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Blackmail

Play trailer Poster for Blackmail Released Oct 6, 1929 1h 26m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
88% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
During a date, Alice White (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her boyfriend, Scotland Yard Officer Frank Webber (John Longden), and decides to leave with an artist named Mr. Crewe (Cyril Ritchard). Whey they get to the artist's flat, Mr. Crewe attempts to force himself on Alice, and she kills him to defend herself. Frank investigates the case and, after realizing Alice is the culprit, seeks to help her. However, a thief (Donald Calthrop) with blackmail on his mind complicates matters.

Critics Reviews

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David Parkinson Empire Magazine A little clunky at times for contemporary audiences but still manages to truly perturb. Rated: 4/5 Jan 10, 2019 Full Review Variety Staff Variety Blackmail is most draggy. It has no speed or pace and very little suspense. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Mordaunt Hall New York Times The director, Alfred Hitchcock, frequently fails to see that his scenes are adequately lighted and more often than not the images do not stand out as distinctly as they might if more attention had been paid to the shading of the interior walls. Mar 25, 2006 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a solid (albeit rough-around-the-edges) early Hitchcock thriller that boasts plenty of agreeable, engaging attributes. Rated: 3/4 May 20, 2024 Full Review Hugh Castle Close Up Blackmail is perhaps the most intelligent mixture of sound and silence we have yet seen. It is not a great picture, it is not a masterpiece...But it is a first effort of which the British industry has every reason to be proud. It is Hitchcock's come-back. Jan 13, 2021 Full Review Nathanael Hood The Retro Set ...crackles with the energy of a genius reckoning with a new toy-box. Rated: 8/10 Jan 9, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Dallas H It is impressive to see the final cut of "Blackmail", which is a hodgepodge of different elements as the film crew transitioned from the silent era to the "talkies" during the initial production of the film. Originally intended to be a completely silent movie, a few scenes had to be reshoot to include spoken dialogue on screen, while also balancing "live dubbing" for the lead actress, who had to mime speaking her dialogue in front of the camera while another actress sat off-screen saying the dialogue into a microphone on her behalf. This would be seen as creative thinking on an indie production budget. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/25/25 Full Review Mason M A fine film that does a good job portraying it's message for a silent film Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/10/24 Full Review Teddy B Alfred Hitchcock's style further develops and flourishes in this entertaining film from the basis of his characteristics provided by 'The Lodger'. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/23/23 Full Review Josh G The build to the end is tense and a blast to watch but the end is rushed and just sorta stops. I really like the characters and the way we see our leads interact in a complicated morality world filled with shadow and excellent sets and background. Alot to love a lot to fix A mixed bag for me. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/13/23 Full Review michael d A solid shape of things to come from Hitchcock and just a good little movie in general. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member A solid effort as Hitchcock makes the transition from silent to sound. A must watch for any Hitchcock fan. Has so many tropes that he would deliver time and again. Delivers a wonderful murder scene and his precocious talent comes through as he makes use of the new sound technology to symbolise Anny Ondra's character's panic over what happened the night before. The plot could have been fleshed out a bit and it did show that at this time he was a talented amateur rather than a professional, but a lovely watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Blackmail

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Cast & Crew

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Anny Ondra

Alice White

John Longden

Det. Frank Webber

Donald Calthrop

Tracy

Cyril Ritchard

Mr. Crewe

Sara Allgood

Mrs. White

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Blackmail

Blackmail (1929) Blackmail (1929) Blackmail (1929) Blackmail (1929) Blackmail (1929) Blackmail (1929) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis During a date, Alice White (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her boyfriend, Scotland Yard Officer Frank Webber (John Longden), and decides to leave with an artist named Mr. Crewe (Cyril Ritchard). Whey they get to the artist's flat, Mr. Crewe attempts to force himself on Alice, and she kills him to defend herself. Frank investigates the case and, after realizing Alice is the culprit, seeks to help her. However, a thief (Donald Calthrop) with blackmail on his mind complicates matters.
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Producer
John Maxwell
Screenwriter
Charles Bennett, Alfred Hitchcock, Benn W. Levy
Distributor
Republic Pictures, LS Video, Criterion Collection, Sono Art-World Wide Pictures Inc.
Production Co
British International Pictures
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 6, 1929, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Runtime
1h 26m
Sound Mix
Mono