonight...
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Darth-Stryphe
Title: Saga Manager
Registered:
Apr '01
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Date Posted:
8/11/06 4:14pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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Though some of his thrillers are very funny, and his black humour is obvious in some films, his one attempt at a black comedy, "The Trouble With Harry" didn't work.
I disagree. It may not have done well, but, for my money, it's one of my favorite Hitchcock films (probably number nine out of my top ten favorites).
Haven't seen "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
I'll reserve comment until we get to discussing it proper.
Why are the posters for these films so much more interesting than anything produced today.
No Photoshop.
I haven't seen it, but this is really interesting. Even though it's not a suspense, it seems to clearly have a lot of the elements that would mark Hitch's famous suspense films. I would be interested in seeing this one. Apparently you can get it on DVD along with 'Blackmail'.
Yes, I have that set. I haven't seen Easy Virtue yet, though. Of the few Hitchcock films I haven't seen (all in the early era), this one, June and the Peacock and the Ring hold no interest for me. However, since I do have this one, I'll watch it someday.
Re: Blackmail, this is the oldest of his films that I have seen. It is good, all things considered. Let me preference my opinion on this and my opinion on all his films from his first decade by saying I am of the opinion that the art-form of film was never fully realized (i.e, matured into a valid art form) until the mid-to-late 30s. Everything before that is really experimental, trial and error and not that great, in my book. As a result, I'm not the best one to give feedback on pre-1935 films.
Now, specifically with Blackmail - for its era, it's good. The main thing I like about this one the dark tone. Usually these older movies have a reputation of being happy all the way through, or ending happily. This film does neither. The "good guys" win, but the characters go through a traumatic experience which leaves a dark mark on them, and this is clearly indicated in the ending. Also, to achieve their goal, an innocent man dies - well, OK, he isn't "innocent", he's the blackmailer, but the blackmailer is just some guy down on his luck during the depression who decides to take advantage of the situation. Sure, not a "good guy" or even likable, but (a) he's right in his accusations, and (b) when he realizes the game is up he tries to come clean, but is still killed for a crime he does not commit. Not a traditional happy ending at all, but not too uncommon for Hitchcock.
There are a few good segments in the film. It's interesting to note that blackmail only gets about twenty minutes of the screentime of the plot.
Hitchcock has some fun with the use of sound in this one. In particular there is one scene where the mother of the lead character mentions the word "knife", which makes the lead character jumpy. The dialogue fades out and all the audience can hear is the word "knife" pop-up every few seconds, until finally the word is shouted and the main character jumps (good use of psychological prespective.)
Blackmail is also a good intro to the Hitchock "guilty woman" theme which we would see play out a lot throughout his career in the years to come.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/11/06 4:19pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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I am of the opinion that the art-form of film was never fully realized (i.e, matured into a valid art form) until the mid-to-late 30s.
I can't watch a film like "The Last Laugh" or "Sunrise" and agree with that statement. I think the very best silent films had an art form of their own, which was destroyed by sound.
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Darth-Stryphe
Title: Saga Manager
Registered:
Apr '01
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Date Posted:
8/11/06 4:39pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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I've yet to see a silent film I liked. I've never bought the "sound ruined the art form" argument, because the films use dialogue, even silent films. Dialogue should be spoken. Now, it is possible to do a film without dialogue, in which case silent film would be a valid medium, but it would be difficult and you wouldn't have very many of these.
But really, I didn't want to side-track this thread into a silent vs. sound era debate, I just wanted you guys to know where I was coming from when I critic anything prior to 39 Steps (and actually, I've only seen three Hitchcock films prior to 39 Steps, Blackmail being the first).
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/11/06 4:42pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
- Date Edited:
8/11/06 4:45pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Zaz
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Murnau didn't believe in title cards and thought you should be able to do a film without. "The Last Laugh" had one; "Sunrise" only a few. They are so engrossing, you don't really miss sound. And like you, I disdained silent films until I was able to see some really good ones.
I don't think sound ruined the art form; most films were improved by sound, because most directors and writers weren't very good anyway. Some directors adapted readily to sound, like Hitchcock. But there was a small number of good silent films, and the particular language of those films was destroyed by sound.
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Darth-Stryphe
Title: Saga Manager
Registered:
Apr '01
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Date Posted:
8/11/06 7:09pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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Most people today (a vast majority) do not think sound ruined film, but there is that old school (and I mean old school) fringe that still clings to that notion. I remember having to watch a documentary in college about how the coming of sound was a aken to great cultural tragedy. I remember thinking "huh?"
I didn't think Blackmail felt all that much like a silent film. He moved into sound pretty well, as you say. Interestingly enough Rich and Strange (isn't that his next film?) felt more like a silent film that a sound film. Rich and Strange was definitely a step back, in many ways.
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Rogue1-and-a-half
Title: Manager: Amphitheatre
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
8/12/06 7:21pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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Zaz posted:
I am of the opinion that the art-form of film was never fully realized (i.e, matured into a valid art form) until the mid-to-late 30s.
I can't watch a film like "The Last Laugh" or "Sunrise" and agree with that statement. I think the very best silent films had an art form of their own, which was destroyed by sound.
I don't think sound was a disaster, but if you can watch Steamboat Bill, Jr. or Our Hospitality or City Lights and say that they aren't truly great art, then we simply have different definitions of 'art.'
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JohnWesleyDowney
Registered:
Jan '04
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Date Posted:
8/13/06 12:57am
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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Agreed Rogue, CITY LIGHTS was an awesome film, Chaplin at his best.
Pure cinema and pure genius. Few people took silent film to the heights
that Chaplin did.
I think some context is appropriate for the thread.
Back in 1929, directors were not the anointed stars they are today.
When Hitchcock started making films, no one had ever
heard of Truffaut's auteur theory. That was several
decades away. It was a very, very different world then.
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How many movies do you think Industrial Light and Magic has worked on? WRONG. http://www.ilm.com/ilm_services.html "Films fulfill an unconscious spiritual desire that human beings have to share a common memory." - Martin Scorcese
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/13/06 9:46am
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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NOTICE: Hitchcock's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" will be on TCM on August 17th, 2006. Check your local listings. I know I will, because I haven't seen it.
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solojones
Registered:
Sep '00
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Date Posted:
8/13/06 10:38pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
- Date Edited:
8/13/06 10:38pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
solojones
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Today is the 105th Anniversary of Hitchcock's birthday. Encore has been having a weekend-long Hitchcock marathon. So, uh, happy belated birthday Hitch?
I'm not very qualified to enter a debate about silent film because I really haven't seen much silent film. I will say, though, from a theatre history point of view, it's always struck me as curious that some people had trouble adapting to the 'talkies'. Hadn't any of them ever been to a play? The things had been around for a while, you know.
Actually, Stryphe, speaking of theatre, our next film is:
Juno and the Paycock (1930)
From my trusty, rusty book:
Set in the early 1920's during the Irish civil war, Hitchcock and Alma Reville's adaptation of Sean O'Casey's play depicts the hardships of a poor Dublin family.
[image=http://www.terra.es/personal8/hitchcock01a/1930%20Juno%20and%20the%20Paycock%20(ing).jpg]
This poster describes the film as 'A tragi-comedy of Irish Life which reaches the highest pinnacle of dramatic intensity'... I don't know about the rest of you, but it seems like they're trying too hard. This is Hitchcock's lowest rated film on IMDB, with a mere 4.7 stars. Yeesh.
The good news is we're only 7 films away from one I've actually seen  That brings up something I need to ask you all, though. That film will be The Man Who Knew Too Much, the original version. Should we talk about it then individually, talk about it later along with its remake, or talk about it and its remake then?
-sj loves kevin spacey
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6 x 9 = 42 Proud member of the Colbert Nation  Obi-Wan Kenobi and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Ghost Ship Executor All Hail Cliegg's Blue Leg!
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/14/06 6:14am
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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Talk about it in sequence.
I would like to see Hitchcock's attempt at drama, but this is another film that's difficult to find.
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solojones
Registered:
Sep '00
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Date Posted:
8/14/06 11:33am
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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See, I'm not sure if the poor quality (supposedly) of this film would have more to do with the source material or the direction. Actually, in general, I wonder how much of Hitchcock's films are ever attributed to the screenwriters. Yes, often Hitch had a fair amount of involvement in the development of stories. But I think probably the amount of credit due his screenwriters is underplayed. For instance, Psycho is one of my Hitch's best films and is my favourite film of all time, but would never have been possible without Joseph Steffano taking Robert Bloch's crappy novel and turning it into a great script.
-sj loves kevin spacey
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6 x 9 = 42 Proud member of the Colbert Nation Obi-Wan Kenobi and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Ghost Ship Executor All Hail Cliegg's Blue Leg!
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/14/06 11:45am
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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Hitchcock did contribute to the scripts, mainly by shaping them by describing what he wanted to the screenwriter. This worked better with some people than others. He greatly liked, for instance, Thornton Wilder, who worked on "Shadow of a Doubt"; he hated, OTOH, Raymond Chandler ("Strangers on a Train") and had his work rewritten by a woman called Czerni Ormond (?) In the early days, he and his wife often collaborated on the scripts (though they were always attributed to her). After the failure of "Under Capricorn" she refused further involvement, but her opinion always ruled. If Hitchcock wanted to tell someone that he liked their work, he'd say that Alma liked it.
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Rogue1-and-a-half
Title: Manager: Amphitheatre
Registered:
Nov '00
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Date Posted:
8/14/06 3:35pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
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I've always found Hitch fascinating for the simple reason that he spanned the artform like no one else. He saw silent cinema die and usher in sound. He saw the rise and fall of the production code and he saw the opening flourishes of the MPAA. He lived in the experimental phase of early cinema, saw the big studio system reach its zenith and die and saw the rise of independent cinema . . . I mean, great God, the man stands as a metaphor for the industry as a whole.
I tried to watch an old VHS release of Juno and the Paycock (O'Casey is generally considered to be the best of the Irish playwrights, so I was curious to see it . . . ), but the tape was such poor quality I couldn't really see anything, so I gave up.
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I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
Without having ever felt sorry for itself.
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Darth-Stryphe
Title: Saga Manager
Registered:
Apr '01
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Date Posted:
8/14/06 4:07pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Blackmail"(1929)
- Date Edited:
8/14/06 4:08pm (1 edits total)
Edited By:
Darth-Stryphe
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I've never heard anything good about Juno and the Paycock, so I have never wanted to see it.
EDIT - hope you don't mind, but I updated the thread title.
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Zaz
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered:
Oct '98
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Date Posted:
8/14/06 4:16pm
Subject:
RE: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Now Discussing "Juno and the Paycock"(1930)
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Mind, why would I mind? Any help is welcome. 
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