Blackmail, 1929
​by Alfred Hitchcock

Total run time: 85 minutes

Blackmail is a 1929 British crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, and Cyril Ritchard. Based on the 1928 play of the same name by Charles Bennett, the film is about a London woman who is blackmailed after killing a man who tries to rape her.


Film Notes from Dr. Greg Carlson, Concordia College
Alfred Hitchcock’s devotion to the art of what is often called “pure cinema” – visual storytelling not dependent on dialogue to impart key information to viewers – comes to full fruition in Blackmail, an outstanding early achievement from the Master of Suspense. Hitchcock had already made nine films before embarking on what would soon be heralded as Great Britain’s first sound film. 

Blackmail began as a silent movie before studio executives decided to impose upon an initially reluctant Hitchcock the requirement that at least some of the final product be delivered as a “talkie.” The director then continued work on the feature, altering sequences to shape a kind of hybrid capitalizing on tried-and-true methods associated with silent era production while simultaneously embracing the audio recording technology that would quickly transform the entire film industry forever. 

Even today, Blackmail sparks with much of what we identify as some of Hitchcock’s signature obsessions. The filmmaker would go on to make several films at the peak of his power that thematically rhyme with “Blackmail,” including “Dial M for Murder” and the masterpiece “Rear Window.” From its preoccupation with assault, murder, guilt, and the menace of the title to the frank and contemporary handling of an imperiled but far from powerless woman, Blackmail is essential viewing for devotees of the thriller.  

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