Young and Innocent

Plot synopsis:
Christine Clay (Pamela Carme), a famous actress, receives a surprise visit from Guy (George Curzon), a husband she hasn't seen in eight years. Guy reminds her he "dragged her out of the gutter to make her a star". He's furious that she left him, outraged over her "silly Reno divorce" and indignant that she is playing around with young men, in particular a struggling writer staying near them at their retreat on the English coast. They argue vehemently until a furious Christine slaps her husband's face four times. He keeps calm except for his eyes, which twitch uncontrollably, and departs.A day or two later, Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney), a local writer, happens to be walking along the seaside cliffs when Christine's body washes ashore and he sees her body on the beach. He runs to get help or call the police and is seen by two young female swimmers who think that he is the escaping murderer.Police arrive and arrest Tisdall on the testimony of the two witnesses. Also, he is known to own a raincoat matching the murder weapon, a belt coiled in the form of a large question mark that lay near the corpse. Robert claims innocence, but in the crowd that has gathered, none believe him. At first Tisdall is confident that it's all a misunderstanding.After an overnight interrogation at the police station, it's established that he knew Christine and is struggling economically, so his motive seems to be £1,200 left to him in her will. Robert faints, and is revived by Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam) the attractive young daughter of the Chief Constable, Colonel Burgoyne (Percy Marmont), and whom was one of the two women who witnessed him fleeing the beach scene. She seems quite at ease in ordinary male company, talking back vigorously to make her points or get her way.Saddled with a hopelessly inadequate greedy barrister Briggs (J.H. Roberts), Tisdall believes his innocence will never be proven, as the claim that his raincoat was stolen at a lorry station a few days before is not believed. As he is about to go on trial, he escapes from the crowded courthouse corridor by donning his defense lawyer's glasses, then stows away in Erica's dilapidated Morris automobile. A reporter with a camera (Alfred Hitchcock) is as at the steps of the court house.Robert explains his situation to Erica and vows to recover the lost raincoat, identify the real killer and prove his innocence. At first, Erica doesn't believe Tisdall is innocent, but she is attracted to the young man, so she continues to help him elude capture and search for the stolen coat that might lead to the real killer. She drops him off at an abandoned mill so he can hide out.At dinner at home, Erica's brothers discuss the suspect's escape, his need for money, sleep, and food to stay on the run.The next day she brings him food, a bit of money, and they have a talk in depth which changes her attitude towards him. "I can laugh because I'm innocent," he tells Erica. "You don't believe me. I wish you did." After eating, Robert nonchalantly flips a wrapper through a broken window at the precise moment that local foot policemen happen to glance in that direction. The policemen come into the mill, and Erica and Robert must rush off in the Morris. They are spotted together, so the police suspect she is his accomplice.During their flight, they stop at the home of Erica's aunt, where her seven year old daughter Felicity is having a birthday party. Erica enters alone, planning to just call her father and check in, but she is dragged into the party. Uncle Basil (Basil Radford) arrives and finds Robert waiting outside and brings him inside, assuming he is Erica's beau. Aunt Margaret (Mary Clare) becomes suspicious. Just as they get away in the Morris, Margaret calls her brother Chief Constable Burgoyne, who in turn alerts police to be on the lookout for them.Their search takes them to "Tom's Hat", the diner where the raincoat was stolen, where they learn that a china mender known as Old Will got a new raincoat recently, and that he hangs out at a lodging named Nobby's. Erica's attitude ends up triggering a brawl and Robert needs to rescue her.They find Nobby's, Robert changes into seedy clothes, enters and asks about Old Will, after leaving Erica to sleep in the car hidden behind the freight train, as she can't stay awake any more.The next morning, in the lodging house full of snoring vagrants, dead cockroaches, and peeling paint, Tisdall finally meets the colorful hobo named Old Will (Edward Rigby). After hearing the story retold, Will agrees to help them find the man who gave him the garment, a stranger with noticeably twitching eyes who presumably is the murderer.Erica's dog, meantime, has smelled that Will is actually wearing the raincoat in question, three layers down from the outer one.Police cars come chasing, and they succeed in losing them