JohnHowardReid Alfred Hitchock's first sound film, "Blackmail", is actually a part- talkie. In fact, it commences with a lengthy silent sequence which in fact has really nothing at all to do with the subsequent plot. This movie was once available on at least seven DVD labels. St Clair Vision had the best, a print as sharp and lustrous as the 35mm prints originally presented in theaters in 1929. I don't know if this print is still available, but hopefully it can still be purchased. Forsaking his usual style of utilizing lots of grays with little or no contrast, Jack Cox's effective camera-work makes great use of blacks and shadows. All told, the movie more than holds its own against similar Hollywood product at this time. True, Miss Anny Ondra does not always look super-attractive, but that fault likes mostly with her clothes, and particularly with her absolutely ridiculous cloche hat.The dubbing is very skillful. John Longden comes across okay as the hero, but as usual, the villains (Donald Calthrop and Cyril Ritchard) register with viewers with much more panache than the good guys.

petra_ste It's fascinating to watch early movies by great directors. From the perfect structure of Kubrick's The Killing to the masterful visual storytelling of Spielberg's Duel, from the audacious camera work of Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage to the gorgeous composition of Scott's The Duellists, one gets to spy the first hints of genius.Blackmail was Hitchcock's first talking picture, the story of a young woman who kills a man in self-defense and is later approached by a shady witness who wants money in exchange for his silence, while the protagonist's boyfriend, a Scotland Yard detective, gets involved in the case.The director's visual talent shines through, with touches like a match-cut between a fingerprint and the face of a suspect, a vertiginous view of a flight of stairs, the quietly sinister way the killing is shot. Blackmail includes also some of Hitch's recurring themes (an ordinary person involved in a crime, the fear of the police which dominates most of the director's work) and his black humour (the leering portrait of an old man who appears to mock the protagonists at their weakest moments).The movie peaks with the attack and killing halfway through; the last act is weaker. Still, for a picture which is almost 90 years old as I type this, it feels remarkably fresh and well-paced - a sure sign of a master at the helm.7/10

Zipper69 The premise of an "accidental" murder was visited by Hitchcock many times during his career and is central to the movie. Sadly, the result, originally planned as a silent with a number of scenes re-shot with sound and sound FX added to external shots is lumpy and uneven. Hitch, who was originally a writer of the dialog cards shown through silent movies didn't yet grasp the value of the spoken word and subtle acting for the camera. Consequently there is much hammy mugging to express anger, sadness, dismay and panic. Anny Oudra, subsequently a BIG star in German and Czech movies is very attractive but the need to dub another actress's voice in a disastrous "cut glass" accent, totally wrong for a store keeper's daughter is an epic fail. Similarly, Donald Calthrop, the blackmailer adopts a stage London accent that hovers somewhere between Claridges and Bethnal Green. The most egregious casting has to be John Longden as the hunky leading man, he wears an ill fitting suit, too short in the sleeve and leg and spends much of his time with his hands either in his pockets or massaging them menacingly at chest level. He seems to have only three expressions, anger, with dark brows furrowed, joy, with a rictus of a smile and baffled, with head cocked and eyes half closed.The movie has a place in history but as a story it is uneven and pedestrian and sunk by the limited skills of it's leading players.

Spuzzlightyear Back in 1929, when all the Brits were saying "I Say.." before each sentence (Erasure even named an album after that custom), talkies were just coming into fashion. Hitchcock, when he finished his new film, "Blackmail", reshot some key scenes with sound, dubbed some, and so here we have Britain's first talkie. It's actually a bit thin plot wise, but that can be forgiven because this so amazingly shot you don't realize the plot doesn't really kick in until 3/4 of the way through. Anny Ondra, whoever she is, is quite amazing and amazingly beautiful as the protagonist, who's one night affair turns deadly. Hitchcock plays around with the shot structure a lot, for the benefit of all of us, and this is a lot of fun to watch.