Tweet The Silents of the Hitch

A retrospective of as many of the silent Hitchcock films as I could get my paws on is up now In The Balcony, http://inthebalcony.com/. You'll also note the DVD/Blu-ray Calendar has been updated at no extra charge.

A retrospective of as many of the silent Hitchcock films as I could get my paws on is up now In The Balcony, http://inthebalcony.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank. You'll also note the DVD/Blu-ray Calendar has been updated at no extra charge.

It's too bad you haven't seen "The Pleasure Garden" as it's out there (in two somewhat different copies). There's the unrestored original with some minor scenes missing, but that copy contains a nice score and what seems to be the very clever original title cards (the other has simply black titles with white lettering).
The newer 'restored' (that's what they called it) version containing more footage, but actually with a shorter run time because the film was recorded too fast. As I remember, it has an organ score.
This is a wonderful film and very much a Hitchcock kind of story. I enjoyed the original, especially because of the title cards designed to reflect what's going on in that part of the story. With his background in creating titles, that's also very Hitchcock.

With "Manxman" (a big favorite of mine), I wish there was some way to identify the name of the baby girl seen in the story. I personally believe it was actually Pat Hitchcock when she was a baby since both her parents worked on making "Manxman" and she would have been just about that same age. With both parents on the set and the fact that it was a baby girl in the story, it's hard to imagine they would go looking for another.

It's one of those questions that probably will never be answered with facts, but the evidence seems to support my guess that they used Pat in the story.

Thank you, I will keep looking for the ones I haven't seen. And I keep watching the ones I have; the other night, I saw The Skin Game, and it exceeded all my expectations.

[silentfilm]

Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Yes, "Downhill" has several interesting scenes and I won't spoil them either, but here's some thoughts from my copy.

I especially enjoyed the multiple exposures that wiped in and out, several clearly visible at once. Unlike Eisenstein or Gance, Hitchcock's use of this camera trick seemed to served a real purpose to the story. Having the camera move down the street in hand held fashion (occasionally sweeping from left to right) was another, and clearly experimental in 1927. I wondered if these were unsuspecting citizens in this scene and not actors? It appears to be the former.

This week, I've watched again my copy of "Downhill" and noticed it had been recorded much too fast. I'm able to play at 80% speed with my Magnavox player and that brought it down to a much more natural speed without any sign that it wasn't too slow (if anything, 75% might have been more correct). This player will also play back at 1.3 times.

So nice that this feature is available (I wonder why it was even included?). I cannot imagine another use for controlling playback speed other than to adjust silents that were recorded either too fast or too slow. I've have both in my silent film collection.

I bought the UK release The Early Hitchcock Collection which includes pretty good (but could be better) versions of The Ring, Champagne, The Farmer’s Wife & The Manxman. As far as I know though, these are the best currently available. Many of the transfers are the best I've seen (it's nice to finally have a watchable copy of Murder), and there are some good extras. Unfortunately, no silent Blackmail.

I have a copy of Downhill, from Network's Hitchcock: The British Years set, but haven't watched it yet. Is this the copy everyone else has? I've read that it is utterly silent with no score at all, which is a shame.

I have a copy of Downhill, from Network's Hitchcock: The British Years set, but haven't watched it yet. Is this the copy everyone else has? I've read that it is utterly silent with no score at all, which is a shame.

My copy certainly has a score, consisting mostly of piano but with other instruments as well. Without any score it would be a shame.
My copy has also had the image restored, so I could not imagine a copy without music would be the same good quality.

I have a copy of Downhill, from Network's Hitchcock: The British Years set, but haven't watched it yet. Is this the copy everyone else has? I've read that it is utterly silent with no score at all, which is a shame.

My copy certainly has a score, consisting mostly of piano but with other instruments as well. Without any score it would be a shame.
My copy has also had the image restored, so I could not imagine a copy without music would be the same good quality.

What label is your version on? I was looking at Amazon.co.uk comments, which may or may not have been referring to the Network release (I notice Amazon sometimes combines comments referring to different editions).

Unfortunately, no silent Blackmail.

The silent version of BLACKMAIL can be found as an extra on this DVD of the sound version. It's very good.

http://www.amazon.de/Blackmail-Erpressung-Anny-Ondra/dp/B00005UE71/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1339190117&sr=1-1

Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Yes, "Downhill" has several interesting scenes and I won't spoil them either, but here's some thoughts from my copy.

I especially enjoyed the multiple exposures that wiped in and out, several clearly visible at once. Unlike Eisenstein or Gance, Hitchcock's use of this camera trick seemed to served a real purpose to the story. Having the camera move down the street in hand held fashion (occasionally sweeping from left to right) was another, and clearly experimental in 1927. I wondered if these were unsuspecting citizens in this scene and not actors? It appears to be the former.

This week, I've watched again my copy of "Downhill" and noticed it had been recorded much too fast. I'm able to play at 80% speed with my Magnavox player and that brought it down to a much more natural speed without any sign that it wasn't too slow (if anything, 75% might have been more correct). This player will also play back at 1.3 times.

So nice that this feature is available (I wonder why it was even included?). I cannot imagine another use for controlling playback speed other than to adjust silents that were recorded either too fast or too slow. I've have both in my silent film collection.

Oh dear, more of this poppycock. The Hitchcock silents are late-20's silents and indeed meant to be run at 24 fps, no question, so the transfer speeds you're complaining about are actually correct.

I do like the 1.3-1.5 speeds that are available on several DVD players (I have a JVC and Pioneer deck that has this option, and it fortunately does not affect the sound when playing at these speeds), I use these to make some of David Shepard's DVD's watchable, as well as that ploddingly slow MGM/UA transfer of THE LODGER (Keeping to topic).


