BLACKMAIL (1929)
Happy 125th Birthday to Alfred Hitchcock.
Happy 125th Birthday to Alfred Hitchcock.
Restored silent drama with soundtrack, 82 minutes.
Tickets: $25/$20
General seating - not reserved or numbered
(T 0419 267 318)
A critical and commercial triumph. Suspense and building tension surround a taut narrative of betrayal, a stabbing, a cover up and blackmail. Blackmail is not only a quintessential Hitchcock psychological thriller about murder and blackmail, but a superior example of silent cinema at its peak in the late 1920s.
Completely finished first as a silent picture, Blackmail was substantially remade with sound prior to release and became the first British talkie. While the sound version remains famous to this day, this original version, considered a masterpiece of high silent cinema, was forgotten after it was distributed to theatres which were not yet wired for sound. Bryony Dixon (BFI) wrote, “..the first seven minutes is a tour de force of silent film editing, showing the ruthless hunting down, integration and imprisonment of a felon by the London police. This sets the tone for the main plot concerning a case of attempted assault of a woman, a death..all of which concludes with a classic Hitchcock chase over the roof of the British museum.”
The key role of the villain is played by Surry Hills born Cyril Trimmell Ritchard, highly successful star of film and Broadway.
Tickets: $25/$20
General seating - not reserved or numbered
(T 0419 267 318)
A critical and commercial triumph. Suspense and building tension surround a taut narrative of betrayal, a stabbing, a cover up and blackmail. Blackmail is not only a quintessential Hitchcock psychological thriller about murder and blackmail, but a superior example of silent cinema at its peak in the late 1920s.
Completely finished first as a silent picture, Blackmail was substantially remade with sound prior to release and became the first British talkie. While the sound version remains famous to this day, this original version, considered a masterpiece of high silent cinema, was forgotten after it was distributed to theatres which were not yet wired for sound. Bryony Dixon (BFI) wrote, “..the first seven minutes is a tour de force of silent film editing, showing the ruthless hunting down, integration and imprisonment of a felon by the London police. This sets the tone for the main plot concerning a case of attempted assault of a woman, a death..all of which concludes with a classic Hitchcock chase over the roof of the British museum.”
The key role of the villain is played by Surry Hills born Cyril Trimmell Ritchard, highly successful star of film and Broadway.
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State Library NSW Conditions of Entry
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Contact Details
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Location
State Library NSW
Metcalfe Auditorium, Macquarie Street
Entrance is via rear of the cafe
Sydney NSW 2000