Juno And The Paycock/ Blackmail: Alfred Hitchcock

Limited Edition Double Feature

Alfred Hitchcock (1899 - 1980)

Alfred Hitchcock was the most important film director of the 20th Century. Already established in Britain as a successful film-maker during the silent days, Hitchcock was wooed by Hollywood after a decade of internationally known pictures done in the 1930's. His move west in the 1940's allowed him the financial and artistic freedom which he found lacking in England and enabled him to produce films that were aesthetically cohesive, technically challenging and basically appealing to the common man. They were also enormous commercial successes. Apart from Charlie Chaplin, no other director was so personally identified with his collaborator. Hitchcock embodied the concept of "autuer" more than any other director and left an indelible mark on his craft, his audience, and the history of Western art in the last 100 years. The 2 selections in this program are from his British period and are his first "sound" features.

Juno And The Paycock

Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, adapted this Sean O'Casey play for the screen. Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Sara Allgood and Edward Chapman, it is set in Dublin during the Irish revolution. The story follows the troubles of a poor family -- a lost inheritance, a betrayal that leads to murder, and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Although a stage drama and not possessing a typical Hitchcock story line, Juno and the Paycock was wildly received upon its release.


Blackmail

Hitchcock's (and England's) first film to feature sound! The girlfriend of a Scotland Yard detective kills an artist (Cyril Ritchard) who has tried to rape her. The detective (John Longden) is assigned to the murder case, unaware that his girlfriend (Anny Ondra) is both the killer and a victim of a blackmailer. The film ends with a climactic chase through, and on top of the British Museum, where the blackmailer falls to his death.