tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post3046931747755559206..comments2024-03-08T18:49:51.289-05:00Comments on Classic Film and TV Café: Dial "H" for Hitchcock: "Blackmail" on the big screenRick29http://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-51746347576079110892010-11-05T23:19:58.683-04:002010-11-05T23:19:58.683-04:00Neat. The Rafael Theater sounds like a great venue...Neat. The Rafael Theater sounds like a great venue to experience classic films. I would like to visit there some time.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212743923364795680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-13519952196981387012010-08-08T00:27:14.975-04:002010-08-08T00:27:14.975-04:00Hi doc...glad you could stop by...I can't iden...Hi doc...glad you could stop by...I can't identify your avatar but will try, tho I'll pass on the coke a ala Mr. Burns if I succeed...By the way, I watched the sound version of BLACKMAIL today and realized something interesting about it. In the silent version it seemed to me that the detective boyfriend expresses surprise when Alice confesses to him, but in the sound version he replies, "I know." I preferred the ambiguity. I can't say that I liked one version over the other, but I really loved the Alloy Orchestra's accompaniment. Meanwhile, the DVD set with BLACKMAIL also has several other early Hitchcock's on it, including THE LODGER, so I can compare the two side by side...The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-83835883691818420322010-08-07T02:39:30.689-04:002010-08-07T02:39:30.689-04:00hey eve..doctom666 from TCM/CFU...nice post on a n...hey eve..doctom666 from TCM/CFU...nice post on a nice site..my SAG friends and i sat down about 6 months ago to view a set of HITCHCOCK silents..we all agreed that BLACKMAIL ruled and THE LODGER sucked..i would really like to hear the ALLOY orchestra..if you can identify my AVATAR, i owe you a COKE (a la monty burns)doctor sabelotodohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17753057330165133638noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-57260538512506929372010-07-22T23:48:35.494-04:002010-07-22T23:48:35.494-04:00Toto, until recently I didn't fully realize th...Toto, until recently I didn't fully realize the Rafael was non-profit. It's really a wonderful theater and CFI schedules great films and special events...coming this Sept., a "free to the public" screening of NORTH BY NORTHWEST (first-come-first-served tix). & often actors and filmmakers screen & discuss their films - in 2005 a program celebrated the 100th anniv. of Michael Powell's birth and his wife, Thelma Schoonmaker (Scorsese's Oscar-winning film editor) was at the Rafael to present some of his films, I believe THE RED SHOES and BLACK NARCISSUS among them...still haven't gotten over missing that one...I'm happy to hear you (and you Dawn) enjoyed the blog, I hoped to be able to share the experience by blogging about it. I wish we'd all been there to fill a center row...The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-9258658861695785832010-07-22T23:19:00.345-04:002010-07-22T23:19:00.345-04:00Eve, Wow! thank you for sharing your wonderful exp...Eve, Wow! thank you for sharing your wonderful experience with us. I would have loved to have been there..Dawnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476174860119487509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-52705795782513050182010-07-22T19:50:49.490-04:002010-07-22T19:50:49.490-04:00Eve, what a wonderful experience for you! I was es...Eve, what a wonderful experience for you! I was especially surprised when you mentioned that the Rafael Theater was nonprofit. That is awesome. To have seen "Blackmail" in this restored theater, with the Alloy Orchestra, sounds like a remarkable time. Kudos to the CFI for making this possible and to everyone who made this event sold out.<br /><br />Most of all, thanks to you for sharing this experience with us. You have a remarkable gift for eloquence. I also appreciated your information about the Schufftan process because that was something new to me.<br /><br />And I think Cyril Ritchard was also phenomenal as the very mean Dr. Hook! Excellent blog, all!toto2https://www.blogger.com/profile/09652682900471649463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-15727952941419197822010-07-22T14:05:00.018-04:002010-07-22T14:05:00.018-04:00I only learned of the Shufftan process while rese...I only learned of the Shufftan process while researching BLACKMAIL. It was devised by German cinematographer Eugen Shufftan who worked on METROPOLIS. It has to do with the use of specially made mirrors and miniatures to create the effect of actors being on large sets.