{"id":17886,"date":"2011-06-13T11:54:19","date_gmt":"2011-06-13T18:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17886"},"modified":"2021-01-02T22:40:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-03T05:40:00","slug":"blackmail-1929","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17886","title":{"rendered":"Blackmail (1929)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Detectives in glass houses shouldn&#8217;t wave clues.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Poster-228x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"228\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-17887\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Poster-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Poster-97x128.jpg 97w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Poster.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 228px) 100vw, 228px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe flirtatious girlfriend (Anny Ondra) of a Scotland Yard detective (John Longden) accompanies an artist (Cyril Ritchard) to his apartment one night and ends up killing him with a knife when he tries to rape her. A loiterer (Donald Calthrop) sees Longden leaving the scene of the crime with a crucial piece of evidence, and decides to blackmail Ondra &#8212; but a snoopy landlady (Hannah Jones) has seen Calthrop entering Ritchard&#8217;s apartment, and soon he&#8217;s wanted by the police himself.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blackmail<\/li>\n<li>Detectives and Private Eyes<\/li>\n<li>Hitchcock Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nI was pleasantly surprised to finally check out this early Hitchcock thriller, which is famous for being his first &#8220;talkie&#8221; but remains remarkably enjoyable in its own right. All of the trademark qualities of Hitchcock&#8217;s best films are present here, starting with a tension-inducing screenplay in which our heroine &#8212; who is far from sympathetic, at least at first &#8212; is caught up in a nightmare of her own accidental making, existing in guilt-ridden angst and fear throughout the remainder of the film. Meanwhile, Hitch effectively employs both visual and aural cues via strategic editing for heightened suspense and impact &#8212; as when Ondry continually hears the word &#8220;knife&#8221; being used in punctuated bursts during a conversation following the homicide, or when she looks up at a flashing neon sign for a cocktail which has transformed into a plunging knife. While Hitchcock&#8217;s use of real-time off-camera dubbing for Ondry&#8217;s voice (she had a heavy German accent) has been called out as somewhat obvious, I must admit I was never bothered by it. Atmospheric cinematography (by Jack Cox), a smarmy turn by Calthrop as Ondry&#8217;s would-be blackmailer, and an exciting (if too brief) climactic chase scene through a famous location add to this film&#8217;s overall enjoyment &#8212; it&#8217;s certainly worth a look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Hitchcock filmed a silent version of this movie as well, which is available on the DVD release. Even the &#8220;talkie&#8221; edition, however, starts off (for the first 8 minutes) mostly like a silent film, with just a few noise effects added &#8212; so be patient. (I mention this because I wondered for a while whether I was watching the &#8220;right&#8221; version.) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anny Ondra as Alice<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Ondra.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Ondra-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-17892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Ondra-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Ondra-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Ondra-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Ondra.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Nice use of the British Museum for the climactic final chase &#8212; though the scene is over far too quickly<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Museum.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Museum-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-17893\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Museum-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Museum-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Museum-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Museum.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cinematography-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-17894\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cinematography-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cinematography-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cinematography-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cinematography.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Creative use of sound for heightened effect (as in the &#8220;KNIFE&#8221; scene)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Knife.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Knife-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-17896\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Knife-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Knife-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Knife-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Knife.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A clever sense of visual play<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cocktail.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cocktail-1024x599.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"374\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-17895\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cocktail-1024x599.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cocktail-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cocktail-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/Blackmail-Cocktail.png 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical relevance &#8212; and also as an enjoyably tense thriller. Listed as a film with historical importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0019702\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.eyeforfilm.co.uk\/reviews.php?id=5678\">Eye For Film Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/5899\/blackmail#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Detectives in glass houses shouldn&#8217;t wave clues.&#8221; Synopsis: The flirtatious girlfriend (Anny Ondra) of a Scotland Yard detective (John Longden) accompanies an artist (Cyril Ritchard) to his apartment one night and ends up killing him with a knife when he tries to rape her. A loiterer (Donald Calthrop) sees Longden leaving the scene of the crime with a crucial piece of evidence, and decides to blackmail Ondra &#8212; but a snoopy landlady (Hannah Jones) has seen Calthrop entering Ritchard&#8217;s apartment,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=17886\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17886"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61337,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17886\/revisions\/61337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}