by crossing railroad tracks in the nick of time before two long trains block the way, and a huge trailer truck further delays them at the gate beyond.They attempt to hide by driving into an abandoned mine, where the Morris starts to sink into tunnels below, and Erica has to be pulled to safety by one hand by Robert in the nick of time. The police find the mine, Robert flees but Erica is brought to her father who is about to tender his resignation over the incident.That night, after she has a serious talk with her father, who shows her a letter of resignation, she is in her bedroom when Robert comes in the window, and she rushes to hug him. He tells her lovingly that he will turn himself in, shortly, to spare her anguish and relieve her conscience. As they talk, he learns that in a pocket of the coat, matches from the Grand Hotel have been found, a place where Tisdall has never been.Together they decide that's a last clue worth pursuing. Erica will take Will there to see if the twitchy eyed man may still be around, and Robert will find his own way there independently.Old Will dresses up in a new uncomfortable morning coat in order to infiltrate the hotel with Erica, but spotting a man with a twitch in the large crowd proves impossible.In a memorable sequence, the camera moves forward through the hotel lobby to the ballroom and the dancers to finally focus on the drummer in a dance band performing in blackface.... and his eyes twitch.The drummer, Guy, recognizes Old Will in the audience, and seeing the policemen, unaware that they are there to arrest Tisdall, the man performs poorly due to increasing nervousness and fear, to the point he is berated by the musical conductor. Guy proceeds to have a breakdown, precipitated by a drug he takes to excess to try to control the twitching. He begins banging drums and cymbals out of synch, helplessly falling over the instruments, and passes out while the other musicians stare at him.Just then, the police have found Robert and Old Will and Erica, and are escorting them out. As hotel staff ask around to find medical help for Guy, Erica offers her experience, and the police, who know her, allow her to approach the unconscious Guy. As Erica tends to him, his eyes twitch, she realizes who he might be. Immediately after being revived, Guy confesses his crime and laughs hysterically. The police drag him away, cackling maniacally.In the final scene, Robert Tisdall and Erica Burgoyne are united. Her father arrives and seems happy to shake his hand, as if welcoming him into the family.THE END

Tags: comedy, mystery, murder

Review:
Derrick de Marney is engaging as the unjustly accused hero Robert Tisdall, and his character is balanced nicely by good performances from the rest of the cast (several of whom appeared in more than one of Hitchcock's British movies).As is often the case with Hitchcock's British pictures, the title is capable of multiple interpretations.
Three sequences are especially worth noting: (i) the renowned tracking shot at the climax of the film, which is not only a fine technical achievement but also an ideal way to set up the suspenseful conclusion; (ii) the birthday party in the middle, which encapsulates in very subtle ways most of the themes and contrasts of the movie, and (iii) the sequence towards the beginning involving the hero's conference with his lawyer, his court appearance, and his escape, a sequence which is filled with comic details too numerous to catch all at once (including one of the director's most humorous cameos).Any Hitchcock fan should thoroughly enjoy "Young and Innocent".
Nova Pilbeam (The Man Who Knew Too Much) was a rather strange looking girl but is perfect for the part of the young woman who helps a stranger; Percy Marmont (Secret Agent) as her father; Mary Clare and Basil Radford (The Lady Vanishes) as the aunt and uncle; John Longden (Blackmail) in his usual role as the detective......all these players are top drawer.
As the police begin their hunt, he runs into the police chief's daughter, played by Nova Pilbeam, a tomboyish answer to Katherine Hepburn, and the real star of the movie.This is a late British Hitchcock film, and it feels slightly raw around the edges, but it's so fast and likable and well constructed, you have to love it.
Never mind a killer is on the loose, because if one man is innocent of murder, another, out there somewhere, it not.This is 1937, and by 1939 Hitchcock has moved to the U.S. to do Hollywood movies (including the amazing Rebecca in 1940), and so Young and Innocent and The Lady Vanishes (which has a similar quaint feel) wrap up his long British period.
In my estimation, "Young and Innocent" is just a hair's width from being as good as the other two early directorial triumphs made by him in his British era which are considered classics:  "The Thirty Nine Steps" and "The Lady Vanishes." For Hitchock fans, this is one of his must see films.
