The Skin Game

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Steve D Only Gwenn gives it any life. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 12/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Much better than the ratings suggest. Admittedly it's a thin story that takes a while to get going but the last 30 or so minutes are gripping stuff and Edmund Gwenn gives a surprisingly delightful performance, and his best in any of his roles under Hitchcock, as the unscrupulous Mr Hornblower. Not a huge amount to recognise for the average Hitchcock fan but far superior to some of his other early work that is higher rated. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review paul d The Skin Game is a tale of several bitter battles. It pits the aristocracy, the landed gentry, against the nouveau riche, who've made their fortunes with rampant capitalism and industrialisation. It is also a battle between families who each have their humanity and their foibles. And it is a tragic, melodramatic love story in which a woman battles against her past, yet we know she is doomed by the raging forces that surround her. Finally, it also has hints of a different, sweeter love story, with two innocent young people making faint attempts to be together while resisting their families' battles, and theirs is the final frame of the film, one that gives hope for the future. All this was a successful play that Alfred Hitchcock turned into a film in 1931. Yes, true to its theatrical origins, it is a series of wordy stage-pieces that chafe against our modern film sensibilities. But there are plenty of moments for Hitchcock's genius to shine: wonderful scene set-ups, camera movements, close-ups, and even flashbacks. The first drawing room scene, when Hornblower confronts the Hillcrests, is a masterpiece. Edmund Gwenn gives a magisterial performance as the newlyy-rich industrialist, Hornblower. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I really enjoy the top-to-bottom wicked characters here; everyone is a bastard, using this young woman to get what they want. Large portions of it are relatively stale filmically, but Hitchcock still has moments of showing off his penchant for bold style to tell the story (ghostly vision). It's an intriguing (though familiar) morality tale. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review zed b Mixed bag of emotions from Hitchcock, with the class system under the spotlight. As with Juno and the Paycock the transition from stage to film feels flat and beyond his technical reach at the time. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review joel h In this spin on Romeo & Juliet, two families try to one-up each other with disastrous results. It's not an overly compelling movie, though, with long stretches of nothing really happening. The ending, however, packs an emotional punch along with a not-so-subtle message about holding grudges. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Skin Game

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