The Manxman is Alfred Hitchcock's last silent film before he switched over to sound with Blackmail (1929). This movie is about a fisherman named Pete Quilliam and his childhood friend Philip Christian. Pete is in love with a girl named Kate but Kate's father disapproves of their marriage so he goes off to Africa to first make some money. He tells Philip to look after her while he is gone but Kate and Philip end up falling in love. Since Kate promised she'd wait for Pete she still ends up marrying him upon his return but she also has an affair with Philip and things start to turn ugly as Pete starts to learn more and more about what is going on. The film is based off of a novel and the story is very good and interesting although it seems to follow Hitchcock's typical theme of a love triangle which he has in many of his films.
The acting in the movie is very good overall with Carl Brisson as Pete. He pulls off happiness, sadness, anger, and concern all very well which is a wide spectrum of emotion for one actor. Malcolm Keen plays Philip who does a less spectacular but still decent job. And then there is Anny Ondra who plays Kate and she does a worthwhile job at showing love for Philip but not for Pete. So while all of the actors do a good job it is really Brisson who steals the show.
All of the special effects in the film seem pretty good with each of the sets looking nice. The courtroom, dock, house, and just about everything else looks right. And during a drowning scene it also looks pretty real. The musical score is mediocre and feels like it's just a lot of recycled music from earlier Hitchcock films but at least it gets the job done.
Overall this film isn't perfect by any means but it does have a lot of positive qualities which make it worth watching. The plot is really interesting and entertaining if you aren't already sick of Hitchcock's love triangle theme and the acting in the film is overall pretty good. And the special effects here are great even if the film does have some mediocre music. I'd say that this is one of Hitchcock's better silent films so give it a watch if you get the chance. Score: 7/10
The acting in the movie is very good overall with Carl Brisson as Pete. He pulls off happiness, sadness, anger, and concern all very well which is a wide spectrum of emotion for one actor. Malcolm Keen plays Philip who does a less spectacular but still decent job. And then there is Anny Ondra who plays Kate and she does a worthwhile job at showing love for Philip but not for Pete. So while all of the actors do a good job it is really Brisson who steals the show.
All of the special effects in the film seem pretty good with each of the sets looking nice. The courtroom, dock, house, and just about everything else looks right. And during a drowning scene it also looks pretty real. The musical score is mediocre and feels like it's just a lot of recycled music from earlier Hitchcock films but at least it gets the job done.
Overall this film isn't perfect by any means but it does have a lot of positive qualities which make it worth watching. The plot is really interesting and entertaining if you aren't already sick of Hitchcock's love triangle theme and the acting in the film is overall pretty good. And the special effects here are great even if the film does have some mediocre music. I'd say that this is one of Hitchcock's better silent films so give it a watch if you get the chance. Score: 7/10