"Young and Innocent" aka "The Girl Was Young" is rarely mentioned in the same breath as The 39 Steps or The Lady Vanishes but it is nevertheless one of the more underestimated films from the master of suspense with all the ingredients of a Hitchcock classic.
Alfred Hitchcock loved the theme of a man accused of a crime he didn't commit and used this successfully in other films like The 39 Steps which preceded Young and Innocent and later, Saboteur and North by Northwest.
He wanted to introduce a fresh approach in this film with stars that were young and relatively unknown (and cheap). Nova Pilbeam had featured a few years earlier in The Man Who Knew Too Much and was a fairly prominent child/teenage actress and Derrick De Marney had had some moderate success but both actors were not well known overseas.
Hitchcock added his usual array of interesting character studies which typified so many of his films. I always thought that he never wasted a character in any of his films with even the smallest bit part being used effectively. Young and Innocent is no exception with a couple of wonderful cameos from J.H Roberts as the myopic solicitor who advises his client "We mustn't be depressed on a day like this" after he has been accused of murder.
George Curzon as the villain plays an aggrieved, black faced drummer who has been two timed by his actress wife who he "dragged out of the gutter to make a star". Curzon hams it up to the hilt complete with a twitch which eventually leads to him being exposed as the murderer.
Edward Rigby is the quintessential tramp who dons an uncomfortable tux to enter the Grand Hotel in another fine cameo role. Basil Radford and Percy Marmont as the kindly Police Chief are also very impressive in their small roles.
The film closes with one of Hitchcock's most impressive scenes from all of his films. He loved the concept of furthest to nearest with the camera moving slowly from a very wide shot through the hotel to finally focus on the drummer. He used a crane to achieve this in Young and Innocent and it must have been an extremely innovative and logistically difficult task in 1937. He used the concept again in Notorious and other films to great effect.
Young and Innocent has all the charm and humour that typifies so many Hitchcock movies and is set in another world - country England in 1937.
I have always thought that Hitchcock's English films from the mid to late 1930s produced some of his best work and this is a forgotten gem that helped progress him to Hollywood.
Highly recommended.
Alfred Hitchcock loved the theme of a man accused of a crime he didn't commit and used this successfully in other films like The 39 Steps which preceded Young and Innocent and later, Saboteur and North by Northwest.
He wanted to introduce a fresh approach in this film with stars that were young and relatively unknown (and cheap). Nova Pilbeam had featured a few years earlier in The Man Who Knew Too Much and was a fairly prominent child/teenage actress and Derrick De Marney had had some moderate success but both actors were not well known overseas.
Hitchcock added his usual array of interesting character studies which typified so many of his films. I always thought that he never wasted a character in any of his films with even the smallest bit part being used effectively. Young and Innocent is no exception with a couple of wonderful cameos from J.H Roberts as the myopic solicitor who advises his client "We mustn't be depressed on a day like this" after he has been accused of murder.
George Curzon as the villain plays an aggrieved, black faced drummer who has been two timed by his actress wife who he "dragged out of the gutter to make a star". Curzon hams it up to the hilt complete with a twitch which eventually leads to him being exposed as the murderer.
Edward Rigby is the quintessential tramp who dons an uncomfortable tux to enter the Grand Hotel in another fine cameo role. Basil Radford and Percy Marmont as the kindly Police Chief are also very impressive in their small roles.
The film closes with one of Hitchcock's most impressive scenes from all of his films. He loved the concept of furthest to nearest with the camera moving slowly from a very wide shot through the hotel to finally focus on the drummer. He used a crane to achieve this in Young and Innocent and it must have been an extremely innovative and logistically difficult task in 1937. He used the concept again in Notorious and other films to great effect.
Young and Innocent has all the charm and humour that typifies so many Hitchcock movies and is set in another world - country England in 1937.
I have always thought that Hitchcock's English films from the mid to late 1930s produced some of his best work and this is a forgotten gem that helped progress him to Hollywood.
Highly recommended.