Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageDownhill (1927)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Ivor Novello, public school sixth-former, loyally takes the blame when a chum impregnates Mabel, the tuck shop temptress. Cast out of the family circle, he becomes a chorus boy in the West End, inherits some money, marries a gold-digger, goes broke again and works as a taxi dancer-cum-gigolo in Paris. Finally he is (or hallucinates that he is) transported back to London and into the apologetic arms of his family. The author of the source play - 'David L'Estrange' - was a pseudonym for Novello and Constance Collier, and this adaptation abounds in Novello-esque gay motifs: brutish father, voluptuous victimhood, bloody women. It's directed by Hitchcock with imagination and, especially in the first half, much comedy. Essentially though, this should be filed under 'Novello'.Author: BBa
Cast & crew
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: CM Woolf, Michael Balcon
Cast: Ivor Novello, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter, Annette Benson, Norman McKinnel, Lilian Braithwaite full cast
Duration: 95 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now