Search - Murder on DVD

BETWEEN "MURDER" & "39 STEPS" HITCHCOCK FOUND HIS VOICE

Heather L. Parisi | St. Augustine, FL USA | 01/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"IN A NUTSHELL: STATE OF THE ART 1930 "TALKIE" THRILLER

A truly antiquated "talkie" with a few interesting scenes and an impressive acting job by Herbert Marshall as Sir John. Hitchcock does manage a few powerful, tense, and comic moments, but the film, though only 92 minutes, seems much too long for its volume of content, and static for Hitchcock, though not by 1930 standards.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT: MURDER

The classic Hitchcock, "Wrong Man" plot twist only with a woman as the accused. As were most of Hitchcock's early films, this was filmed and set in England.

SCENE TO WATCH:

At the end of the trial, enjoy the jury deliberation scene, where Herbert Marshall as Sir John is interogated by his fellow jurors who are presurring him to concur with their verdict of guilty. The other 11 jurors raise objections to Sir John in the form of interrogatives which all end with "and what do you say to that Sir John" in an almost musical, crescendoing chorus. Very entertaining scene, almost funny and probably meant to be.

BOTTOM LINE:

See this old classic as a testament to the meteoric evolution of Alfred Hitchcock's skills as a great director. See "39 Steps" which Hitchcock filmed just five years later [1935] and for an inkling of how high and to where Hitchcock's star was rising. Clearly between these two films he found his true voice.

ABOUT THE DVD:

Okay, this film is old, 76 years old, and with that in mind, its audio and video quality are adequate though not of the standard of modern or remastered films. Not perfect, and often variable, it still plays well enough to enjoy. The climax, however, has the original music remixed with new tracks of the same circus tunes, so the music sounds clear, but the characters lines can only be made out if you read their lips. Bear in mind, this remix only adversely effects the audibility of the dialogue in small bits of the final scenes, and is otherwise not an issue.

SUGGESTED VIEWING:

"39 Steps" - ALFRED HITCHCOCK [1935]
"Young and Innocent" - ALFRED HITCHCOCK [1937]
"Stage Fright" - ALFRED HITCHCOCK [1950]
"North by Northwest" - ALFRED HITCHCOCK [1959]"