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Blackmail (1929 film)

From Alfawiki
British International Pictures
IndustryFilm production
Founded1927
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
ProductsFilms, including Blackmail (1929)

Blackmail is a 1929 British crime thriller helmed by director Alfred Hitchcock, featuring performances from Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard. Adapted from the 1928 stage play by Charles Bennett, the narrative centers on a London woman who becomes a victim of blackmail after she kills a man attempting to assault her.

Originally created as a silent production, British International Pictures transformed Blackmail into a sound film midway through filming, establishing it as the first European talkie to achieve commercial success. To accommodate theaters lacking sound technology, both silent (6,740 feet) and sound (7,136 feet) editions were released concurrently. Copies of both versions are maintained within the British Film Institute archives.

Regarded as the pioneering British feature-length sound film, Blackmail was voted the top British film of 1929 in a national poll. In 2017, industry experts placed it 59th in Time Out magazine's ranking of the greatest British films.

Effective 1 January 2025, Blackmail entered the public domain within the United States.

Plot

On 26 April 1929, Detective Frank Webber of Scotland Yard accompanies his girlfriend Alice White to a tea room. After a disagreement, Frank departs but later notices Alice leaving with Mr. Crewe, an artist she had arranged to meet.

Crewe convinces Alice to visit his studio, where she admires a painting depicting a laughing clown and whimsically adds a cartoon-like face. He supplements the artwork with a few brushstrokes portraying a nude female figure and they sign it using her name. Crewe then provides her with a dancer’s costume and plays "Miss Up-to-Date" on the piano.

When Crewe forcibly kisses Alice, she recoils in disgust. As she prepares to leave, he seizes her dress and attempts to sexually assault her. In self-defense, Alice fatally stabs him with a bread knife. She tears a hole in the clown painting and tries to remove traces of evidence but inadvertently leaves behind her gloves. Traumatized, she wanders the streets of London throughout the night.

Frank is assigned to investigate and discovers one of Alice’s gloves at the crime scene. Recognizing Crewe’s identity, he conceals this information from his superiors. Visiting Alice at her father’s tobacco shop, he finds her too distressed to communicate.

Meanwhile, Tracy arrives at the shop’s telephone booth—he has witnessed Alice at Crewe’s apartment and possesses her other glove. He attempts to extort Frank and Alice with minor demands. Upon learning Tracy is wanted for questioning due to his criminal record and proximity to the crime scene, Frank orchestrates police involvement.

Alice remains silent amid mounting tension. When officers arrive, Tracy escapes, prompting a pursuit across the British Museum. He falls from the roof of the Reading Room, crashes through a skylight, and dies instantly. Authorities conclude that Tracy was responsible for Crewe’s murder.

Unaware of Tracy’s death, Alice decides to confess at New Scotland Yard. Before she can speak, the Chief Inspector summons Frank to manage her case. Alice ultimately reveals that she acted in self-defense against an attack she cannot fully describe. They depart together while an officer carries the damaged clown painting signed by Alice.

Cast

Production

Originally conceived as a silent film, Blackmail shifted during production to include sound elements, a change prompted by producer John Maxwell of British International Pictures aiming to leverage the growing appeal of talkies. Although Hitchcock reportedly viewed this transition as somewhat ridiculous, he proceeded to shoot nearly the entire movie with sound, while still incorporating silent scenes accompanied by non-synchronous audio when actors' faces were not visible.

The opening six minutes along with several other sequences remain silent, enhanced by musical scoring; notably, the concluding chase scene employs silent footage interspersed with occasional vocal sounds. This blend categorizes Blackmail as a "part-talkie." A similar mid-production conversion to sound was undertaken by Gaumont-British for High Treason.

Promoted as one of Britain's pioneering "all-talkie" productions, Blackmail was recorded using the RCA Photophone sound-on-film system and filmed at British and Dominions Imperial Studios in Borehamwood, recognized as Europe's first studio purpose-built for sound films.

Due to lead actress Anny Ondra's pronounced Czech accent, she was considered unsuitable for the new sound format. Because early sound technology did not allow for post-production dubbing, Joan Barry provided the spoken dialogue off-camera while Ondra lip-synced on screen, resulting in a somewhat awkward delivery.

Hitchcock included signature elements such as a blonde heroine facing danger and iconic London landmarks, secretly employing the Schüfftan process to capture low-light scenes within the British Museum’s Reading Room.

The film enjoyed both critical acclaim and box office success, with its innovative use of sound receiving particular praise. A silent version was also released soon after and enjoyed extended runs due to the scarcity of sound-equipped cinemas in Britain. Nevertheless, the talkie edition is regarded as the more historically important version, although some critics prefer the silent cut. Different actors portrayed the Chief Inspector role in each version: Harvey Braban in the sound release and Sam Livesey in the silent.

Hitchcock's cameo

Alfred Hitchcock's cameo, a signature feature in many of his works, appears here with him being disturbed by a young boy while reading on the London Underground. This is one of his lengthier cameos, occurring approximately ten minutes into the film. As Hitchcock’s fame increased—especially after hosting his own television series—his cameos became noticeably shorter.

Release and reception

Blackmail premiered for critics and distributors on 21 June 1929 at the Regal cinema in Marble Arch, followed by its public debut at London's Capitol Cinema on 28 July 1929. It ranked among the most commercially successful British films of that year and earned widespread critical praise.

In a nationwide UK audience poll, Blackmail was voted the best British film of 1929, largely due to the more commonly screened silent version. Other notable British films from surrounding years included The Constant Nymph (1928), Rookery Nook (1930), and Sunshine Susie (1932).

Legacy

Recognized as one of the pioneering sound films, Blackmail is frequently hailed as a milestone and often identified as the first fully British "all-talkie" feature-length production. Among the crew were two individuals who would later become notable directors: Ronald Neame served as clapperboard operator, while Michael Powell was responsible for capturing on-set publicity photographs.

Earlier British films incorporating partial sound included:

  • The Gentleman, a short Phonofilm sound-on-film segment extracted from The 9 to 11 Revue, released in June 1925.
  • The Clue of the New Pin, which utilized British Phototone sound-on-disc technology during filming.
  • The Crimson Circle, a silent UK-German co-production later enhanced with Phonofilm sound dubbing.
  • Black Waters, a British-made sound film produced in the United States and released in April 1929.

In London, exhibitors were presented with a joint trade screening of New Pin and Crimson Circle in March 1929.

The storyline of the 2022 film Downton Abbey: A New Era, produced by Gareth Neame, grandson of Ronald Neame, draws some narrative influence from Blackmail.

Preservation status and home media

In 2012, a restoration of the silent edition of Blackmail was finalized as part of the British Film Institute’s £2 million initiative titled "Save the Hitchcock 9," which focused on preserving all surviving silent films directed by Hitchcock.

As of early 2025, Blackmail became part of the public domain within the United States.

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • Ryall, Tom, Blackmail (London: British Film Institute, 1993)

External links

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