It is shocking to think that this is a "Hitchcock" film. On the other hand, this was made in 1934 and Alf was still finding his way. He had not defined his brand yet. This is a bizarre "comedy" that supposedly tells the story of how "The Blue Danube" came into existence. According to this movie, Johann Strauss Jr. Was working in the sub-basement bakery of his girlfriend's father, and the rhythmic tossing of loaves of bread and other inane antics somehow translated in his mind as the rhythmic pulse for "The Blue Danube."
This was insane and barely laughable, as it was so stupid. The rest of the film is just as, if not more so, bizarre. We have Johann Strauss, Sr. (Edmund Gwenn) who will not give Junior a second of his time and constantly rejects him and any melodic idea he might have. We have the sex/love-starved Countess von Stahl (Fay Compton), who sees in Junior a chance for romance, and also sees his potential as a composer. We have doll-faced Resi (Jessie Matthews), who seems to think that Junior's only responsibility in life is to worship the ground she walks on, and if that means working in her father's bakery and completely giving up his dream to be a composer, then so be it. We also have Prince Gustav (Frank Vosper), who thinks the Countess is his property and gets hysterical and violent if he thinks for a nanosecond that some other man might have interest in her.
This simply had to have been a "work-for-hire" contract for Hitchcock, and I will assume he was given directives by the studio and he carried out his task.
That said: there is absolutely nothing in this, except marveling at the huge, high-ceilinged sets, that could be considered engaging or entertaining.
If one wanted to go an extra step, one could imagine the tragedy of being Johann Strauss, Jr., who was rejected by his father, who was controlled by his girlfriend, and who was toyed with by his benefactress (the Countess), without anyone seeming to stop for one second to ask him what he wanted or how he felt. If it had been a psychological study of the hurt that this young man endured, it might have been worth watching. Instead, it was an adolescent costume drama. On top of that, the quality of the sound and the image is awful, so, unless you feel compelled to see everything Hitchcock ever laid hands on, it's my strong suggestion to run for the hills if this pops up on your feed.
This was insane and barely laughable, as it was so stupid. The rest of the film is just as, if not more so, bizarre. We have Johann Strauss, Sr. (Edmund Gwenn) who will not give Junior a second of his time and constantly rejects him and any melodic idea he might have. We have the sex/love-starved Countess von Stahl (Fay Compton), who sees in Junior a chance for romance, and also sees his potential as a composer. We have doll-faced Resi (Jessie Matthews), who seems to think that Junior's only responsibility in life is to worship the ground she walks on, and if that means working in her father's bakery and completely giving up his dream to be a composer, then so be it. We also have Prince Gustav (Frank Vosper), who thinks the Countess is his property and gets hysterical and violent if he thinks for a nanosecond that some other man might have interest in her.
This simply had to have been a "work-for-hire" contract for Hitchcock, and I will assume he was given directives by the studio and he carried out his task.
That said: there is absolutely nothing in this, except marveling at the huge, high-ceilinged sets, that could be considered engaging or entertaining.
If one wanted to go an extra step, one could imagine the tragedy of being Johann Strauss, Jr., who was rejected by his father, who was controlled by his girlfriend, and who was toyed with by his benefactress (the Countess), without anyone seeming to stop for one second to ask him what he wanted or how he felt. If it had been a psychological study of the hurt that this young man endured, it might have been worth watching. Instead, it was an adolescent costume drama. On top of that, the quality of the sound and the image is awful, so, unless you feel compelled to see everything Hitchcock ever laid hands on, it's my strong suggestion to run for the hills if this pops up on your feed.