RICHARD M ROBERTS

Richard, what model of variable-speed player do you use? I'd love to get one, as it would come in especially handy for the Chaplin Essanays and THE LODGER, like you said.

Richard, what model of variable-speed player do you use? I'd love to get one, as it would come in especially handy for the Chaplin Essanays and THE LODGER, like you said.

I think the Pioneer DV-220KV is still available. Only does a 1.4 and does not handle sound quite as well as my old silver multi-region JVC does, but that machine is definitely no longer available.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

silentfilm wrote:Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Yes, "Downhill" has several interesting scenes and I won't spoil them either, but here's some thoughts from my copy.


A friend of mine brought this up and maybe someone could clarify it. In "Downhill" there is a scene in which Ivor Novello appears as a gigolo at a seedy dance hall. He is in the clutches of a large frump of a woman. Is this woman played by a man in drag? And, if so, are there darker overtones to suggest that this was Hitchcock's intention to show homosexuality or transvestitism?

(There isn't a full cast list that I can see available to glean the name of whomsoever played the part)

Richard, what model of variable-speed player do you use? I'd love to get one, as it would come in especially handy for the Chaplin Essanays and THE LODGER, like you said.

I think the Pioneer DV-220KV is still available. Only does a 1.4 and does not handle sound quite as well as my old silver multi-region JVC does, but that machine is definitely no longer available.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

I have a Sony upconverting DVD player that has two slow speeds ( 0.6 and 0.8 ) and two fast speeds (1.2 and 1.4) in addition to normal. I find the 1.2 speed is well nigh perfect for watching many silents, though I haven't yet tried it with THE LODGER. Maybe I'll do that this weekend . . .

silentfilm wrote:Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Yes, "Downhill" has several interesting scenes and I won't spoil them either, but here's some thoughts from my copy.


A friend of mine brought this up and maybe someone could clarify it. In "Downhill" there is a scene in which Ivor Novello appears as a gigolo at a seedy dance hall. He is in the clutches of a large frump of a woman. Is this woman played by a man in drag? And, if so, are there darker overtones to suggest that this was Hitchcock's intention to show homosexuality or transvestitism?

(There isn't a full cast list that I can see available to glean the name of whomsoever played the part)

The lady in question - and it is a lady, btw, was a rather good character actress called Violet Farebrother, best known possibly as the beloved wife/mother whose death is the catalyst for the events in the second half of Father Takes A Walk, aka Mr Cohen Takes A Walk, directed in the mid-30's in the UK by William Beaudine.
I would say it's Hitch's intention to show that Dear Ivor is by now a Kept Man. No more than that.

silentfilm wrote:Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Yes, "Downhill" has several interesting scenes and I won't spoil them either, but here's some thoughts from my copy.


A friend of mine brought this up and maybe someone could clarify it. In "Downhill" there is a scene in which Ivor Novello appears as a gigolo at a seedy dance hall. He is in the clutches of a large frump of a woman. Is this woman played by a man in drag? And, if so, are there darker overtones to suggest that this was Hitchcock's intention to show homosexuality or transvestitism?

(There isn't a full cast list that I can see available to glean the name of whomsoever played the part)

The lady in question - and it is a lady, btw, was a rather good character actress called Violet Farebrother, best known possibly as the beloved wife/mother whose death is the catalyst for the events in the second half of Father Takes A Walk, aka Mr Cohen Takes A Walk, directed in the mid-30's in the UK by William Beaudine.
I would say it's Hitch's intention to show that Dear Ivor is by now a Kept Man. No more than that.

Thank you for solving this mystery for me.

silentfilm wrote:Downhill was shown at Cinecon a few years ago, and it's really good. It has an amazing shot in it, like the famous shot of the blinking villain in Young and Innocent or the amazing camera movement in from Notorious. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but you see the down-and-out hero steal something, but you quickly find out that is not what is happening at all.

Yes, "Downhill" has several interesting scenes and I won't spoil them either, but here's some thoughts from my copy.


A friend of mine brought this up and maybe someone could clarify it. In "Downhill" there is a scene in which Ivor Novello appears as a gigolo at a seedy dance hall. He is in the clutches of a large frump of a woman. Is this woman played by a man in drag? And, if so, are there darker overtones to suggest that this was Hitchcock's intention to show homosexuality or transvestitism?

(There isn't a full cast list that I can see available to glean the name of whomsoever played the part)

The lady in question - and it is a lady, btw, was a rather good character actress called Violet Farebrother, best known possibly as the beloved wife/mother whose death is the catalyst for the events in the second half of Father Takes A Walk, aka Mr Cohen Takes A Walk, directed in the mid-30's in the UK by William Beaudine.
I would say it's Hitch's intention to show that Dear Ivor is by now a Kept Man. No more than that.

Thank you for solving this mystery for me.

SPOILER ALERT!

Although in Hitchcock's early talkie Murder, it seems the culprit lashed out and killed for fear of being outed as ... a half-caste! In the play, I believe it was much more frank in making the character homosexual, but for the film they had to change it to something a little less scandalous. But even in the movie the character is somewhat effeminate, does drag on stage, and is also a trapeze artist who dresses up in tights and feathery headdresses. I think Hitch is pretty much winking at the audience with the half-caste substitution.

As posted in the Silents News section, lousy versions of Hitchcock silents will be rendered moot by extensive BFI restoration effort, in time for the Olympics.

Maybe this is why they've been holding off on putting out a silent Blackmail DVD in the UK.