Cat. No. DVDM 1664: MURDER! ~ HERBERT MARSHALL / NORAH BARING / EDWARD CHAPMAN / PHYLLIS KONSTAM. FORCE ENT. FV1485.
FORMAT: PAL REGION: 4.
BLACK & WHITE RUNNING TIME: 104 MINS.
REVIEW: In 1930, Hitchcock produced one of his first “true” talkies – Murder! (Indeed, 1929’s Blackmail was Hitch’s first talkie but it initially began production as silent.)
Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall) is a renowned stage actor who is a juror on a murder case. The accused is a young actress, Diana Baring (Norah Baring) who was found dazed near the recently deceased with an incriminating fire poker and blood stained dress. The jury feels this is an open and shut case but Sir John experiences doubts.
He enlists the assistance of Ted and Doucie Markham (Edward Chapman and Phyllis Konstam), a husband/wife team who manage a local theatre. Sir John believes Doucie’s eyewitness account would prove that Diana was not alone on the fateful night.
Throughout Murder! we begin to see the many traits of a Hitchcock film. From the opening scene, in which the camera (for no reason other than to be a voyeur) is fixed on Doucie as she dresses to the subtle humor sprinkled throughout.
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