Format: Movie Director: Alfred Hitchcock Distributor: Wardour Films Ltd. Release Date: February 26, 1931 When people first hear the title of this film they often think that it is either pornographic or a very violent film involving mutilation of some sort. Let me clear the air by first saying that it is as far as you can get from either of those things. The movie is really about two warring families: the Hillcrists and the Hornblowers. The Hornblowers are attempting to urbanize a particular area and to do such they are purchasing every piece of land in the area but the Hillcrists who has lived in the area for generations do not want the last area of land to be bought up. So a bidding battle begins at the auction house and the battle between the families becomes fiercer than ever. The story is actually pretty interesting and worthwhile with neither family being shown as being right or wrong. It’s really up to the audience to decide which family is correct which is good storytelling. So overall a pretty interesting and entertaining story even if the film does end really abruptly. The acting in the film is underrated but still not anything amazing. C.V. France plays Mr. Hillcrist and Helen Haye plays Mrs. Hillcrist. France does a standup job in his role and really seems like a fierce old man with a firm belief in protecting the land. Helen Haye on the other hand is a weak actress who really doesn’t bring anything to the role and really doesn’t make the character seem like she cares about what is even going on. Edmund Gwenn plays Mr. Hornblower and he is probably the best actor in this picture. He seems like a real businessman who knows his goal and how to get there. And as for the other actors and actresses in the film, they are all mediocre with no real standouts. So a mixed bag of sorts but not as bad as most people seem to think. As for the special effects here, you have some pretty decent ones for 1931. All of the sets look really good and the drowned corpse at the end looks really realistic for the time. Now the sound doesn’t have nearly the same level of perfection. It cuts out constantly and some parts seem nearly muted which is really bad for any movie of any time period! So great special effects but mediocre music and terrible sound. To sum up my thoughts on The Skin Game I’ll say that it adapts the original play very well especially since plays rarely work in movie format. The story is incredibly entertaining and well done although it has a very abrupt ending which makes me wish that the movie had gone on a little bit longer. One major problem here is the camera which will often chop off people’s heads at the top of the screen or keep jittering around which feels really unprofessional. And as for everything else the acting is a mixed bag, the special effects are great, and the sound is abysmal. So a lot of positive and negative qualities in this movie really make it a mixed bag of a film. Check it out if you are a fan of the original play or Alfred Hitchcock’s work but don’t go out of your way to see it. Score: 5/10Read full review
The 1931 classic Alfred Hitchcock movie. Filmed in Hertfordshire, England. Plot summary: A rich family, the Hillcrests, is fighting against the speculator, Hornblower, who sends away poor farmers to build factories on their lands. When Mrs. Hillcrest finds out that Chloe Hornblower was a prostitute, she uses this secret to blackmail the speculator and force him to stop his business.
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