Murder!

I've tried to watch this movie three times but kept falling asleep. It's certainly Hitchcock but it's very early Hitchcock. He was about 30 years old, talkies were still new, and he was working in the UK under severe budget and creative restraints. This is one for Hitchcock fans who want to see how his methods evolved over time. If you're an average guy just looking for some entertainment, this one will probably leave you snoring.

A quite enjoyable, if very rough around the edges mystery. It's simple and the editing could be better but it already has that Hitchcock feel and that was enough to keep me going.

By his third sound picture, Hitchcock is trying out what can be done with sound more (a moment of voice over; hearing the verdict from off screen in the jury room, etc.); and how to stage a dialogue scene (the silly tea-making back and forth, the jury deliberation, etc.) It is this experimentation, coupled with a certain settling into his characteristic shot setups and style of humor, that lend most of the interest here. Performances are a bit uneven and very theater-bound.

If you can forgive the missing juror disqualification (and the overbearing and sexist jury foreman), this is a slight mystery that would seem to be a forerunner of Agatha Christie's Mousetrap and the excellent 12 Angry Men. It reminded me somewhat of Sherlock Holmes mysteries: the interest is less in the facts of the case but rather in coming up with an alternative explanation. Unfortunately, it's very slow and static with only a few Hitchcockian edits, thus probably only for completists.

Assassinato estreava há 90 anos na Irlanda. È bacana ver o primeiro monólogo interior do cinema, mas esse filme é meio sem sal para um Hitchcock, plus o culpado ser um travesti negro é coisa de colonizador inglês demais para meu gosto. Box Versátil Alfred Hitchcock no Cinema Volume 2.

Glacial. I don't care if it's Hitch, I don't care if you have to cut slack to the understandably primitive early talkies -- any movie that features a baby crying for five minutes straight automatically goes on my shit list.

Obnoxious and glacial. I don't care if it's Hitch, I don't care if you have to cut slack to the understandably primitive early talkies -- any movie that features a baby crying for FIVE. MINUTES. STRAIGHT. automatically goes on my shit list.

The pacing was a bit off but otherwise I found this to be very enjoyable. There's lots of humor and some nice tense moments which add to the story. Also really nice editing and camerawork.

78.50

Shitty pan-and-scan VHS copy. Had to stop part of the way through, due to surface noise on the tape that made the dialogue impossible to make out. Definitely was not super into it anyway.

what i liked: the humor (which totally didn't fit in, but i cant deny a funny gag. esp liked the jury room scene). the curiosity of both a very early sound film and an early hitchcock film. what destroys it: Every. Single. Scene. Goes. On. Way. Too. Long....

78.000

Em muitos sentidos rústico, este filme toca em pontos interessantes. Todo o filme gira em torno da tênue linha que separa o real do representado. Os personagens estão todos ligados ao meio artístico. Explora-se o uso da arte para encobrir a realidade ("fingimento") e, também, da arte para expor a realidade (a ratoeira - adaptação genial de Hamlet)! Outras inovações: algumas cenas os atores tinham o conceito da cena mas deveriam criar o diálogo. Contudo, acabou ficando sem timing e sem ritmo.

Like The Manxman, it's got some of Hitch's best images and most unique sound design, but it's sluggish as hell.

hitch's third talkie takes awhile to get going....but it really picks up starting with percy's "reading" for the play......staged by marshall.......and finally culminating in the dramatic and fantastic circus scene..........

Mundane and predictable whodunit, but not entirely without merit. The pacing is way off and often an exasperating trial of patience. However, Hitch is having a lot of fun experimenting with the form. Some very inventive use of editing, camera movement and transitions. Also some wonderful shots, like the stunning climax. There's some good bits of comedy as well. It could have been a pretty good movie with little more rehearsal to tighten up the pacing, and a slightly more interesting script.

68.875