ALFRED HITCHCOCK
Bil’s rating (out of 5): B.
United Kingdom, 1929. British International Pictures. Screenplay by Eliot Stannard, based on the novel by Hall Caine. Cinematography by Jack E. Cox. Produced by John Maxwell. Music by Xavier Berthelot. roduction Design by C. Wilfred Arnold. Film Editing by Emile de Ruelle.
Alfred Hitchcock’s last silent film is one so unbearable, I think even he could hardly stand it. Anny Ondra is delightful as a woman torn in two when the man she thought was dead returns from the sea and finds her married to his best friend (or was it his rival? I don’t think I was paying much attention). Beautiful music and some lovely photography of the English seashore is a plus, but everything else is material you’ve seen done billions of times ever since, and you really feel it while you’re watching it.