Young and Innocent
Encyclopedia
Young and Innocent is a 1937 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock
and starring Nova Pilbeam
, Derrick De Marney
and John Longden
. It is very loosely based on Josephine Tey
's novel A Shilling for Candles (1936).
Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney
) happens to be walking along the seaside cliffs when Christine's body washes ashore. A belt is found next to the body. He runs to get help or call the police and is seen doing so by two young female swimmers. He is arrested and becomes the main suspect. His motive seems to be a large sum left to him in her will. Saddled with a hopelessly inadequate barrister
, Tisdall doubts if his innocence will ever be established. He makes his escape in the crowded courthouse corridor.
Tisdall gets a lift from Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam
), daughter of the local police Chief Constable
, in her dilapidated Morris car
. They are spotted together, so the police suspect she is his accomplice. Tisdall tries to prove his innocence by tracking down the stolen coat.
During their flight, they briefly stop at the home of Erica's aunt, where her seven year old daughter Felicity is having a birthday party (playing, among other games, Blind Man's Buff). Finally, in a lodging house frequented by tramp
s, Tisdall finds the man he has been searching for: Old Will (Edward Rigby
), a sociable china-mender who is wearing Tisdall's coat. He agrees to help them find the man who gave him the coat, and thus clear Tisdall. Unfortunately, the twitching eyes are all that Old Will can remember about the man.
In a pocket of the coat, they find a box of matches from the Grand Hotel, a place Tisdall has never been to. They go there in hopes of finding the murderer. In a memorably long, continuous sequence, the camera moves forward through the hotel ballroom
to finally focus on the drummer in a dance band performing in blackface
. Recognizing Old Will in the audience, and seeing policemen nearby (unaware that they are there to arrest Tisdall), the man performs poorly due to fear and is berated by the musical conductor. Then he has a nervous breakdown
, exacerbated by a drug he has been taking to try to control the twitching, and passes out. Immediately after being revived, he confesses his crime and laughs. In the end, Robert Tisdall and Erica Burgoyne are united, with Erica's father smiling benevolently.
—were omitted.
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 starring Nova Pilbeam
Nova Pilbeam
Nova Margery Pilbeam is a British film and stage actress. She was born in Wimbledon. Her father was RADA-trained actor Arnold Pilbeam.-Career:Pilbeam had widely noted roles as a child stage actress...
, Derrick De Marney
Derrick De Marney
Derrick De Marney was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry.-Actor:On the London stage from 1922 and films from 1928...
and John Longden
John Longden
John Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Biography:...
. It is very loosely based on Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey
Josephine Tey was a pseudonym used by Elizabeth Mackintosh a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. She also wrote as Gordon Daviot, under which name she wrote plays with an historical theme....
's novel A Shilling for Candles (1936).
Plot
Christine Clay (Pamela Carme), an actress who owes her career to her husband, is severely criticized by him for playing around with other men. He makes particular reference to Robert Tisdall, a young man staying with (or at least near) them at their country retreat somewhere on the English coast. One night, Christine smacks her husband in the face. He keeps calm except for his eyes, which twitch uncontrollably, then proceeds to strangle her with the belt from a trenchcoat he has stolen. For some reason, he is not suspected by the police.Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney
Derrick De Marney
Derrick De Marney was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry.-Actor:On the London stage from 1922 and films from 1928...
) happens to be walking along the seaside cliffs when Christine's body washes ashore. A belt is found next to the body. He runs to get help or call the police and is seen doing so by two young female swimmers. He is arrested and becomes the main suspect. His motive seems to be a large sum left to him in her will. Saddled with a hopelessly inadequate barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, Tisdall doubts if his innocence will ever be established. He makes his escape in the crowded courthouse corridor.
Tisdall gets a lift from Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam
Nova Pilbeam
Nova Margery Pilbeam is a British film and stage actress. She was born in Wimbledon. Her father was RADA-trained actor Arnold Pilbeam.-Career:Pilbeam had widely noted roles as a child stage actress...
), daughter of the local police Chief Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, in her dilapidated Morris car
Morris Motor Company
The Morris Motor Company was a British car manufacturing company. After the incorporation of the company into larger corporations, the Morris name remained in use as a marque until 1984 when British Leyland's Austin Rover Group decided to concentrate on the more popular Austin marque...
. They are spotted together, so the police suspect she is his accomplice. Tisdall tries to prove his innocence by tracking down the stolen coat.
During their flight, they briefly stop at the home of Erica's aunt, where her seven year old daughter Felicity is having a birthday party (playing, among other games, Blind Man's Buff). Finally, in a lodging house frequented by tramp
Tramp
A tramp is a long term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking or hiking all year round. In British English meanwhile a tramp simply refers to a homeless person, usually not a travelling one....
s, Tisdall finds the man he has been searching for: Old Will (Edward Rigby
Edward Rigby
Edward Rigby was a British character actor.-Early life:Rigby was the son of Jamaican-born Dr. William Harriot Coke and his wife Liverpool-born Mary Elizabeth of 17 High Street, Ashford. He was educated at Haileybury, and Wye Agricultural College...
