The Manxman

The Manxman (1929) "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"

Notable cast/crew: Carl Brisson as Pete Quilliam.  He was previously in The Ring.  Malcolm Keen as Philip Christian.  This marks his third and final Hitchcock film.  Anny Ondra as Kate Cregeen.  She will also appear in Hitchcock's next film, Blackmail.  Clare Greet as Mrs Cregeen.  She was previously in The Ring.  Eliot Stannard writes the screenplay making his ninth and final collaboration with Hitchcock.   

Running time: 83 minutes

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Plot: Pete is a fisherman, and Philip is a lawyer.  The two are childhood friends in a small village on the Isle of Man.  They work together in securing fishing rights for the locals.  They're both sweet on Kate whose father runs the local inn.  Pete gets Philip to ask Kate's father about marriage, but her father is against it with Pete having no money.  He kicks Pete out, and Pete vows her father will regret it.  Pete decides to work a passage to Africa to seek his fortune.  Philip accompanies Pete to tell Kate, and Pete has her promise to wait for him.  He asks Philip to watch out for her while he's gone, but Kate overhears this.  The look on her face tells us she is unsure of the promise she's made and that she's interested in Philip.

Come and knock on our door

While Pete's gone, Philip and Kate have a budding relationship.  Philip's aunt disapproves his seeing a publican's daughter.  Not only is she from a lower class, but Philip's father ruined his own career marrying beneath him.  He goes to see Kate, and upon arriving, sees the note from Johannesburg: Pete's dead.  Kate has been silent in her room while mourners gather in the pub, but she's not mourning.  She's relieved and tells Philip, "We're free."

Except Pete's not dead.  He's returning home with money.  He telegraphs Philip who tells Kate.  They argue over what she should do, but Philip convinces her she needs to honor her word to Pete even if it means he loses her.  They decide Pete must never know.

Pete and Kate wed with Philip as best man.  Philip then leaves on holiday to get away from the situation.  When he returns, Kate confronts him and tells him she is going to have a baby.  Pete returns home while they're arguing over what to do.  Kate tells him she's having a baby, and he bursts with pride at being an expectant father.  She has a daughter.

In the interim, Philip has been made Deemster (a judge on the Isle of Man).  Kate arrives at his office declaring she has left Pete because she cannot bear to live a lie any longer.  She wants to be with Philip.  Philip, unwilling to give up his position, tells her it is impossible.  She has left Pete a note telling him she loved another man before she married Pete, and she still loves that man.  She leaves him the baby and her ring.  She convinces Philip to let her stay with him secretly, and Pete is left to tell the village folk his wife has gone on holiday to explain her absence.

Kate demands Philip choose between his career and her, but he puts her off.  She returns home to get her baby, but Pete is there.  In the heat of argument, she tells him the child isn't his.  Pete refuses to believe her and won't give her the baby.  She leaves and attempts suicide by jumping off the quay into the ocean.  She survives and is brought to trial before Philip.  Philip tries to release her to Pete's custody, but she refuses.  The truth comes out in court as her father accuses Philip of being the other man.  Philip admits it and resigns.  They return to Pete's home, take the baby, and leave the village.  Pete returns to the sea.

MacGuffin: None

Hitchcock cameo: None

Hitchcock themes:

• Love triangle
• Blondes

Verdict: This is Hitchcock's final silent film.  It is based on the 1896 novel by Hall Caine which had previously been made into a film in 1917.  The title derives from the word for someone from the Isle of Man.  Overall, the movie is well cast although Carl Brisson is a little too dopey as Pete.  It's obvious from everyone else's reactions what is going on, but Pete goes through the entire movie oblivious to anyone else.  You can argue Hitchcock had the other actors overselling their reactions to emphasize what is occurring, but it leaves Pete as too stupid to be very sympathetic.  I found myself wishing he'd just get out of the way of the other two.  Malcolm Keen shows his versatility this time playing the lead man in the triangle where he was the jilted man in The Lodger.  Anny Ondra is excellent.  She would later go on to marry Max Schmeling, once heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

It's still a good film, but it is a much more straightforward film than most of Hitchcock's oeuvre.  There is very little showy camerawork, and most of it has a very stagy feel, more like a play than a movie.  Hitchcock himself stated it was "not a Hitchcock film".

Out of five bananas, I give it:

Next review: Blackmail