Quickly he wins her over and, against her better judgement she helps him as he tries to recover his missing coat and prove his innocence.This film opens with a wonder scene that is just one of the things that makes me love Hitchcock so much.
Not only did it get more exciting but it also produced a brilliant "reveal" shot that deserves to be considered as one of Hitchcock's classic shot as we slowly go from a wide shot of a ballroom right into the eyes of the killer on the other side; it is a brilliant shot and made all the better by having the cheeky "Drummer Man" being sung at the same time.De Marney struggles to inject urgency into his character in the same way as the material prefers the charming fun of the piece.
Nevertheless, "Young and Innocent" is an excellent thriller, that represents another step in the development of Hitchcock's favorite theme: the innocent man on the run.One morning, writer Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) is taking a walk along the seaside cliffs to clear his mind when he makes a gruesome discovery: the dead body of actress Christine Clay (Pamela Carme) washes ashore.
On the run, he'll find Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam), a young woman who begins to believe him, even when she is the daughter of Col. Burgoyne (Percy Marmont), the man in charge to find him.Written by Hitchcock regular collaborator Charles Bennett (with Edwin Greenwood and Anthony Armstrong), the movie is very loosely based on "A Shilling for Candles", one of the Alan Grant series of novels by Josephine Tey. The adaptation is not faithful, as what happened was that the writers took only the chapters where Tisdall is a fugitive and built their movie from that (it doesn't even include Tey's signature character, Inspector Alan Grant).
The dynamics between the characters is what sets this movie apart, as the main characters have remarkably well developed and have some nice jabs at some screwball comedy during the movie that gives it a charming tone.As written above, "Young and Innocent" is essentially a thriller on the vein of "The 39 Steps", but while the tone of this story is considerably lighter, the Master manages to shows off his dominion of suspense through the film.
Derrick De Marney is quite effective as our innocent man on the run, Robert Tisdall, delivering his lines with a charming wit that forecasts the characters that Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant would play years later.
The film's blend of suspense and humor wasn't new to Hitchcock, who always liked to spiced up things in order to break the tension, but "Young and Innocent" took this one step forward and set the basis for many of the Master's future films.
The theme of a man wrongly accused of a crime was to become a familiar one in the works of Alfred Hitchcock, and he had already used it in another film from his British period, "The 39 Steps" from two years earlier.
Like a number of Hitchcock's films, Young and Innocent" combines a basically serious theme- Robert is, after all, accused of a crime which in 1937 could have sent him to the gallows- with a good deal of humour.
Some of this humour is satirical, aimed at the incompetence of the police force and court system, although there are other humorous scenes, such as those involving Erica and her three younger brothers or the one at the children's party.Derrick De Marney is not a very charismatic hero, not in the same class as Robert Donat from "The 39 Steps" or Michael Redgrave from "The Lady Vanishes", although the young Nova Pilbeam, only eighteen at the time, makes a fresh and charming heroine.
In this one, we have clues about the way Hitchcock would develop in later films: the seagulls' screeching superimposed on a woman's scream as compared to "Frenzy" when the secretary's reaction to her boss's corpse is drowned out by sounds from the street as the camera retreats, the helping hand in the mine and a scenes at the end of "North By Northwest", the villains eye tic vs the man with a missing finger joint in "The 39 Steps" and, most delightfully Hitchcockian, the McGuffins!
Great fun with good performances by the stars and some pretty good effects and miniature models (another Hitchcock trademark) for 1937.Percy Marmont is the police official, Mary Clare is delightful as the puzzled aunt, Basil Radford is her husband, Edward Rigby is Will, J.H. Roberts is a hoot as the dim solicitor, and Hitchcock himself has a cameo.DeMarney is especially appealing as the innocent man, and Pilbeam has her most memorable role as the girl.
An actress, Christine (Pamela Carme) is murdered by the jealous husband.A man who knew her finds her lying dead on the beach.This man, writer Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) runs away to call the police but two female witnesses think he did it and so he becomes a murder suspect.He manages to escape from the courthouse and takes the young police constable's daughter Erica (Nova Pilbeam) on the run with him.Together they have to find a raincoat that was stolen from him.The victim was strangled with the belt of such coat.They find old Will who has the coat and it was given to him by a man with twitching eyes.Alfred Hitchcock had the ability to make it work.That's what he's done with Young and Innocent (1937).He's made it work.With some untalented director this movie could have bombed.In his movies there were usually just the right actors playing the right parts.Nova Pilbeam is just wonderful as our heroine Erica Burgoyne.It's a sad thing she didn't become a bigger name.She stopped acting completely in the 40's and now at the age of 88 her comeback doesn't seem very likely.Then there's Derrick De Marney playing the part of Robert Tisdall.Also very fine.Percy Marmont plays Erica's father.Edward Rigby is Will.This time Hitchcock does his cameo appearance outside the courthouse as a photographer.Throughout the movie there are suspenseful scenes.In the end where they go to the Grand Hotel there is this band with blackened faces and the drummer is twitching his eyes.There's some tension there.Hitch hasn't also forgotten the romance, and from time to time it's also quite funny.Something for everyone, I could say..
It is actually more suspenseful and believable than "The Lady Vanishes" which gets the better rating among the critics.Nova Pilbeam's performance is the best of any actress in a Hitchcock film.
Nova Pilbeam and Derrick de Marney are both outstanding in their portrayal of the young pair in comedy and in romance, and they make a delightful couple in whom one can believe wholeheartedly.Notable also is Mary Clare in a small but memorable part as Erica's Aunt Margaret, in whom the family detective instinct clearly runs strong, with a brief appearance from Basil Radford playing 'Uncle Basil' as a well-intentioned ally.
This early talkie from Alfred Hitchcock would stand a little taller in his catalog had it not come two years after his greatest "wrong-man" chase story, "The 39 Steps".This time the wrong man is Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney), in trouble when a female acquaintance washes up on a quaint English beach while he is walking by - along with a coat belt which choked the life from her and apparently belonged to him.
Rather than trust John Law to sort things out, he runs off to find the story behind the belt, taking with him Erica (Nova Pilbeam), the young and innocent daughter of the village police chief.If "The 39 Steps" is about the man running away, "Young And Innocent" a.k.a.
It is strange that this film often isn't mentioned amongst other classic Hitchcock titles as Young and Innocent is an excellent thriller loaded with many of the master's elements we've come to love.
"Night Train to Munich"?I think most people will not have heard of the male & female leads and I was surprised I had not considering I'm now 58 and have seen countless films from many decades.Yes, it seems to have the basic "39 Steps and North by North West" plot so beloved by Hitchcock.What attracted me was being able to see one of Hitchcock's  films for the first time.Certain enlightened video dealers have taken to regularly hiring St. Albans town hall (Hertfordshire, England) on Saturdays and apart from the usual modern titles, to include some obscure and old ones that never get transmitted on tv, even on vintage movie channels.As stated by other reviewers, the long tracking shot in the dance hall to the drummer close up is the highlight and a patent Hitchcock device.I rated it 7/10 based on 1930s material I have seen.
Dashing Derrick de Marney (as Robert Tisdall) sees the body of an actress acquaintance wash up on the beach; and, this being an Alfred Hitchcock film, he is directly accused of her murder.
The two are mutually attracted, and Ms. Pilbeam eventually comes to believe the police are wrong, and de Marney is "Young and Innocent".This relatively unrecalled, but excellent film, is one of the most quintessential Alfred Hitchcock pictures.
Derrick De Marnay and Nova Pilbeam(much improved from her acting in The Man Who Knew Too Much) are likable leads, and the supporting cast don't put a foot wrong either, nobody gives one of the all-time great performances in a Hitchcock film but they didn't try to.
Good directing, pretty good script, and great cast combine to make "Young and Innocent" well worth watching, but I didn't find the total so great I'd champ at the bit to see it again.The basic story, by crime story veteran Josephine Tey, is more than interesting, and provides a realistic enough scenario that one should be moved to object strenuously to capital punishment.The accused in a murder really does have a strong case against him, and one cannot blame the police for suspecting him, and if it were to get to a jury, one could not blame it for convicting him.The cast is much more than adequate, and only because the performers are not well known to a modern United States audience would there be any hesitation in offering them as reason enough to watch "Young and Innocent." Of course, there is the usual fun in looking for Hitchcock's cameo, and the only serious carp I offer is the apparent lack of motive in the crime.I won't explain further, so as not to ruin anyone's fun..
