The Manxman

Movie Review: The Manxman (silent)

Year of Release: 1929
Country of Origin: UK
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen, Anny Ondra

Plot outline: A fisherman and a rising young lawyer, who grew up as brothers, fall in love with the same girl (IMDb).

An assortment of Hitchcock's greatest early movies are featured in a three-disc collection. Based on a romantic novel by Sir Hall Caine, The Manxman was the last silent movie Hitchcock directed before he made the transition to sound. This movie is filled with enchanting scenes and the story itself is quite well told. There are periodical posings by the players and their movements are frequently either too slow or much too fast; yet, considering the task he undertook, Hitchcock, the young British director who produced Britain's first talking movie, Blackmail, has done a worth-while job. This movie is said to have been photographed on the Isle of Man, the locale of the story, and it is another instance where backgrounds count for a great deal in unfurling the narrative. Not only are the out-of-doors stretches as beautiful as anything that one would hope to behold on the screen, but the interiors are evidently faithful reproductions of an old inn and a fisherman's cottage. The production is not brilliant, but the shortcomings in acting and to a certain extent in the direction are atoned for by the artistry of the scenes. Moreover, it is a movie in which Hitchcock exercises laudable restraint, even though suspense is seldom particularly keen or sustained. Carl Brisson plays Pete Quilliam. He appears to be devoting more attention to his smile or having a lock of his hair protrude under his cap than he does to the mood of the moment. Malcolm Keen is competent as Philip Christian. He is quite aware that he is not good-looking and therefore is less guilty of posing than the others. Anny Ondra does some fair acting as Kate Cregeen, but her performance hardly causes one to think that she is in earnest. Randle Ayrton figures as Caesar Cregeen, whom he fails to make sufficiently human. (NYT)

My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars