Going back into Hitchcock and I remember why I was so reluctant to. The films this early in his career are really not very imaginative, which I guess was emblematic of English cinema at the time.
By this point in his career it is very clear that he has developed a taste for thrillers. In a few of his earlier efforts he showed that he has some promise with very interesting scene transitions, framing, and shot composition. Yet in this one it isn't quite as imaginative. He does include some slow zooms and one shot of a lady on a horse but overall the technical aspects of this film are only marginally above the average 1931 film. The horror directors by this point had certainly surpassed Mr. Hitchcock.
Aside from that, the story is almost unbearably boring. It starts off so slow that I was considering just turning it off and jumping back over to the Hollywood drivel. Luckily Alfred Hitchcock must have understood the limits of this story because it is under 90 minutes and it gradually gets more interesting throughout, ending at mildly intriguing. He took a story about displacement in the name of profits and turned it into a tale about rivalry among landlords. Interesting starting concept made boring turns into annoying concept made almost tolerable.
If I could get past my burning hatred for profits or landlords or Capitalism then I guess I would have liked this film more than I did. All of the non rich people only serve as obstacles for the wealthy people in this story and not in a deliberate criticism way. And this was made during the Great Depression.
I guess I should keep watching this guy's filmography, surely he will get to be as good as everybody says, right. I know his best is over a decade away so it's a long journey for me to get there.
By this point in his career it is very clear that he has developed a taste for thrillers. In a few of his earlier efforts he showed that he has some promise with very interesting scene transitions, framing, and shot composition. Yet in this one it isn't quite as imaginative. He does include some slow zooms and one shot of a lady on a horse but overall the technical aspects of this film are only marginally above the average 1931 film. The horror directors by this point had certainly surpassed Mr. Hitchcock.
Aside from that, the story is almost unbearably boring. It starts off so slow that I was considering just turning it off and jumping back over to the Hollywood drivel. Luckily Alfred Hitchcock must have understood the limits of this story because it is under 90 minutes and it gradually gets more interesting throughout, ending at mildly intriguing. He took a story about displacement in the name of profits and turned it into a tale about rivalry among landlords. Interesting starting concept made boring turns into annoying concept made almost tolerable.
If I could get past my burning hatred for profits or landlords or Capitalism then I guess I would have liked this film more than I did. All of the non rich people only serve as obstacles for the wealthy people in this story and not in a deliberate criticism way. And this was made during the Great Depression.
I guess I should keep watching this guy's filmography, surely he will get to be as good as everybody says, right. I know his best is over a decade away so it's a long journey for me to get there.