"Blackmail" (1929)

The first ten minutes of Alfred Hitchcock's  Blackmail begin as a silent, as Scotland Yard catches a criminal. One of these, detective Frank Webber, meets his girlfriend Alice later that night. Their awkward dinner conveys Webber's lack of interest in Alice, so her late night date with another man remains no surprise. However, Alice walks away from this secret date a murderer, and the plot twists from there.

I am a fan of early talkies, and this one is one of the best I have seen. When the film transitioned from silent to talkie, I literally exclaimed, "whoa!" It would have made sense either way. Furthermore, I am fascinated with what a consistent and quality filmmaker Hitchcock always was. His early work maintains the same standards classics like "Psycho," "The Birds," "Rear Window," etc. have that make him legendary today.

And, as always when I review a Hitchcock film, this review ends prematurely because of what I do not want to reveal. It remains worth seeking out.

~F.

Transported, courtesy "Easy Virtue" (1928)

I watched Easy Virtue last night, a silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock! I had never seen any of his silents. Honestly, I did not think it was a very good movie. The plot centered around a divorced woman, Larita, who escapes her scandalous past by traveling to the Riviera. There, She falls in love with a man, John, and marries him. However, when John takes her home to his family, his overbearing mother distrusts Larita, terrorizes her, and turns John against her. It sounds good enough, but for some reason it was not my cuppa. Despite this, in true Hitchcock style, lovely moments of costumes and scenery abounded.

Isn't this hat divine?? I never use that word to describe anything, so it must be!

By the way, this silent inspired the Easy Virtue remake a couple years ago with Jessica Biel. Or at least, that is what I assume. Their IMDB plot descriptions seem quite similar. 

~F. 

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

I am on an Alfred Hitchcock kick right now, which I love. He may stand as one of the more mainstream, "classic" film figures, but I think it's in good reason. His films always prove suspenseful, clever, and full of chic costumes. Though perhaps less widely-seen, The Lady Vanishes adheres to these qualities with as much grace as popular works. 

When Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) boards a train, she befriends an older woman named Miss Froy. Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty, who plays the "cute old lady" card flawlessly) soon disappears, and everyone Iris asks claims she never came on the train. Iris suspects more sinister moves, and enlists fellow passenger Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) to prove Miss Froy's existence.


Unfortunately, I cannot write more, as I would spoil the rest, but I enjoyed this. Usually I predict outcomes early, but the surprises remained refreshing. The train setting enhanced the suspense here, as the claustrophobic environment trapped each claim and character. Also, while Lockwood and Redgrave maintained chemistry, rarely does a film include an ensemble cast that works together to create such a believable set of characters. The ending contains more outrageous events, but I still felt they could happen to me, or anyone, at any time.

Finally, Lockwood's one costume was fabulous. I cannot find the costume credit anywhere (maybe Edith Head?), but I loved watching her stumble around the train her little black dress and pumps. It made me want to try harder when I travel.

~F.