The Man Who Knew Too Much | #ProjectHitch

This week’s #ProjectHitch was a pretty exciting milestone, being the only one of Hitch’s British films that he would later go on to remake in America.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) follows the story of a young girl who gets kidnapped while she and her parents are on holiday in Switzerland. The film itself is pretty dramatic, going back and forth between the concerned parents and the criminals involved, culminating in a rather longwinded shootout between the police and the criminals before the girl can be returned to her family.

I was expecting to enjoy this film more than I did, especially since the main villain, Abbott is played by the iconic, Peter Lorre but alas, I found it a little tiring at times. I definitely enjoyed it more than some of the other films we’ve watched so far but it was far from a new favourite.  

I’ll be excited to see how the 1956 version compares. As far as I’m aware it wasn’t remade because Hitch disliked his first attempt but more so that he needed a new film for Paramount and thought The Man Who Knew Too Much would translate well to more modern times. That being said, I believe the two manage to be quite different in both tone and story so I anticipate being able to compare them both later in the year.

Stick around next week for thoughts on Rich and Strange (1931), since I finally managed to find a copy!

Lesley

xx

Waltzes from Vienna | #ProjectHitch

This week’s #ProjectHitch film was the dramatic musical romp that is Waltzes from Vienna. This 1934 Hitchcock offering was an interesting change of pace as far as his filmography so far is concerned.

Waltzes from Vienna begins rather comically with a fire in the basement of a busy café. The patrons are not particularly fazed by the raucous events surrounding them and are more or less just looking to continue their meals and conversations. The horse-drawn fire brigade arrives, proceeding to tackle both the blaze and the rescue of a man and woman, practicing music upstairs, unaware of the chaos below. Thus we are introduced to our protagonist, Johann Strauss (played by Esmond Knight) and the object of his affections, Rasi (played by Jessie Matthews).

Strauss is the son of a famous composer (of the same name) and is looking to follow in his fathers, none too encouraging, footsteps and make his own mark on the Vienna music scene.

The film follows his attempts to write a great piece of music with the help and hindrance of his young love coupled with an older more influential woman. Much of the story explores the relationship between great art and ‘real life’.

They make quite a sweet pair, don't they?

 Waltzes from Vienna was an enjoyable film and one that I wouldn’t be opposed to watching again, while at the same time being one that I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way for. Pleasurable but not overtly special or memorable in the end.

Join me next time for a film I’m extremely curious to experience, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934).

Lesley

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Number Seventeen | #ProjectHitch

As Mentioned in the previous #ProjectHitch post, I was unable to find the next movie on my watch list, Rich and Strange. I will keep looking for a copy as the year progresses and watch it later on if I get the chance but for now I’ve skipped ahead to Number Seventeen from 1932.

Number Seventeen takes us back into Hitchcock’ familiar world of suspense by way of an abandoned house, a dead body, stolen diamonds, eerie candle lit scenes and an untrustworthy cast of characters.

The film begins with Detective Barton (played by John Stuart) wandering about an abandoned house (the number of which you may be able to guess?). The house is dimly lit, allowing for some gorgeous and very recognisably Hitchcock cinematography to take place.

Hitch loves him a good camera shot

Within house number 17, Barton comes across two bodies, one apparently dead the other very much alive. The live body belong to the comic relief character of the picture, Ben (played by Leon M. Lion). Ben is, I would assume, homeless, and is only in the house to find some shelter. I personally loved Ben and all his ludicrous antics, from brushing a sausage (found in his jacket) on his sleeve to clean it, to faking his own death before “helpfully” hitting the wrong person on the head during a fight, he was a breath of refreshingly silly air.

The story line got a little tangled at times but overall Number Seventeen was a fun and intriguing romp with enough double crosses and false turns to keep me interested until the very end. Would gladly watch again, if only to spend some more time with Ben. 

Be sure to join me again for a romantic change of pace with, Waltzes from Vienna.

Lesley

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The Skin Game | #ProjectHitch

Today’s #ProjectHitch viewing was something of a dud, unfortunately. 

The Skin Game follows the story of the Hillcrists and the Hornblowers, rival families attempting to live through a damaging feud, a premise that could be interesting were both families not entirely tedious and unlikeable in almost every sense.

Throughout the movie I tried to form an opinion as to which family I liked most, and therefore wanted to see come out on top but they honestly both annoyed me. Their petty disagreements and sabotage only served to anger me and even though there are one or two characters I grew to care about, I found the film as a whole quite a tiring experience.

There have been a few Hitchcock films along the way that, had I to guess a director, Hitch’ name would never have come up. This is one of them. There’s no recognisably Hitchcock-esque shots, nor characters. The film itself was rather dry and not one I would go out of my way to watch again.

Since this blog post is going up quite late, I can tell you now that I haven’t been able to find the next film on my chronological list, Rich and Strange but have already watch the film after, Number Seventeen and it fared much better than The Skin Game.

Stick around to hear my thoughts on it.

Lesley

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Murder! | #ProjectHitch

This week’s Project Hitch film, Murder! (1930) was a step up from the disappointing experience last week with Juno and the Paycock. 

Murder! is a step back into Hitchcock’s realm of suspense with a good old fashion who done it. The movie starts off with the death of a young women, once part of an acting troupe. Her body is found next to a confused co-star with blood on her dress, unable to remember what has transpired. As the film continues we are introduced to the cast of characters, most of which are potential suspects.

The characters themselves range from likeable to irritating, confusing to downright unhelpful (as far as the police and their less than adequate detective work goes.)

Murder! is the type of movie, you spend the whole time coming up with theories for, constantly second guessing the characters and their motives. I think in most cases the audience is on to the actual killer long before our other characters manage to figure it out but the intrigue is still fun while it lasts.

While Murder! isn’t the best of its kind, it’s still incredibly entertaining to watch and one I wouldn’t be opposed to watching again at some point.

Be sure to join me next time to find out how I enjoyed The Skin Game.

Lesley

xxx