By 1929, Hitchcock was becoming quite the storyteller, but he wasn't the master of film-making just yet. Like many directors of his age, he started out making silent films and taking whatever plots and premises that would come his way. 1929's "The Manxman" was Hitchcock's last silent film and I think it's his most rich and interesting silent film. The story is another love-triangle that was popular in the era that this motion picture was made. And although the premise of this kind of movie is somewhat familiar, I did find "The Manxman" to be fairly interesting, if somewhat drawn out.
Acting by the cast was exceptionally well. Gorgeous silent movie actress Anny Ondra was very good as the girl who finds herself the embodiment of affection of two men she's fond of. Malcolm Keen and Carl Brisson were also very strong in their roles. And as silly-sounding as a story like this is, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. Enough to take it seriously.
Now at two hours, "The Manxman" is a bit slow, maybe too much for its own good. Like a lot of Hitchcock's early-career films, it's a decent movie, but not a great one. It won't linger on in your memory forever like the masterpieces that Hitchcock would make later in his career. But hey, everybody has to start out somewhere.
Acting by the cast was exceptionally well. Gorgeous silent movie actress Anny Ondra was very good as the girl who finds herself the embodiment of affection of two men she's fond of. Malcolm Keen and Carl Brisson were also very strong in their roles. And as silly-sounding as a story like this is, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. Enough to take it seriously.
Now at two hours, "The Manxman" is a bit slow, maybe too much for its own good. Like a lot of Hitchcock's early-career films, it's a decent movie, but not a great one. It won't linger on in your memory forever like the masterpieces that Hitchcock would make later in his career. But hey, everybody has to start out somewhere.