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Murder!

From Alfawiki
British International Pictures
Company typeFilm production company
IndustryFilm
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
ProductsFilms

Murder! is a 1930 British mystery thriller co-written and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring performances by Herbert Marshall, Norah Baring, and Edward Chapman. The screenplay, crafted by Hitchcock, his wife Alma Reville, and Walter C. Mycroft, adapts the 1928 novel Enter Sir John authored by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson. This film represents Hitchcock's third fully sound production, following Blackmail (1929) and Juno and the Paycock (1930).

Plot

Diana Baring, an actress traveling with a theatre company, is discovered near the corpse of fellow performer Edna Druce, her clothing stained with blood and her memory of the incident erased. The murder weapon, a poker, lies at her feet. Authorities detain Diana, who chooses to withhold crucial details to shield a man whose identity she refuses to disclose.

During the trial, the majority of jurors conclude Diana is guilty; some consider that she may be mentally unstable but still vote for conviction. Sir John Menier, a distinguished actor-manager serving on the jury, initially supports her innocence but ultimately succumbs to pressure and casts a guilty vote. Diana receives a death sentence.

Feeling accountable for recommending Diana’s role in the touring production, John collaborates with stage manager Ted Markham and his wife Doucie to investigate further. Their suspicion centers on Handel Fane, a male member of the acting troupe.

On visiting Diana in prison, John uncovers Fane’s secret: he is half-caste and is passing as white. Druce had threatened to reveal this truth to Diana, who was already aware. To provoke a confession, John arranges an audition for a play that parallels the murder scenario. Fane realizes their knowledge but remains silent; he subsequently returns to performing as a transvestite trapeze artist in a circus.

When confronted during his trapeze act, Fane takes his own life by hanging himself with the trapeze rope. A written confession is discovered after his death.

The story concludes with Diana’s exoneration and public acclaim as she performs alongside John in a new stage production. They share an embrace as the curtain closes.

Cast

Jury Members

Production

The movie was produced by British International Pictures, formerly known as Associated British Picture Corporation. Originally, the project was titled after the novel Enter Sir John, but during the course of filming, the title was changed to Murder!. Significant alterations from the source material included renaming several principal characters. The figure of Sir John Menier drew loose inspiration from actor Gerald du Maurier, who was a personal acquaintance of Hitchcock. Subsequently, Hitchcock adapted works by du Maurier's daughter, Daphne du Maurier, including the films Jamaica Inn (1939), Rebecca (1940), and The Birds (1963). Hitchcock makes a brief cameo appearance as he walks past the residence of the murder victim.

The film's settings were crafted under the direction of art director John Mead.

A German-language version titled Mary was produced concurrently using the same sets but featured German-speaking actors. Miles Mander returned to portray his role, although his character's name was altered to Gordon Moore.

Music

The original score was composed by John Reynders, complemented by the inclusion of the prelude from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, which is heard during a radio broadcast in the shaving scene.

For this particular sequence, an orchestra performed live on set. In discussions with François Truffaut documented in Hitchcock/Truffaut, Hitchcock explained that Herbert Marshall’s dialogue was pre-recorded on a phonograph and played back during filming, while the orchestra simultaneously provided the "radio" music live—an approach necessitated by early sound film technology that lacked post-production dubbing capabilities.

Copyright status and home media

Although Murder! remains under copyright protection worldwide, it has been extensively bootlegged on home video formats. Nevertheless, authorized and restored editions have been released on DVD, Blu-ray, and video on demand services by distributors such as Optimum in the United Kingdom, as well as Lionsgate and Kino Lorber in the United States.

Bibliography

  • Chandler, Charlotte. It's only a movie: Alfred Hitchcock : a personal biography. First Applause, 2006.
  • Yacowar, Maurice. Hitchcock's British Films. Wayne State University Press, 2010.

External links

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