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Among Alfred Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood movies, 1938's Young and Innocent is a most unfairly overlooked classic. It's full of themes and stylistic touches that became permanent fixtures in his career. Based on Josephine Tey's novel A Shilling for Candles, the film title refers to the characters' outlook. However Hitchcock characteristically chips away at that innocence with flourishes of macabre humour, such as scenes of a dead rat at the lunch table and a hopeless conference with a defence lawyer, while suspense is heightened in a game of blindman's buff at a children 's party. The story concerns a typically Hitchcockian innocent man (Derrick de Marney) on the run, with a trivial object to find (a raincoat) that will prove his innocence. He's helped by a fiery young girl (Nova Pilbeam) who's unfortunately the daughter of the chief constable, but has some handy first aid skills. There's also an oppressive mother figure in the shape of an overbearing aunt (Mary Clare). Aside from these thematic traits, what remains impressive for viewers new or old is Hitchcock's technical set-pieces: a car sinks into a mineshaft, a railway station is recreated in miniature, and the twitchy-eyed murderer is finally located via an extended aerial tracking shot across a ballroom (pre-empting many similar shots, eg: Notorious). This sequence took two days to accomplish, and demonstrates the director was more than ready to move to the older and less innocent American industry . --Paul Tonks
Product Description
Young & Innocent - Former child star Nova Pilbeam - the kidnapping victim in 'The Man Who Knew Too Much', reappears in this light hearted and unpretentious mystery shot on location in Cornwall. Playing the daughter of a local constable, Pilbeam shelters a suspected murderer (Derrick DeMarney) and a charming romance develops. The highlight of this rare Hitchcock film is a stunningly intricate camera crane shot of the twitching eyes of the guilt-ridden killer: a jazz drummer in blackface. It took two days to shoot and is one of a continuous move lasting one minute and ten seconds focusing down from 145 feet to 4 inches
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
One of Hitchcock's (unfairly) forgotten films, living in the shadow of his more famous British works such as The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, Young And Innocent remains one of the highlights of his pre-American era and is one of the sweetest movies in his entire canon.
A film actress is found dead on a beach by Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney), but as he was seen running away from the body, she was strangled by the belt of his stolen raincoat and she's left him some money in her will, the police arrest him. Managing to escape from the courthouse, after some first aid treatment by the police commissioner's daughter Erica (Nova Pilbeam), he goes on the run and subsequently meets up with Erica again who, although initially reluctant, eventually agrees to help him to prove his innocence.
We know from the very beginning that the real murderer is a man with twitching eyes and whilst the film is ostensibly about Robert and Erica's hunt to find the killer, it's more about their journey to falling in love with each other. Pilbeam is superb, and ever so lovely, and Hitch's real-life fondness for her shines through in every scene. It would be a cold-hearted male viewer indeed who could watch this film and not fall in love with Erica, or at the very least not understand why Robert is so smitten. De Marney, who never really interested the director as much, suffers as a result but still gives a strong performance.
There are a strong set of supporting cast members, with wonderful comedic touches (notice throughout the film that it's the children who behave better than the adults - for instance it's the adults running around the birthday party in silly hats playing games whilst the children are more formal). There are also some trademark set pieces to enjoy, including the stunning crane shot towards the end of the film which zooms in from 145 feet to 4 inches to reveal where the murderer is.
Hitchcock fans will love the film, noticing some neat touches that will remind them of some of his later works (the use of birds in the film for one) but even those with little affection for the great man would certainly be charmed. It may not manage to quite have the excitement that some of Hitchcock's other "man on the run" movies have, but Young And Innocent remains a charming, delightful movie which left this viewer with a smile on his face from start to finish.
A film actress is found dead on a beach by Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney), but as he was seen running away from the body, she was strangled by the belt of his stolen raincoat and she's left him some money in her will, the police arrest him. Managing to escape from the courthouse, after some first aid treatment by the police commissioner's daughter Erica (Nova Pilbeam), he goes on the run and subsequently meets up with Erica again who, although initially reluctant, eventually agrees to help him to prove his innocence.
