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Downhill (film)
Encyclopedia
Downhill is a 1927
silent film
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
and based on the play Down Hill. It is Hitchcock's fifth film as director.
) is School Captain and star rugby player. He and his best friend Tim (Robin Irvine) start seeing a waitress Mabel (Annette Benson). Out of pique, she tells the headmaster that she is pregnant and that Roddy is the father. In fact it was Tim, who cannot afford to be expelled because he needs to win a scholarship to attend Oxford University. Promising Tim that he will never reveal the truth, Roddy accepts expulsion.
Returning to his parents’ home, he finds that his father (Norman McKinnel
) believes him guilty of the false accusation. (The Internet Movie Database incorrectly states that Roddy accepts the blame for a theft).
Leaving home, Roddy finds work as an actor in a theatre. He marries the leading actress Julia (Isabel Jeans
) after inheriting £30,000 from a relation. The unfaithful Julia secretly continues an affair with her leading man (Ian Hunter
) and discards Roddy after his inheritance is exhausted. He becomes a gigolo
in a Paris music hall but soon quits over self loathing at romancing older women for money.
Roddy ends up alone and delirious in a shabby room in Marseilles. Some sailors take pity on him and ship him back home, possibly hoping for reward. Roddy's father has learned the truth about the waitress's false accusation during his son's absence and joyfully welcomes him back. Roddy resumes his previous life.
under the combined alias David L'Estrange.
The stage performance had a short run in the West End
and longer in the provinces. In the play Novello thrilled his female fans by washing his bare legs after the rugby match. An appreciative James Agate
, drama critic for The London Sunday Times
, wrote "The scent of good honest soap crosses the footlights". Hitchcock included a similar scene of Novello for the film in which he is shown naked from the waist up.
Hitchcock's emerging style is well demonstrated in this film. He used a variety of screen techniques to tell the story with a minimum of title cards
, preferring instead to allow the film's visual narrative tell the story. A good example is the scene after Roddy leaves home. It opens with the title card "The world of make-believe". This is followed by a closeup of Roddy in a tuxedo. The camera pulls back to reveal Roddy is actually playing a waiter on stage in a theatre. Hitchcock also incorporated shots of a descending escalator at Maida Vale tube station
as a visual metaphor for Roddy's downhill descent. He experimented with dream sequences by shooting them in super impositions and blurred images. He played with shadow and light in much the same way as directors of German films of the time.
In the original prints of the film, the scene involving Novello's voyage home on a boat was tinted
a "sickly" green to express mental torment and nausea.
1927 in film
-Events:*January 10 - Fritz Lang's science-fiction fantasy Metropolis premieres in Germany.*April 7 - Abel Gance's Napoleon often considered his best known and greatest masterpiece, premiers at the Paris Opéra and would demonstrate techniques and equipment that would not be used for years to...
silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
and based on the play Down Hill. It is Hitchcock's fifth film as director.
Plot
At an expensive English boarding school for boys, Roddy Berwick (Ivor NovelloIvor Novello
David Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
) is School Captain and star rugby player. He and his best friend Tim (Robin Irvine) start seeing a waitress Mabel (Annette Benson). Out of pique, she tells the headmaster that she is pregnant and that Roddy is the father. In fact it was Tim, who cannot afford to be expelled because he needs to win a scholarship to attend Oxford University. Promising Tim that he will never reveal the truth, Roddy accepts expulsion.
Returning to his parents’ home, he finds that his father (Norman McKinnel
Norman McKinnel
Norman McKinnel was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death...
) believes him guilty of the false accusation. (The Internet Movie Database incorrectly states that Roddy accepts the blame for a theft).
Leaving home, Roddy finds work as an actor in a theatre. He marries the leading actress Julia (Isabel Jeans
Isabel Jeans
Isabel Jeans was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films, among others.-Career:...
) after inheriting £30,000 from a relation. The unfaithful Julia secretly continues an affair with her leading man (Ian Hunter
Ian Hunter (actor)
Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
) and discards Roddy after his inheritance is exhausted. He becomes a gigolo
Gigolo
Gigolo may refer to:* A male prostitute, escort, or dancer, who offers services to women* Gigolo , a 2006 single by Helena Paparizou* Gigolo , a 2003 single by Nick Cannon...
in a Paris music hall but soon quits over self loathing at romancing older women for money.
Roddy ends up alone and delirious in a shabby room in Marseilles. Some sailors take pity on him and ship him back home, possibly hoping for reward. Roddy's father has learned the truth about the waitress's false accusation during his son's absence and joyfully welcomes him back. Roddy resumes his previous life.
