The Manxman (1929)

86% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
39% of users liked it
(1,145 ratings)

Although he was established as a master of suspense by 1929, Alfred Hitchcock was still under contract to British International Pictures, and thus still obliged to direct everything his studio chose for him. Hitch's last silent film was The Manxman, a "romantic triangle" imbroglio based on a novel… More Although he was established as a master of suspense by 1929, Alfred Hitchcock was still under contract to British International Pictures, and thus still obliged to direct everything his studio chose for him. Hitch's last silent film was The Manxman, a "romantic triangle" imbroglio based on a novel by Hall Caine. Filmed on location in the Isle of Man, the story concerns a local fisherman named Pete (Carl Brisson), a law student named Philip (Malcolm Keen), and a beautiful village girl named Kate (played by German actress Anny Ondra). When Pete is reported drowned, Kate turns to Philip for solace and sexual gratification. By and by, Pete returns none the worse for wear. Never suspecting that Kate has been unfaithful to him, Pete marries the girl. Eventually she bears Philip's child, which of course Pete assumes is his. Unable to lie to her husband anymore, Kate attempts suicide, which according to the laws of the Island is a crime. Kate is brought before the judge, who happens to be her ex-lover Philip. Confronted with the truth by Kate's father (who has suspected all along that she and Philip have had an affair), Philip gives up his legal career to make an "honest woman" out of Kate. An unrelentingly dour film, The Manxman is nonetheless beautifully photographed by Jack Cox. Sensing that the film would not appeal to a mass audience, BIP withheld release of The Manxman until after the distribution of Hitchcock's first talkie, Blackmail. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 9 min.
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Written By: Hall Caine, Eliot Stannard
Genres: Drama, Romance, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1929 Wide
On DVD: Mar 29, 2005

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
It's no masterpiece, but it's certainly something to see: Hitchcock's early work is full of surprises, dramatic and stylistic.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Hall Caine novel from which this film was adapted is a weak one, but the director has done his best with it.
Mordaunt Hall, New York Times
Filled with enchanting scenes and the story itself is quite well told.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
An uncharacteristic example of Hitchcock with tongue out of cheek.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The stern morality melodrama contains very little of the filmmaking techniques that would later make Hitchcock a master of his craft.
Derek Adams, Time Out
A distinctly un-Hitchcockian melodrama.
, Film4
Hardly essential, but not the worthless and banal work that Hitchcock would have liked to dismiss it as.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A pretty good silent melodrama from Hitchcock, it's sad and realistic, but some scenes are kind of boring and overly dramatic. Overall, it's a pretty good movie.
First L

Two men in a little fishing village both fall for the same flighty barmaid. The two men in question are life-long friends, one is a fisherman named "Pete", the other is Philip, a young lawyer come to petition on behalf of the fishermen in a territorial despute. After the… More
Two men in a little fishing village both fall for the same flighty barmaid. The two men in question are life-long friends, one is a fisherman named "Pete", the other is Philip, a young lawyer come to petition on behalf of the fishermen in a territorial despute. After the girl's father rejects the fisherman as a suiter for his daughter (on the grounds that he's penniless), he decides to sail to Africa to find his fortune, and leaves his promised girl under the watch of his best friend, Philip. Philip's mother doesn't approve of him spending so much time with a "publican's daughter", especially when he could become a "deemster" (apparently what they call a judge on the Isle of Mann) and being seen with a girl so beneath him could ruin his career. Soon though, a telegram comes declaring Pete is (erroneously) dead, and Kate announces "we're free" as she embraces Philip. When they discover Pete isn't dead, the couple decide to cover up their romance, and even though Kate loves Philip, she decides to go through with her marriage to Pete. If this movie were to be made today, Pete would be considered a dope, and no one would be rooting for him to win the girl. For a silent picture, it's certainly verbose/word-heavy, and while it's typical "love triangle" stuff, it seems to glorify just how idiotic women can be sometimes (this dame's not content to ruin just one man's life, she has to go for two). I'll say this for "The Manxman", it's watchable, and no worse than the typical romances of today, but like I said, it exemplifies all the horrible, flighty traits I find so despicable in women.