Young and Innocent (1937)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Josephine Tey (based on the novel entitled "A Shilling For Candles" by)
Charles Bennett (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

A romantic murder-mystery drama!

Plot:

Man on the run from a murder charge enlists a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Escape | Murder | Beach | Actress

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Nova Pilbeam	...	Erica Burgoyne
Derrick De Marney	...	Robert Tisdall (as Derrick de Marney)
Percy Marmont	...	Col. Burgoyne
Edward Rigby	...	Old Will
Mary Clare	...	Erica's Aunt
John Longden	...	Det. Insp. Kent
George Curzon	...	Guy
Basil Radford	...	Erica's Uncle
Pamela Carme	...	Christine
George Merritt	...	Det. Sgt. Miller
J.H. Roberts	...	Solicitor
Jerry Verno	...	Lorry Driver
H.F. Maltby	...	Police Sergeant
John Miller	...	Police Constable

Also Known As:

The Girl Was Young (USA)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (2006) | Iceland:12 | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Germany:6 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1986) | USA:Unrated | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

The hand that pulls Nova Pilbeam's character out of the hole in the mine scene was that of her future husband Pen Tennyson; they met on this film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the murder was published in the newspapers, one says it was the first of September 1937, but the next newspaper was dated 1936.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Husband: Christine!
Christine: Don't shout, I tell you! Don't shout!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitchcock: The Early Years (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

No One Can Like the Drummer Man

Quintessential British Hitchcock

"Young and Innocent" is one of the best of Alfred Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood movies. It contains all of the features that characterized the finest of his British movies, and is (as many others have commented) a film often undeservedly overlooked amongst Hitchcock's large collection of classics.

The actors would all be unfamiliar to most contemporary American viewers, but it is a fine cast that does full justice to a good story, and that responds well to Hitchcock's expert direction. Derrick de Marney is engaging as the unjustly accused hero Robert Tisdall, and his character is balanced nicely by good performances from the rest of the cast (several of whom appeared in more than one of Hitchcock's British movies).

As is often the case with Hitchcock's British pictures, the title is capable of multiple interpretations. At the least, it could refer either to the hero, to the heroine, or to the overall atmosphere and themes of the movie. Young Tisdall is being chased by the law, but we know from the beginning that he is innocent, and his knowledge of that innocence enables him to remain upbeat and even playful despite the dangers and complications he faces. Erica (Nova Pilbeam), his reluctant friend and helper, is innocent in a different sense. In the story she finds her youthful naivete, especially the assumptions she has acquired in growing up as a chief police constable's daughter, challenged by the real world - perhaps for the first time in her life. Pilbeam is not a glamorous heroine (and this may be one of the reasons why "Young and Innocent" is unjustly neglected), but she was a good choice to portray the youthful earnestness and resulting moral dilemmas of her character.

Despite the film's short length, it is filled with classic Hitchcock touches of detail, artistry, and humor, many of which are more low-key than those in his more familiar Hollywood films. It is worth watching several times in order to catch and appreciate all of the details. Three sequences are especially worth noting: (i) the renowned tracking shot at the climax of the film, which is not only a fine technical achievement but also an ideal way to set up the suspenseful conclusion; (ii) the birthday party in the middle, which encapsulates in very subtle ways most of the themes and contrasts of the movie, and (iii) the sequence towards the beginning involving the hero's conference with his lawyer, his court appearance, and his escape, a sequence which is filled with comic details too numerous to catch all at once (including one of the director's most humorous cameos).

Any Hitchcock fan should thoroughly enjoy "Young and Innocent". Beyond that, any fan of thrillers who can look past an unfamiliar cast, and who is willing to look for the subtle touches that characterized the great director's British work, will also find the film a satisfying experience.