<br /><br />For BLACKMAIL, Hitchcock used the process because the lighting in the British Museum wasn't sufficient to film - pictures of the interior of the museum were taken and used with a special mirror so that it appeared as though the actors were in the museum.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-48742552557739205772010-07-22T11:47:33.338-04:002010-07-22T11:47:33.338-04:00That is a scream -- Captain Hook was my first thou...That is a scream -- Captain Hook was my first thought too of Cyril Ritchard. Wasn't he great? I loved it when the pirates would start to sing, and he would put his forefinger on his chin and say "Tempo, tempo, tempo"! And Eve, what is the Schufftan process?ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-1142367840078179872010-07-21T23:06:14.551-04:002010-07-21T23:06:14.551-04:00Hello Becky, Kim and Rick...enjoyed all of your co...Hello Becky, Kim and Rick...enjoyed all of your comments...I wish you could have been at the Rafael with me to see BLACKMAIL & the Alloy Orchestra, it was an experience I would happily have shared with all of you. I was impressed. And I was surprised, too, at how "Hitchcockian" BLACKMAIL was - with so many elements that later became characteristic of his films...You're right, Kim, there's a lot of backstory surrounding the film: conflicting stories on how the two separate versions came about, how Anny Ondra and Joan Barry performed in tandem, Hitchcock's use of the "Schufftan process" for the chase scene...fascinating stuff. It's funny Rick, whenever I see or hear the name Cyril Ritchard, my first thought is always "Captain Hook." And, Becky, the heroine behaving as if in a kind of trance reminded me of the "Madeleine" character in VERTIGO and Marnie in MARNIE. I'm not a huge fan of silents, but BLACKMAIL, Alloy Orch. and my evening at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival last Sat. night (more on that later) were unforgettable.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-7968670835644024052010-07-21T20:46:40.176-04:002010-07-21T20:46:40.176-04:00Eve, first of all, I also envy your viewing of BLA...Eve, first of all, I also envy your viewing of BLACKMAIL on the big screen with an orchestra playing the score. That sounds like an incredible experience! I haven't seen BLACKMAIL since college (which was a few years ago...). My memory of it pretty much tracks with your assessment. Although THE LODGER (Hitch's take on Jack the Ripper) is interesting, I think BLACKMAIL holds up better and, as you wrote, foreshadows later Hitch pics. By the way, I best remember Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook opposite Mary Martin in the musical version of PETER PAN!Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-55414337260519270122010-07-21T17:45:12.171-04:002010-07-21T17:45:12.171-04:00Eve, there are so many backstories behind the maki...Eve, there are so many backstories behind the making of Blackmail. As you no doubt know, in the sound version of the film Anny Ondra's voice is not used because of her heavy Czech accent. Instead, Hitch used the voice of Joan Barry. Loved reading your article. I am also jealous that you had the great experience of watching this film with the Alloy Orchestra.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-39415551647428742782010-07-21T17:19:49.350-04:002010-07-21T17:19:49.350-04:00Eve, this was really an interesting article. I wis...Eve, this was really an interesting article. I wish I could experience that theatre on a regular basis. I have come to really like silent films and would like to see more on TCM. I haven't seen "Blackmail", and being a huge Hitchcock fan, must try to find it. I absolutely LOVED your well-written description of the delicate blonde who spends most of the movie "in a dazed, fugue state." There were a lot of blondes in that state during the early 30's. My favorite was Madge Bellamy (I think that's right) in "White Zombie" with Bela Lugosi. Even before she is mesmerized by Lugosi's character, she looked wide-eyed and confused. I also liked your description of the film as "visually sophisticated and gimlet-eyed in observation". Really excellent writing, Eve.ClassicBeckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03591715859057540467noreply@blogger.com