"Murder" from 1930 is a rare film from Alfred Hitchcock in that the plot is a "whodunit." I can't recall many other films where the director would use the same kind of narrative. It works quite well on the whole but the pace could have been better and a running time of 90 minutes or less would have helped also. The explanation given at the end of the film for the murder, is rather unexpected and quite daring for those more Conservative times. It changes the complexion of the whole story. The killing of a theatre actress at the beginning, leads to the arrest and trial of a woman who's a member of the same acting company. Whilst the jury members debate who whether the woman is guilty or not, Herbert Marshall as one of the jurors, initiates his own investigation. With the assistance of Edward Chapman (later in some of the Norman Wisdom comedies), they both uncover a good deal of information that casts some doubt as to the suspect's guilt. There are many great Hitchcock moments and it's always interesting to follow Herbert Marshall's efforts in obtaining the truth. There is an interesting scene during when Marshall is having a shave. As he gazes into his mirror in a somewhat melancholic state of mind, his thoughts about the case are reflected in a separate voice-over which was recorded by the actor. An effective scene. In spite of the over-length, "Murder" is still a pretty darn good film.
Review of Murder!
