REVIEW: Blackmail [1929]

I don’t like waiting about for you. Originally green-lit as a silent film, I’ve read differing accounts as far as Alfred Hitchcock‘s feelings about his producer deciding to shift gears and make Blackmail Europe’s first successful “talkie.” Some say he hated the idea and thus the silent cut (Hitchcock finished two versions of the film so it could be played in theaters ill-equipped to handle synchronized sound) is the definitive variant. Others say he hated the idea that he was allowed to only shoot “some” of it with dialogue, choosing…

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