| Murder! | |
|---|---|
 Intertitle forMurder! | |
| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Screenplay by | Alfred Hitchcock Walter Mycroft Alma Reville |
| Based on | Enter Sir John by Clemence Dane Helen Simpson |
| Produced by | John Maxwell (uncredited) |
| Starring | Herbert Marshall Norah Baring |
| Cinematography | J. J. Cox |
| Edited by | Rene Marrison (under the supervision ofEmile de Ruelle) |
| Music by | John Reynders (musical director) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Wardour Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200,000[1] |
| Box office | $600,000(est.)[1] |
Murder! is a 1930 Britishmysterythriller film co-written and directed byAlfred Hitchcock, and starringHerbert Marshall,Norah Baring andEdward Chapman. Written by Hitchcock, his wifeAlma Reville, andWalter C. Mycroft, based on the 1928 novelEnter Sir John byClemence Dane andHelen Simpson, it is Hitchcock's third all-talkie film, afterBlackmail (1929) andJuno and the Paycock (1930).
Diana Baring, a young actress in a travelling theatre troupe, is found in a daze with blood on her clothes, sitting by the murdered body of another young actress, Edna Druce. The poker used to commit the murder is at Diana's feet, but she has no memory of what happened during the minutes that the crime was committed. The two young women are thought to have been rivals, and the police arrest her. Diana withholds some important information deliberately, to protect something about the identity of a man that she will not name.
At her trial, most of the jury are certain she is guilty. One or two feel that she may have a severe mental illness which means that she really does have no memory of killing the other woman, but they are convinced that she should still be hanged lest she strike again. One juror, Sir John Menier, a celebratedactor-manager, seems sure she must be innocent, but is brow-beaten into voting "guilty" along with the rest of the jury. Diana is imprisoned, and awaits hanging.
John feels responsible, as he had recommended that Diana take the touring job in order for her to get more experience. He discovers Diana has been a fan of his since childhood, and considers her far too honest and straightforward to be a criminal of any kind. Using skills he has learned in the theatre, John investigates the murder with the help of the stage manager Ted Markham and his wife Doucie. They narrow the possible suspects down to a male actor in the troupe, Handel Fane.
During a prison visit with Baring, John learns Fane's secret: he ishalf-caste andpassing as white, and Druce had threatened to expose him to Diana, with whom he was in love, neither of them knowing that Diana already knew this. John cunningly tries to lure a confession out of Fane, by asking him to audition for a new play he has been writing. John describes a plot closely resembling the murder, and Fane realises that they know he committed the crime and understand how and why he did it. Fane leaves without confessing and returns to his previous job as atransvestitetrapeze performer in a circus. John and the others go there to confront him again. During Fane's performance, he looks down and sees them waiting. Despairing, he knots his access rope into a noose, slips it over his head, and jumps to his death. John and Markham discover Fane had written a confession to the murder before his suicide.
At the film's conclusion, Diana is shown free and glamorously dressed in a whitefur, entering a beautiful room and being welcomed warmly by John, who receives her lovingly. The camera pulls back and reveals this is the last scene of a new play, possiblythe new play, in which Diana stars opposite John. They kiss as the curtain falls.
Members of the Jury
The film was made byBritish International Pictures. It was originally to be released under the same title as the novel,Enter Sir John, but this was changed to the simplerMurder! during shooting.[2] A number of changes were made from the book, including altering the names of the two principal characters. The portrayal of the character Sir John Mernier was loosely based on that of the actorGerald du Maurier, who was a friend of Hitchcock.[3] Hitchcock later adapted two novels and one short story written by du Maurier's daughterDaphne du Maurier:Jamaica Inn (1939),Rebecca (1940) andThe Birds (1963). Hitchcock makes hiscameo appearance in the film as a man walking past the murder victim's house.[3]
The film's sets were designed by theart directorJohn Mead.
TheGerman language version of the film,Mary (1931), was shot simultaneously on the same set with German-speaking actors.Miles Mander reprised his role as Gordon Druce inMary, though the character's name was changed to Gordon Moore.[4]
In addition to the original music composed byJohn Reynders, the film uses the opening ofRichard Wagner'sTristan und Isoldeprelude in a radio broadcast Sir John is listening to during the shaving scene.
For the filming, an orchestra played the music live on the set. Hitchcock described the filming of this scene toFrançois Truffaut in the book-length interviewHitchcock/Truffaut. In the early days ofsound film, there was no way topost-dub sound, so Hitchcock had Herbert Marshall's voice recorded on a phonograph record, which was played back during the filming of the scene, while the orchestra played the "radio" music live.
Murder! is copyrighted worldwide[5][6] but has been heavilybootlegged on home video.[7] Despite this, various licensed, restored releases have appeared onDVD,Blu-ray andvideo on demand services fromOptimum in the UK,Lionsgate andKino Lorber in the US, and others.[8]
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