Blackmail (1929 film)

Blackmail is a 1929 British thrillerdrama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard, and featuring Donald Calthrop, Sara Allgood and Charles Paton. The film is based on the play Blackmail by Charles Bennett, as adapted by Hitchcock, with dialogue by Benn Levy. Having begun production as a silent film, the studio, British International Pictures, decided to convert it to sound during shooting. As an early 'talkie', the film is frequently cited by film historians as a landmark film, Earlier British sound films include the part-talking The Clue of the New Pin, the unusual The Crimson Circle (a German silent film dubbed after the fact by British distributors) and Black Waters, a British all-talkie production shot in the US.

Plot

Scotland Yard Detective Frank Webber (John Longden) escorts his girlfriend Alice White (Anny Ondra) to a tea house. They have an argument and Alice leaves with Mr. Crewe (Cyril Ritchard), an artist whom she has earlier agreed to meet. At his studio, Crewe sings and plays "Miss Up-to-Date" on the piano. Alice innocently flirts with the artist. He convinces her...
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