Cast
- Ivor NovelloIvor NovelloDavid Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
- Roddy Berwick - Robin Irvine - Tim Wakely
- Isabel JeansIsabel JeansIsabel Jeans was an English stage and film actress known for her roles in several Alfred Hitchcock films, among others.-Career:...
- Julia - Ian HunterIan Hunter (actor)Ian Hunter was a British character actor.Among dozens of film roles, his best-remembered appearances include That Certain Woman with Bette Davis, The Adventures of Robin Hood , The Little Princess and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...
- Archie - Norman McKinnelNorman McKinnelNorman McKinnel was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death...
- Sir Thomas Berwick - Annette Benson - Mabel
- Sybil Rhoda - Sybil Wakely
- Lilian BraithwaiteLilian BraithwaiteDame Lilian Braithwaite DBE , born Florence Lilian Braithwaite, was an English actress.She was the daughter of a clergyman, and born in Ramsgate, Kent. She was educated at Croydon High School, and married actor-manager Gerald Lawrence, first acting with amateur companies...
- Lady Berwick - Violet FarebrotherViolet FarebrotherViolet Farebrother was an English film actress. She appeared in 25 films between 1911 and 1965, including three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock...
- The Poet - Ben WebsterBen Webster (actor)Ben Webster was a British-born actor, and the husband of actress Dame May Whitty, and father of the British-American stage actress, Margaret Webster. His father, W. S. Webster, was the son of the famous actor Benjamin Nottingham Webster.Ben Webster was born on June 2, 1864 in London and married...
- Dr. Dawson - Hannah Jones - The Dressmaker
- Jerrold RobertshawJerrold Robertshaw-Selected filmography:* The Wandering Jew * Should a Doctor Tell? * Guy Fawkes * Don Quixote * The Arab * She * A Royal Divorce * Huntingtower * Tommy Atkins...
- Reverend Henry Wakely - Barbara GottBarbara Gott-Selected filmography:* Downhill * Ringing the Changes * Lily of Killarney * Compromising Daphne * At the Villa Rose * The House of the Arrow * The Sport of Kings...
- Madame Michet - Alf GoddardAlf GoddardAlf Goddard was a British film actor.Brother of a famous boxer, Alf Goddard was once a boxer too. He was also a trained athlete and a professional dancer. He served in the army in World War I and when he was invalided out he worked on munitions. He made his stage debut in a musical hall act in 1916...
- The Swede - J. Nelson - Hibbert
Production
The film is based on the play, Down Hill, written by its star Ivor Novello and Constance CollierConstance Collier
Constance Collier was an English film actress and acting coach.-Life and career:Born Laura Constance Hardie, in Windsor, Berkshire, Collier made her stage debut at the age of 3, when she played Fairy Peasblossom in A Midsummer's Night Dream...
under the combined alias David L'Estrange.
The stage performance had a short run in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and longer in the provinces. In the play Novello thrilled his female fans by washing his bare legs after the rugby match. An appreciative James Agate
James Agate
James Evershed Agate was a British diarist and critic. In the period between the wars, he was one of Britain's most influential theatre critics...
, drama critic for The London Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
, wrote "The scent of good honest soap crosses the footlights". Hitchcock included a similar scene of Novello for the film in which he is shown naked from the waist up.
Hitchcock's emerging style is well demonstrated in this film. He used a variety of screen techniques to tell the story with a minimum of title cards
Intertitle
In motion pictures, an intertitle is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of the photographed action, at various points, generally to convey character dialogue, or descriptive narrative material related to, but not necessarily covered by, the material photographed.Intertitles...
, preferring instead to allow the film's visual narrative tell the story. A good example is the scene after Roddy leaves home. It opens with the title card "The world of make-believe". This is followed by a closeup of Roddy in a tuxedo. The camera pulls back to reveal Roddy is actually playing a waiter on stage in a theatre. Hitchcock also incorporated shots of a descending escalator at Maida Vale tube station
Maida Vale tube station
Maida Vale tube station is a London Underground station in Maida Vale in inner north-west London. The station is on the Bakerloo Line, between Kilburn Park and Warwick Avenue stations, and is in Travelcard Zone 2....
as a visual metaphor for Roddy's downhill descent. He experimented with dream sequences by shooting them in super impositions and blurred images. He played with shadow and light in much the same way as directors of German films of the time.
In the original prints of the film, the scene involving Novello's voyage home on a boat was tinted
Film tinting
Film tinting is the process of adding color to black-and-white film, usually by means of soaking the film in dye and staining the film emulsion...
a "sickly" green to express mental torment and nausea.