), a sociable china-mender who is wearing Tisdall's coat. He agrees to help them find the man who gave him the coat, and thus clear Tisdall. Unfortunately, the twitching eyes are all that Old Will can remember about the man.
In a pocket of the coat, they find a box of matches from the Grand Hotel, a place Tisdall has never been to. They go there in hopes of finding the murderer. In a memorably long, continuous sequence, the camera moves forward through the hotel ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
to finally focus on the drummer in a dance band performing in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
. Recognizing Old Will in the audience, and seeing policemen nearby (unaware that they are there to arrest Tisdall), the man performs poorly due to fear and is berated by the musical conductor. Then he has a nervous breakdown
Nervous breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
, exacerbated by a drug he has been taking to try to control the twitching, and passes out. Immediately after being revived, he confesses his crime and laughs. In the end, Robert Tisdall and Erica Burgoyne are united, with Erica's father smiling benevolently.
Changes from the novel
There were significant changes made in adapting the book for the film. The team of screenwriters took the main suspect of the novel, Robert Tisdall, and his unexpected, initially reluctant supporter, Erica Burgoyne, and left out all the other characters, including Tey's Inspector Alan Grant and even the original murderer (who is not the same character as in the film). In other words, the episode focusing on Tisdall as a fugitive from justice was elaborated and blown up into a full-length film, whereas the subplots and distractions of Tey's novel—which make it a whodunitWhodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
—were omitted.
Hitchcock's cameo
Alfred Hitchcock cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. He can be seen outside the courthouse, holding a camera at 16 minutes into the film.Main cast
- Nova PilbeamNova PilbeamNova Margery Pilbeam is a British film and stage actress. She was born in Wimbledon. Her father was RADA-trained actor Arnold Pilbeam.-Career:Pilbeam had widely noted roles as a child stage actress...
- Erica Burgoyne - Derrick De MarneyDerrick De MarneyDerrick De Marney was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry.-Actor:On the London stage from 1922 and films from 1928...
- Robert Tisdall - Percy MarmontPercy MarmontPercy Marmont was an English film actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1916 and 1968. He is best remembered today for playing the title character in Lord Jim the first film version of Joseph Conrad's novel, and for playing one of Clara Bow's love interests in the Paramount Pictures film...
- Colonel Burgoyne - Edward RigbyEdward RigbyEdward Rigby was a British character actor.-Early life:Rigby was the son of Jamaican-born Dr. William Harriot Coke and his wife Liverpool-born Mary Elizabeth of 17 High Street, Ashford. He was educated at Haileybury, and Wye Agricultural College...
- Old Will - John LongdenJohn LongdenJohn Longden was a West Indian-born English film actor. He appeared in 84 films between 1926 and 1964, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.-Biography:...
- Inspector Kent - Mary ClareMary ClareMary Clare was a British actress who performed in films, on the stage, and later on television.-Biography:...
- Erica's Aunt - George CurzonGeorge Curzon (actor)Commander Chambré George William Penn Curzon , known as George Curzon, was a Royal Navy Commander, actor, and father of the present Earl Howe....
- Guy - Basil RadfordBasil RadfordBasil Radford was an English character actor who featured in many British films of the 1930s and 1940s. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made his first stage appearance in July 1924...
- Erica's Uncle - Pamela Carme - Christine
- George MerrittGeorge Merritt (actor)George Merritt was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The W Plan * The Lodger * I Was a Spy * Crime on the Hill * The Silver Spoon...
- DS Miller - J. H. Roberts - Solicitor
- Jerry VernoJerry VernoJerry Verno was a British film actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1931 and 1966, including five films directed by Michael Powell.He was born in London.-Selected filmography:* Two Crowded Hours...
- Lorry driver - H. F. Maltby - Police sergeant
- John Miller - Police Constable
- Syd CrossleySyd CrossleySyd Crossley was an English film actor. He appeared in 114 films between 1925 and 1942.He was born in London, England and died in Troon, Scotland...
- Policeman - Anna KonstamAnna KonstamAnna Konstam is a British theatre and film actress.-Selected filmography:* They Drive by Night * Too Dangerous to Live * Saloon Bar * Waterloo Road -External links:...
- Bathing girl - Bill ShineBill ShineBill Shine, born Wilfred William Dennis Shine, was a British theatre, film and television actor. Shine was born into a family of theatre actors; among others, Shine's father, mother, grandmother, two uncles and an aunt had worked in theatre. His father Wilfred Shine was a theatre actor who also...
- Cafe manager - Beatrice VarleyBeatrice VarleyBeatrice Varley was a British actress who appeared in a variety of television and film roles between 1936 and 1964...
- Accused Man's Wife