TheLittleSongbird Review of Champagne

Champagne (1928)

Not completely flat, but doesn't sparkle as much as it could have done

[4/10 · 13 October 2013]

It is a shame because when it comes to my personal favourite directors Alfred Hitchcock is #1. He has had some disappointments, but most of his films range from very good to masterpiece and even his weakest films are far from irredeemable. Along with Juno and the Paycock, Number 17 and Jamaica Inn, Champagne is one of his lesser films. There is definitely some interest value, the music is wonderful, the sets are attractive, Betty Balfour is very charming and quirky, the scene with the drunk is very funny and especially good is the camera work which is very inspired and still looks good. Particularly good is the shot from the glass, a sign of Hitchock's visual mastery coming through early. The club scene was a mixed bag, it looks stunning but just drags on forever. Hitchcock doesn't direct incompetently, there are moments but there was the sense that he wasn't very interested in the project and that he wasn't in his comfort zone, not enough of his style came through. Apart from Balfour, the acting is very theatrical particularly from Gordon Harker, while to call Jean Bardin bland is an insult to the word bland. There isn't a single character to root for, they are not very likable, being over-theatrical and airhead-like, and it is the case of being underwritten and overacted. The script didn't come across as that funny, consisting of silly and sometimes drawn-out situations and little of it genuinely sparkles, some of it even comes across as dated. There have definitely been worse special effects but they were inconsistent in quality, some are okay others were hokey. But the story was the biggest let-down, it was tediously paced and there was nowhere near enough to sustain the length(maybe the reason for why a few scenes felt dragged out, to fill in what little there is of the story). In short it just wasn't memorable, to sum it up in one world it would be dispensable. Overall, not completely flat but lacks sparkle outside of the visuals, music and Balfour's performance. Well, the twist ending was nice but came too late to make us properly care. 4/10 Bethany Cox