Hitchcock Double Feature

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So I take a Film Music class in school and we're working our way through the early sound films. With this section I had the pleasure of viewing two films by the genius, Alfred Hitchcock. Blackmail and Murder! were, respectively, his first and second sound films. Both films are centered around murders and the investigation following them and both are definitely worth a watch! 

In Blackmail, Alice (Anny Ondra) commits a murder of her would be rapist. When Frank (John Longden), the detective and her boyfriend discovers her glove at the crime scene, he decides to help her cover up the crime. Unfortunately for them Tracy (Donald Calthrop) finds the other first and uses it to blackmail Alice. Frank and Alice must now give in to his demands or outsmart him and pin the murder on him. This movie is very well done. While we normally think of silent and early sound films as cheesy and unrealistic, that turns out to not be the case at all. Because dialogue is now available, the over acting isn't a problem and the music takes a step back and plays a more minor role, as the new ability to use sound effects and speech are put on display. Hitchcock's genius is found in the methods used to make this film. As the cameras were large and loud, they needed to be sealed in glass casses to muffle sound, but that made them immovable. He worked around this by shooting some scenes silently and then putting in sound afterwards. Also, as speech and sound effects were new, music was learning its place in film. Hitchcock not only uses music very effectively, especially the song "Miss Up-To-Date." Not only is music used, but he also is a master with the use of silence to build tension in a scene. Lastly, being the master of suspense  in the film he'll often build a scene and then either cut to something else, or have an anticlimactic finish. This is often a let down or frustrating, but in Hitchcock's films it works incredibly well. Overall the acting was solid and the story was very entertaining. 3 out of 4.

In Murder! (Netflix streaming), we see another murder story unfold in a very different way. Diana (Norah Baring) is an actress found in a state of shock with a fire poker next to her and a murdered body at her feet. She is brought to trial and with little trouble convicted of murder. On the jury is Sir John (Herbert Marshall) who reluctantly decides she is guilty. Fearing he has condemned her and sure of her innocence, he starts his own investigation to prove her innocence. This whodunit is less than spectacular, especially after seeing Blackmail which I thoroughly enjoyed. This film feels more like Hitchcock is learning. At the heart of it all is an interesting plot that isn't played out as well as it could've been. The music was at a real minimal, with only 4 instances of music being played. With that, in at least one scene the music seems to drown out the dialogue which is a huge distraction. I didn't find myself sympathizing with Diana who might be innocent as much as I did with Alice who most certainly is guilty. I think that the relationship between characters isn't as developed as it needs to be to see the connections more clearly. Also, why is John, an actor, able to carry out an investigation? The brilliance in shooting is also evident in this film, especially in a scene with a narrative of John's thoughts which required a voice over. Overall however, this film just didn't have the charm, suspense or excitement of Blackmail. It's not a bad film and might be worth a watch to some fans of Hitchcock, but for most I would say don't waste your time. 2 out of 4.