11. Blackmail (1929) - Sound Version

In 1926, Warner Brothers released Don Juan, the first major studio release with a synchronized sound track, followed the next year by The Jazz Singer, the first major release of a movie with spoken words and in 1928 came The Lights of New York, the first all talking film. After filming for Blackmail started (as a silent), British International Pictures wanted him to redo the whole film as a talking picture.

Ondra's sound test

One calamity Hitchcock encounter was with his leading lady Anny Ondra. Born in Czechoslovakia, Ondra's accent wasn't going to cut it as a daughter of London shopkeepers. Since post production dubbing at the time was not used, Hitchcock had Ondra mouth her lines, while in the background with a microphone, actress Joan Barry spoke the lines. (As evident in a sound test, Ondra could speak English, but she does have a Czech accent which can be viewed here)  It is passable, but to a viewer aware of the situation, it is noticeable.

Like nearly every talking picture of the late 20's, the dialogue stilted here but there a lot worse examples. Hitchcock used the first 6 minutes and the chase scene at the end in both the silent and sound versions (both scenes have an underlying score in the talking version) and there are only a few scenes which you can tell were shot differently. One involves the artist singing a song while Alice is changing. The better known scene is where Alice on the morning following the murder, is sitting with her family at breakfast overhears a neighbor talking about the murder but the only word she hears is "knife" while we see a shot of the breadknife on the table. Hitchcock unlike many directors making the silent to sound transition at least was able to use the sound to his advantage in the making of his movie rather than have spoken dialogue just be there as a novelty.

Despite the silent version having a wider release (not all UK theaters were equipped for sound), the talking version was a tremendous hit. Advertising promoted the fact that it was the first British talking film, with tagline, "See and Hear the mother tongue as it should be spoken". Bioscope praised the director for combining the novelty of sound with the stage play in a new form of entertainment, while the Times credited Hitchcock for giving the British film industry a shot in the arm (while also praising Donald Calthrop's role as the blackmailer).

The blackmailer gets away via the Schufftan process.

I probably would pick the silent as the better of the two, but not by much and anyone who sees only one version, would not be missing anything to follow or enjoy the film itself. (British International Pictures screened both versions to a trade audience in Germany and just over 60% preferred the sound version). As mentioned last week, both versions of Blackmail have been restored and released by Kino Lorber on DVD and Blu-Ray which can be purchased here.