The Early Hitchcock Collection Details

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Context is the key

When viewing the Alfred Hitchcock Collection it is important to understand the times in which they were made. Technologically talkies were in their infancy and many directors including Hitchcock were experimenting with new sounds and equipment.

For that reason the silents here like 'The Ring' are the most polished and Hitchcockian in style (not necessarily content).

For the talkies I'd pick out 'Blackmail' as incredibly inventive and resonant of later Hitch works (transference of guilt, the struggle between duty and love and of course a fair bit of sex and violence).

It is worth noting that when compared to movies of the same decade almost all of these stand up well, although apart from a few camera tricks 'Champagne' does fall a little flat.

'Rich and Strange' is an oddity that not everyone gets. Another review mentioned racism about the Chinese. The scene at the end of the film shows 'difference' of cultures, and it is the reaction of the English characters that is the focus (they can't understand how Chinese fishermen can kill and eat a cat...the couple find them cute and furry and why they leave a comrade to drown. The film itself points up the fact that this couple were small fish (naive ones at that) in a big pond.

If you watch these movies you will find entertainment, but you must engage with the era to gain full appreciation.

Early talker

Obviously suffering from the limitations of the medium at the time, this film should really

only be watched by Hitchophiles. The story is an interesting one, particularly for those who thought that sex was only invented in 1963, and some of the scenes remind one of later Hitchcock classics, in particular 'Psycho'. The cinematography is at times great, for example look at the scene when the girl thinks she's going to be accused and the shadow of the window reflects a noose round her neck. A great early film from the undoubted master of British cinema. Look out for him as a passenger being pestered by a little boy on the train.