Despite the tragic find, there is a humorous undercurrent even as a couple of nerdy girls find the body, and Tisdall runs to assist them only to be deemed the main suspect.That comic undercurrent runs right through the film and, in my opinion, raises it to masterpiece levels.The brief sequence in which Tisdall is scammed by his defense lawyer is as succint as it is deft, but three sequences have stayed with me for all time: the bar brawl, the one in which the car taking the female lead falls into a mine shaft, and the famous long tracking shot in which the murderer is identified.Cinematography is superlative in its simplicity, dialogue is dated in parts but saved by wonderful comic touches, and only the leads left me feeling that if Robert Donat and Madeleine Carrol were in this film, it would be rated at least as good as THE 39 STEPS.
The murderer is introduced to the viewer in the first scene, so the film is not classical whodunit unlike the novel it is based on, but rather action packed adventure film about how to catch the killer.Nova Pilbeam is wonderful as the daughter of police chief, and Derrick de Marney shines as charming and wisecracking romantic lead.
He bumps into the police Chief Constable's daughter and they start liking each other - she tries to help him as their on screen romance unfold in a sweet, young and innocent way.The movie is not a bad film - but it's not really the crime thriller or mystery it's made out to be.
Again we have an innocent young man charged with murder who goes on the run in tow with a pretty young female who at first dislikes and disbelieves him but who before too long has fallen for him and helped clear his name.The best thing in front of the camera is the 18 year old, strikingly named Nova Pilbeam, (wonderful name for a debutante!) who is pretty, sunny and charming in equal measure.
There are some nice Hitchcockian touches that as a fan I enjoyed, like the way he starts the film right in the middle of a bitter argument between the soon-to-be-murdered film actress and her jealous, twitchy, in more ways than one, husband, the way Tisdall distracts the courtroom staff to make his escape, a ruse similarly played out in more than one subsequent Hitch feature, most notably "North By Northwest's" auction scene, the saved-by-her-fingertips rescue of Pilbeam after the car crashes down an old mine shaft, featuring a subjective face-shot we'd see again in "Saboteur" and of course "North By North-west" plus most famously the great tracking shot near the end which literally eyeballs the guilty man.Lots of the rest of it, to be honest is a little stiff and creaky, like the scenes with Pilbeam and her family round the breakfast table and of dull, plodding policemen on their tails.
Young and Innocent is a very good and unique Alfred Hitchcock film that has a great cast!
Following the classic Hitchcock themes that he was well known for in "The 39 Steps" and his later works, "Young and Innocent" is a well made movie with strong tension, great characters, exciting premise built up terrifically within the opening minutes and is an exciting adventure of a wrongly accused man attempting to his clear his name from wrongdoings.
Nova Pilbeam plays plucky chief constable's daughter Erica Burgoyne, who becomes involved in a murder case when she helps prime suspect Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) to prove his innocence.
As such, some of Hitch's film-making techniques are a little crude compared with his later movies, and the story creaks at times (a children's party scene is interminably dull), but for fans of the master of suspense, the film provides enough fun and intrigue to make it worth a watch.Especially enjoyable moments include a terribly, terribly exciting scene in which Erica almost comes a cropper in an old mine, and a well executed finale in which the beastly killer is identified, Hitch using a particularly impressive crane shot to close in on his face (which, incidentally, is blacked up as part of a minstrel show.
There follows the sort of comic yet thrilling Chase that Hitch's fans are familiar with from others of his film like "Saboteur" and "The 39 Steps." Nova Pilbeam -- great, imaginative name, by the way -- realizes along the way that De Marney is innocent and she falls in with him as they track down the one or two clues they have to the identity of the real murderer.
Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) finds the body but because he is seen running from the scene he becomes implicated in her murder.Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is as a reporter at the steps of the court house.
"Young and Innocent" is probably not the best known of Alfred Hitchcock's British films, but it a classic thriller in every sense.The story begins with a quarrel between movie star Christine Clay (Pamela Carme) and her boy friend Guy (George Curzon).