Juno and the Paycock

1930

1 hr. 35 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

27%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

10%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A working-class Irish family experiences tragedy as they await a large inheritance. Based on Sean O'Casey's play.

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Steve D

A complete embarrassment.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

12/28/23

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michael d

Not as bad as the hype might lead one to believe.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

As mentioned already, this statically-shot play fits Hitchcock's own definition of "pictures of people talking." The dead center of this film is Edward Chapman as The Captain--he's simply annoying, rather than being just likeable enough that you give a damn what happens to him. What a shame that the great Barry Fitzgerald, who created this role on stage, didn't star in this film instead--it may still have been a static early talkie, but it would have at least preserved his brilliant acting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

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zed b

Just for once the master misfires with a wooden adaptation of the O'Casey play that fails to involve us in this intense family drama.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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martin a

It would be fair to say that this early Alfred Hitchcock film is one of his worst pieces of work. The dialogue is poor, the pacing is tedious, and the first ten minutes of the film will leave you screaming for it to end. Some interesting faces in the film, Richard Haydn who played the barman and Barry Fitzgerald would work together again in "And Then There Were None" (1945 film) John Laurie also makes a very early appearance in his career, but despite all of the great names sadly it is not enough to save this rambling film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

joel h

Juno and the Paycock isn't an easy film to watch. The long takes and drawn-out speeches (in which nothing is really said) test even the most sturdy attention span. And the silly beginning feels mismatched with the solemn ending. Maybe it works better on a stage, but this is far from Hitchcock's best work.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Edward Chapman

Captain Boyle

Sara Allgood

Mrs. Boyle

Maire O'Neil

Mrs. Maisie Madigan

Sidney Morgan

Actor

John Longden

Charles Bentham

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Variety Staff

Variety

Three-quarters of the film is just photographed stage play -- excellently photographed, but slow in action.

Mar 26, 2009

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New York Times

By its failure to blend the two poles of drama the film resolves itself into virtually two plays.

Mar 25, 2006

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

A fairly deadly case of canned theater that's pretty close to what Hitchcock many years later would refer to as 'photographs of people talking.'

Jan 1, 2000

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

It had nothing to do with cinema, Hitchcock himself had said of his adaptation of Sean O'Casey play, though it's well acted by Sara Allgood and the rest of the ensemble

Rated: C

Nov 14, 2012

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TV Guide

Though well photographed, the action is incredibly slow for Hitchcock.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 20, 2012

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A faithful Casey adaptation, but one that's stagebound and lackluster.

Rated: C+

Mar 16, 2010

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Synopsis

A working-class Irish family experiences tragedy as they await a large inheritance. Based on Sean O'Casey's play.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2019