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Blackmail (1929) was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard, and based on the play Blackmail by Charles Bennett. It is considered to be the first all-talkie British film. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 222 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (282 × 761 pixel, file size: 156 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) ==licensing-- This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the...
This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production company active from 1927 until 1970. ...
Charles Bennett (December 28, 1870 – March 9, 1949) is a former British athlete, winner of the 1500 m at the 1900 Summer Olympics and the first British track and field athlete to become Olympic champion. ...
This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
Anna Sophie Ondráková, known as Anny Ondra (May 15, 1903, Tarnów - February 28, 1987, Hollenstedt near Hamburg) was a Czech/German actress. ...
Sara Allgood (born October 31, 1879 in Dublin, Ireland and died September 13, 1950 in Woodland Hills, California, United States), was an Irish character_actress. ...
Cyril Ritchard was born December 1, 1897 in Sydney, Australia and died December 18, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois. ...
Jack E. Cox, know variously as J. J. Cox, Jack Cox, John J. Cox and John Cox, was an English cinematographer born in London, on 26 July 1896. ...
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Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ...
is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
See also: 1928 in film 1929 1930 in film 1920s in film 1930s in film years in film film // Events The days of the silent film were numbered. ...
This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
Anna Sophie Ondráková, known as Anny Ondra (May 15, 1903, Tarnów - February 28, 1987, Hollenstedt near Hamburg) was a Czech/German actress. ...
Cyril Ritchard was born December 1, 1897 in Sydney, Australia and died December 18, 1977 in Chicago, Illinois. ...
Charles Bennett (December 28, 1870 – March 9, 1949) is a former British athlete, winner of the 1500 m at the 1900 Summer Olympics and the first British track and field athlete to become Olympic champion. ...
A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ...
Michael Caine in Get Carter (1971). ...
After being thought in the public domain for decades, the film's rights were obtained by French media company Canal+ in 2005. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...
Canal+ (Canal Plus, meaning Channel Plus/More in French) is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. ...
Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Plot
Scotland Yard Detective Frank Webber (Longden) escorts his girlfriend Alice White (Ondra) to a tea house. They have an argument and Alice leaves with Mr. Crewe (Ritchard), an artist whom she has earlier agreed to meet. At his studio, Crewe sings and plays "Miss Up-to-Date" on the piano. Alice innocently flirts with the artist. He convinces her to try on a dress then attempts to assault her as she is changing. Alice grabs a nearby bread knife and stabs him to death. New Scotland Yard, London New Scotland Yard, it blowwsssss often referred to simply as Scotland Yard or The Yard, is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for policing Greater London (although not the City of London itself). ...
Alice leaves after attempting to conceal any evidence of her presence in the flat. She has, however, unknowingly left her gloves behind. The next day Frank is assigned to the case and finds one of the gloves. He realizes the glove belongs to Alice and visits Alice at her father's shop. Local petty thief Tracey (Donald Calthrop), who saw Alice at the artist's flat earlier, interrupts the two and attempts to blackmail the couple. Frank tells Tracey his attempt will fail.
The tables are turned when Tracy becomes the chief suspect after the artist's landlady identifies him as being at the scene of the crime. Tracey flees and is pursued by the police. He clamors onto the domed roof of the British Museum and is killed after falling through a glass panel of the dome. The British Museum in London, England is one of the worlds greatest museums of human history and culture. ...
Alice feels compelled to confess she killed the artist and goes to Scotland Yard. She attempts to talk to the Chief Inspector but is escorted out by Frank.
Production The film began production as a silent film. To cash in on the new found popularity of talkies the film's producers, British International Pictures, gave Hitchcock the go-ahead to film a portion of the movie in sound. Hitchcock thought the idea absurd and surreptitiously filmed almost the entire feature in sound along with a silent version for theatres not yet equipped for talking pictures. Image File history File links BlackmailStill. ...
Image File history File links BlackmailStill. ...
A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ...
A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ...
Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production company active from 1927 until 1970. ...
Blackmail, marketed as Britain's first "all-talkie" feature, was recorded in the RCA Photophone sound-on-film process. In July 1925, a short film, The Gentleman, had been released in London in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In March 1929, a feature film The Clue of the New Pin, a part-talkie based on an Edgar Wallace novel, was trade-shown with The Crimson Circle, a German-UK coproduction which was also based on a Wallace novel. Crimson was filmed in DeForest Photofilm, and Pin was made in British Phototone, a sound-on-disc process using 12-inch phonograph records synchronized with the film. A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ...
The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same film strip of film carrying the picture. ...
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
The term Sound-on-disc refers to a class of sound film processes utilizing a phonograph or other disc to record or playback sound in sync with a motion picture. ...
Lead actress Anny Ondra was raised in Prague and had a heavy Polish accent that was felt unsuitable for the film. Sound was in its infancy at the time and it was impossible to post dub Anny's voice. Rather than replace Anny and re-shoot her portions of the film actress Joan Barry was hired to actually speak the dialogue off-camera while Anny lip-synched them for the film. This makes Ondra's performance seem slightly awkward. Anny Ondra's career in the UK was hurt by sound. She returned to Germany and retired from films after making a few additional movies and marrying boxer Max Schmeling. However, an amusing test film has survived of Hitchcock "interviewing" Ondra, in which director teases the actress and asks her some personal questions. Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (September 28, 1905 – February 2, 2005) was a German boxer whose two fights with Joe Louis transcended boxing and became worldwide social events because of their racial and national associations. ...
Hitchcock used several elements that would become Hitchcock "trademarks" including a beautiful blonde in peril and a famous landmark in the finale. Hitchcock used the Schufftan process to film the scenes in the Reading Room of the British Museum since the light levels were too low for normal filming. It has been suggested that Shuftan process be merged into this article or section. ...
The film was a critical and commercial hit. The sound was praised as inventive. A completed silent version of Blackmail was released in 1929 shortly after the talkie version hit theaters. The silent version of Blackmail actually ran longer in theaters and proved more popular, largely because most theaters in Britain were not yet equipped for sound. Despite the popularity of the silent version, history best remembers the landmark talkie version of Blackmail. It is the version now generally available although some critics consider the silent version superior. Alfred Hitchcock filmed the silent version with Sam Livesey as the Chief Inspector and the sound version with Harvey Braban in the same role.
Hitchcock's Cameo Alfred Hitchcock's cameo, a signature occurrence in almost all of Hitchcock's films, shows him being bothered by a small boy as he reads a book in the subway. This is probably the lengthiest cameo Hitchcock performed in his film career. As the director became better-known to audiences, especially when he appeared as the host of his own television series, he dramatically shortened his on-screen appearances. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of Alfred Hitchcock cameo appearances. ...
References - Ryall, Tom, Blackmail (London: British Film Institute, 1993)
External links - Blackmail at the Internet Movie Database
- Blackmail at the AFI/Turner Classic Movies database
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