The Manxman (1929)

Memorable, crazy movie

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

By the 1929 Alfred Hitchcock was highly regarded as a film director, but still he was obliged to direct the movies British International Pictures chose for him. 'The Manxman' is one of those many mediocre (although technically superior) early Hitchcock's melodramas, still it is one of the strongest silents (after 'The Lodger' and 'The Ring') of 'The Master of Suspense'.Former boxer Carl Brisson stars as fisherman Pete Quilliam who falls in love into gorgeous Kate (gorgeous Anny Ondra). When Pete has to go to work in Africa he asks his best friend Philip (Malcolm Keen) to take care of his girlfriend. Unfortunately Kate and Philip start to feel more and more towards each other, and when Pete returns home, the emotions and tears start to flow.Although very simple story 'The Manxman' stands above rest of the numerous similar melodramas because Hitchcock's masterful direction and he doesn't allow the film to turn into cheese fest. All three main actors are doing great job, but especially wonderful is Anny Ondra, who is simply mesmerizing on the screen. Not the most memorable film, but it is worth to watch only for Anny Ondra.

For a silent film, it is pretty good. If a drama can make you consider moving to the edge of your seat, it must have a somewhat compelling story. This film is definitely imperfect; one of the main characters is just dense, to the extent that you can't help but roll your eyes at times. Nevertheless, I found myself on multiple occasions becoming genuinely engaged, interested in the fate of the characters, and even impatiently anticipating the outcome of different events throughout the story. Not a movie I am looking forward to watching again (there wasn't anything to make it really exceptional or unforgettable), but it wasn't bad either, especially considering how old it is.

This picture starts out as a light-hearted affair but becomes deadly serious and takes a nasty turn midway through. Two men are friends since childhood and are in love with the same girl. Pete is the doofus fisherman, Phil is a successful lawyer and Kate is the daughter of the local innkeeper. Kate's father rejects Pete as a suitor because he is penniless, so Pete goes off to make his fortune, making the fatal mistake of asking Phil to 'take care of ' Kate until his return.From here on "The Manxman" turns into a pretty powerful picture and builds to a crescendo at the finale. This is one of Hitchcock's darker pictures and I can't think of one darker to compare it to. There is no happy ending here - quite the opposite, in fact. If there is a flaw in the film it is in the casting. Malcolm Keen, as Phil, is too old and Anny Ondra, as Kate, is too young - she looks about twelve and is very small. They used to call this type a 'gamin'. On the other hand,Carl Brisson, as Pete, is perfect and is the star of the picture.I thought it was one of Hitchcock's best efforts. It transcends the soap opera genre and is a tragedy in its truest sense.

The "Manxman" in the title refers to a person from the Isle of Man--an independent part of the British Crown but technically not part of the United Kingdom. This large island is located between Britain and Ireland and actually produces its own money and has its own particular language (though English is commonly spoken). Outside the UK, I doubt if that man people are familiar with this place or would recognize the three-legged symbol (the "triskelion") on its flag. Just a bit of history to put the whole thing in perspective. Plus, it's the only film I can recall having seen that's set on this island.The film begins with two friends living on the island. Pete is a poor fisherman and Philip is from a well to do family. They both are in love with the same girl, though because Philip is such a nice guy, he stands aside and says nothing. However, the girl's father won't have Pete for a son-in-law because he's so poor, so Philip goes off to sea to earn his fortune. Unfortunately, word soon comes to everything that Pete has died, so Philip announces to the girl that he loves her. Coincidentally, it turns out she always loved Philip as well, so they plan on marrying. Then, out of the blue, Pete returns--he didn't die while at sea after all. The first thing he does is ask the girl again to be his bride. Heartbroken but feeling responsible since Pete asked her first, she agrees. Unfortunately, unknown to her and Philip is that she is carrying Philip's baby!! Yikes.Well, after the baby is born, apparently Pete couldn't figure out that the kid was his and Philip moves to England to start life anew. However, soon she follows him--leaving poor Pete stuck at home with the kid. What a mess, but in spite of this Pete keeps up a brave face and tells everyone she's on holiday. Later, he comes to see Philip to ask him to help find his wife--little did he know that she was with his best friend all along.If you think about it, this plot is very much like a soap opera and is nothing like the films for which Hitchcock became well-known. As far as the film goes, it is pretty interesting but the plot suffers from one problem. When Pete returned from sea, had they just told him the truth--that they fell in love AFTER they heard he was dead--then the whole mess could have been avoided. Sure, Pete would have been upset but would have no doubt understood. However, aside from this obvious solution, it's a pretty interesting film and is well made, though a tad predictable. As far as the acting goes, it's pretty good for a silent--without an serious over-emoting.By the way, Hitchcock's next film (also 1929) turned out to be Britain's first sound film. While this was well behind the US move to sound, it was still early compared to the rest of the world.