Young and Innocent

Released Feb 10, 1938

1 hr. 20 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

100%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

When normal guy Robert Tisdall (Derrick de Marney) discovers the body of actress Christine Clay (Pamela Carme) washed up on shore, he is arrested for her murder. Having no confidence in the barrister assigned to him, Tisdall escapes from the police station and ends up hitching a ride with the police chief's daughter, Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam). After being spotted together, the two are assumed to be in league and have no choice but to cooperate in order to uncover the real killer.

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Steve D

Nothing really worked for me here.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

Xopher P

I only watched this because I'm a huge Hitchcock fan and the good reviews it has received on Rotten Tomatoes. Unfortunately, I cannot concur with them. I found Young and Innocent bereft of any suspense, plodding, unrealistic, and frustrating -- so much so that I don't want to waste my energy writing any more about it than that.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/24/23

Full Review

Dick C

It's an exciting British motion picture, Young and Innocent and in the US as The Girl Was Young, 1937, directed by my favourite filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock.. Based on the 1936 fascinating novel A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey, a pseudonym used by Elizabeth MacKintosh, a Scottish author... Both British actress and actor, Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney portray good...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Liam D

One of the earliest movies in the master of Suspense filmography it's an interesting picture

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not as artful or as entertaining as Hitch's normal thrillers but it's still a very enjoyable watch. Innocent man on the run and a young romance at the heart of it. de Marney and Pilbeam's on screen chemistry has a wonderful sweetness to it. Hitchcock uses dramatic irony to fabulous effect once again by including a magnificent gliding crane shot that unveils the true killer.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Nothing really clicks in this movie. The leading man is too much of a dweeb to be fronting a daring debonair personality - Hitch didn't have Grant yet. The mystery aspect got lost in the shuffle of a running man story; I'd forgotten all about the opening scene, and without much to thread it until late in the film, it seemed like an appendage thrown in last minute at the front and back of an otherwise lackluster script. Some of the visuals are gorgeous, and some are laughable. The miniature train set blew me away at first, until we saw little stick people replacing actors. I mean, really, if this is what you're working with, transcend it, work into some weird surrealist kind of nightmare. Hearing the studio reverb in a car set against rear screen projection had me laughing my ass off. Everything exists to reach a mildly satisfying denouement, which I like most for one particular floating camera that moves from a wide establishing shot on a dance party all the way into an extreme closeup on the killer. Early Hitchcock films get a bad rap; I enjoy many of them and include them in some of his finest works - Sabotuer, Foreign Correspondent, Rebecca... just not this one.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Derrick de Marney

Robert Tisdall

Nova Pilbeam

Erica Burgoyne

Percy Marmont

Col Burgoyne

Edward Rigby

Old Will

Mary Clare

Erica's Aunt Margaret

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TIME Magazine

Lacks the vivid outlines and clear characterizations of previous Hitchcock films, but is, nevertheless, a fair sample of Hitchcock devices.

Oct 25, 2017

Full Review

Time Out

Not top-notch Hitchcock, but engrossing enough.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Frank S. Nugent

New York Times

Alfred Hitchcock, England's jovial and rotund master of melodrama, has turned out another crisply paced, excellently performed film.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 28, 2006

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Clearly, this early work demonstrates Hitchcock's honing of his craft, which would soon produce more polished efforts with similar themes.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 8, 2023

Full Review

Shadow Stage

Photoplay

One always expects a deft handling of suspense, sane dialogue, and expert delineation of character in Director Alfred Hitchcock's pictures, and this one is no disappointment.

Dec 15, 2020

Full Review

MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

Innumerable small touches show Hitchcock's keen and penetrating observation and his knowledge of human nature. Comedy, romance, and thrills are skilfully blended.

Jun 2, 2015

Full Review

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Synopsis

When normal guy Robert Tisdall (Derrick de Marney) discovers the body of actress Christine Clay (Pamela Carme) washed up on shore, he is arrested for her murder. Having no confidence in the barrister assigned to him, Tisdall escapes from the police station and ends up hitching a ride with the police chief's daughter, Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam). After being spotted together, the two are assumed to be in league and have no choice but to cooperate in order to uncover the real killer.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Charles Bennett, Josephine Tey, Edwin Greenwood, Anthony Armstrong, Gerald Savory, Alma Reville
Production Co: Gaumont
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 10, 1938, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 30, 2016
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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