It is a performances centric movie

Fantastic!

The first must-see film of the year.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Hitchcock began filming the movie of "Blackmail" as another silent one. However, halfway through filming, he changed his mind and began from square one in making his talkie film debut. Many of the hallmarks of Hitchcock's best work are in evidence here. The camera work that illustrates the setting of each scene by being as descriptive as possible. A murder scene which is partly fuelled by or related to some kind of sexual interaction. An innocent character who has to clear his/her name after being wrongfully accused of a crime. In London, the girlfriend of a police officer is accosted by a man who invites her back to his flat on the grounds of wanting to paint her portrait. After rejecting his advances, the man attacks the woman. To defend herself, she stabs him to death. The way Hitchcock shot this moment, was to make it suggestive. We the viewers don't actually see the weapon used. All we see is one of the woman's arms reach from behind a curtain for any means to protect herself. Thus, we are left to our imagination as to whereabouts the knife is placed and the look of agonising pain on the man's face as he dies. The woman walks the streets of the city in something of a stupor after the traumatic events. What the lady doesn't realise, is that she was seen leaving the building by a man watching her. He is the one who discovers the body and attempts to blackmail the woman. There is quite a sinister scene at the home of the woman's parents. It is breakfast time, the lady has just returned and sits down with her family. She gazes into the distance as her mum keeps repeating the word "knife" during this scene. Hitchcock emphasises the character's trauma and distress as she is being constantly reminded of what she has done. No doubt it was her conscience speaking for her but the tension in that scene is all too clear. There is some marvellous photography as the police give chase at the end. Alfred Hitchcock had successfully met the challenge of making talkie films, although the man himself often stated that he preferred silent cinema as it was more pure.

Being some years since I viewed the commonly available talkie version of Blackmail, in which I did moderately enjoyed, I had the great experience, that I wouldn't take back for anything, to view the restored silent version of Blackmail at the historic Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, MI accompanied by a live organist.This movie is incredibly moving. Throughout, I had to shake my head a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming that I was seeing some movie Alfred Hitchcock made in 1929, just to find out it wasn't really a movie "like this" and be teased. No, this was reality, and yes that's how good I think this film is.Without the dubbing of Joan Barry (who is an otherwise excellent actress) the actress who plays Alice, shines much brighter. This movie was simply meant for the silent screen.The plot is different from usual Hitchcock formula. There is no completely wrong perpetrator. It's more a situation of your everyday human beings, with all their good and bad side, caught up in a web that's hard to break, without breaking someone in it. As the drama unfolded, I felt my arm tightening from the suspense.Not exactly an overlooked film, at least not usually, but I would say Blackmail is a bit underrated. Compared to most of Hitchcock's movies from the 1920's through 1933, this is by far the best. But beyond that, I think it ranks up with the silent greats from Murnau, Vidor, or Griffith. Very enjoyable, especially theatrically.

not the typical love triangle you see today,, I'm glad that this was an older film, by a master of suspense. Alfred Hitchcock, knows how to make movies, instead of focusing on the love triangle between the woman her boyfriend,, and the guy she likes,, he focuses more on the task at hand and that would be the crime that takes place. after she and her bf have a fight over small potatoes,, she leaves restaurant with another guy... they had it pre planned,, now mind you the bf is a cop with Scotland Yard,, he follows her,, she goes up there, and well things don't go to well for her,,, apparently someone has heard or seen something thru the window,, and later confronts her and her Scotland Yard bf. this is where things just start to get interesting,, by the way Alfred's cameo was just wonderful on the Subway,, watch for it.. all in all great movie, lot's of suspense and thrills,,

"Blackmail", a 1929 early Hitchcock film, was a revelation to me, much like his later "Young and Innocent". It contains so many of his later themes, which he honed to perfection through the years. Inept policemen, obligatory leg shots of his leading lady (Anny Ondra), and eventually the classic 'wrong man' (although his 'wrong man' is the villain of the piece, the blackmailer). This is a very dark film, in its way. There are no 'heroes'. Anny Ondra is childish as she steps into the short dress the artist (Cyril Ritchard) has presented her. In a previous scene, we have seen her deviously getting rid of her boyfriend to share a tryst with the artist. The cop, played by stone-faced John Longden, is revealed as a prideful bully, not interested in the 'law' at all, but rather scheming to blackmail the blackmailer. The themes of guilt are displayed in a very graphic way. A man's arm hanging out of a transom reminds Alice (Ondra) of the artist's arm as it dangled from his bed after she stabbed him. In a truly inventive scene, Alice stares at a flashing neon sign of a martini glass, above the word 'cocktails'. But as her conscience sees it, the glass becomes a hand, holding a knife plunging down. What holds the movie together is the artist's painting of a court jester. The face of the jester is startling realistic, like a photograph, and we see it mocking Alice, It mocks Frank the cop, too. At one point, the face hits the audience in closeup, as if it were mocking the audience. As in 'The 39 Steps', there are lingering shots of his leading lady's legs. (Although it was never done so cleverly as Madeleine Carroll in handcuffs from 'The 39 Steps'.) The ending is fairly black, too. Alice has decided to come clean about the murder, but, too late. The blackmailer has died in his escape to flee the police. Enter Frank the detective, who intervenes and allows Scotland Yard to believe that the wrong man murdered the artist. The movie ends with peals of laughter and there is that grotesque face of the jester staring at us yet again.Hitchcock appears in a rather indulgent cameo with a child who keeps grabbing at his hat.The movie begins as a silent movie with a long, drawn out police chase, arrest and imprisonment of a suspect. This would be repeated years later much more agonizingly in Hitchcock's later "The Wrong Man". In his later years, Hitchcock would always portray cops as inept and foolish, but "Blackmail" is pretty much "cop as criminal". It would be great to see these early Hitchcock movies restored. "Young and Innocent", "Murder!" and this film would get more viewings if the source material was improved. While not a 'masterpiece', as is 'The 39 Steps', 'Blackmail' finds Hitchcock....well, quite "Hitchcockian" for a young man.