London, 1929. Frank Webber, a very busy Scotland Yard detective, seems to be more interested in his work than in Alice White, his girlfriend. Feeling herself ignored, Alice agrees to go out with an elegant and well-mannered artist who invites her to visit his fancy apartment.
Direction
Hitchcock's 'knife' scene—pure visual storytelling.
Cinematography
Expressionist shadows that talk louder than dialogue.
Acting
Anny Ondra's voice was dubbed—spot the sync issues.
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Anny Ondra
Alice White
Sara Allgood
Mrs. White
Charles Paton
Mr. White
John Longden
Detective Frank Webber
Donald Calthrop
Tracy
Cyril Ritchard
The Artist
Hannah Jones
The Landlady
Harvey Braban
The Chief Inspector
Alfred Hitchcock
Man on Subway (uncredited)
Joan Barry
Alice White (voice) (uncredited)
Phyllis Konstam
Gossiping Neighbour (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Hitchcock shot this as a silent film, then added sound scenes in 10 days when talkies exploded. The silent version still exists and is arguably tighter.
The famous 'knife' scene—where the word 'knife' dominates Alice's perception—was Hitchcock's first true 'subjective camera' experiment, inventing the psychological point-of-view shot.
GB