We know from the very beginning that the real murderer is a man with twitching eyes and whilst the film is ostensibly about Robert and Erica's hunt to find the killer, it's more about their journey to falling in love with each other. Pilbeam is superb, and ever so lovely, and Hitch's real-life fondness for her shines through in every scene. It would be a cold-hearted male viewer indeed who could watch this film and not fall in love with Erica, or at the very least not understand why Robert is so smitten. De Marney, who never really interested the director as much, suffers as a result but still gives a strong performance.
There are a strong set of supporting cast members, with wonderful comedic touches (notice throughout the film that it's the children who behave better than the adults - for instance it's the adults running around the birthday party in silly hats playing games whilst the children are more formal). There are also some trademark set pieces to enjoy, including the stunning crane shot towards the end of the film which zooms in from 145 feet to 4 inches to reveal where the murderer is.
Hitchcock fans will love the film, noticing some neat touches that will remind them of some of his later works (the use of birds in the film for one) but even those with little affection for the great man would certainly be charmed. It may not manage to quite have the excitement that some of Hitchcock's other "man on the run" movies have, but Young And Innocent remains a charming, delightful movie which left this viewer with a smile on his face from start to finish.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
For a long time I have longed to get my hands on a box of Hitchcock's early work which I have been told is most excellent having watched only his later films so it was with great delight that I stumbled over this film, one of his earler works. And boy was I glad I did! This remarkable little film had me captured from beginning until end and I really enjoyed everything about it. At not even an hour and a half I was left wanting more at the end which is always good with any film and I shall be searching the shelves for many more or his films from now on.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is one of the lesser known delights of the Hitchcock canon. The film is a light concoction containing some deft Hitchcock touches. It revisits the theme of 'The 39 Steps', though less suspenseful and not so sexy and without,of course, the great Robert Donat. A woman's body is washed onto a beach along with the weapon used to strangle her - a raincoat belt (30 years later a similar body, this time naked, would be found in the Thames strangled with a necktie; Hitchcock surely recalling this film when he made 'Frenzy'). Our hero is accused and spends the rest of the film on the run and searching for the missing raincoat. The famous long shot slowly closing in on the villains eyes is still astonishing, but there is much more in this film. The screams of the women who discover the body are unheard, transformed into the screeches of seagulls for example ( a trick used in 'The 39 Steps' with a train instead of the gulls) in this and in many other small examples we see Hitchcock's imaginative storytelling.
Between the brilliant '39 Steps' and the light masterpiece 'The Lady Vanishes' it is easy to see how this film might be passed over. But that would be a mistake - this is a film any Hitchcock admirer can enjoy.
Between the brilliant '39 Steps' and the light masterpiece 'The Lady Vanishes' it is easy to see how this film might be passed over. But that would be a mistake - this is a film any Hitchcock admirer can enjoy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Well worth seeing
An early Hitchcock film from 1938, shot in black and white, and set in England. It turns out to be a good story, always holding the attention, with the tale foreshadowing a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Aimée Algérie
The main reason to watch this rather forgotten (for good reasons) film...
Young and Innocent (1937) is about seemingly docile situation that blows up in a young man's face. While wandering the beach, he comes across the dead body of a woman he knew. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Profr R. Cohenalmagor
Poor Quality Version
Avoid this release at all costs.
The Picture is absolutely abysmal, scratched and wishy washy picture, blurry and they can't even get the menu title correct, is this film call... Read more
The Picture is absolutely abysmal, scratched and wishy washy picture, blurry and they can't even get the menu title correct, is this film call... Read more
Published 13 months ago by R. Reel
Young and Innocent Fun
Another of Hitchcock's innocent-man-on-the-run films, this is still a neatly turned out little thriller which has plenty of Hitchcock touches including the use of birds, the silent... Read more
Published on 20 April 2009 by Kenneth F. Mcara
The Wrong Man (again) ...
"Young and Innocent" is fairly typical Hitchcock fayre; a man is wrongly accused of murder and as he flees from the law ,he befriends an attractive blonde who joins in his quest to... Read more
Published on 7 July 2006 by L. Davidson
Usual theme of innocent man chased by police
The theme of the innocent good guy chased for a murder he hasn't committed is a typical Hitchcock situation ("The 39 steps", "North by northwest", just to... Read more
Published on 27 Feb 2001
A Hitchcock with a gentle difference.
In the middle of all his thrillers, Hitchcock produced "Young & Innocent", which by comparison looks like a pastoral. Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2000 by Nettlewine
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