All throughout I couldn't help thinking how depressing the story really was. In his own way, Hitchcock provided an element of suspense to the story, as I was waiting impatiently for Philip (Malcolm Keen) and Kate (Anny Ondra) to come clean with Pete (Carl Brisson) about their feelings for each other. That Pete and Kate wound up marrying seemed like the greatest deception imaginable, eventually leaving all parties broken by the lack of honesty in their relationships.
Having read a few of the other reviews for the picture on this board, I feel a few viewers missed some aspects of the story. Personally, I didn't feel that that Philip's feelings for Kate represented a betrayal of his best friend. It may have seemed that way before the revelation of Pete's 'death', but with that news, the relationship was free to take it's course. Afterwards, when it was learned that Pete was still alive, I thought it incumbent upon all three of the principals to face the truth about what occurred while Pete was away seeking his fortune. Something that really bothered me about Kate occurred during the time that Pete was away early on. In one of her diary entries, she started to write about meeting with Mr. Christian, and abruptly crossed out his name and replaced it with 'Pete', with successive entries mentioning Pete taking part in regular activities with her. That scenario presented me with the idea that maybe her thoughts were becoming delusional.
When Kate made her suicide attempt, the picture took a dramatic downward turn in sentiment. Appearing before the newly assigned 'deemster' of the village, the parties are forced to acknowledge their relationship with each other, something that could have avoided a public spectacle if Philip and Kate had been true to themselves from the outset. There's also another element at play here, how was it possible that in such a small fishing village, the only party to have an inkling that Phil and Kate were seeing each other was Kate's father Caesar (Randle Ayrton). Oh, and Philip's mother too. Didn't people on the Isle of Man talk to each other in the way of gossip that would have been normal anywhere else?
So for me, much of the story didn't ring quite true to life, though for a silent film coming up on the last legs of the era, it was a commendable attempt by the famed director. The principal players were credible in their portrayals given what I feel were shortcomings in the story, while actress Anny Ondra proved to be a rare beauty of the silent screen.
Having read a few of the other reviews for the picture on this board, I feel a few viewers missed some aspects of the story. Personally, I didn't feel that that Philip's feelings for Kate represented a betrayal of his best friend. It may have seemed that way before the revelation of Pete's 'death', but with that news, the relationship was free to take it's course. Afterwards, when it was learned that Pete was still alive, I thought it incumbent upon all three of the principals to face the truth about what occurred while Pete was away seeking his fortune. Something that really bothered me about Kate occurred during the time that Pete was away early on. In one of her diary entries, she started to write about meeting with Mr. Christian, and abruptly crossed out his name and replaced it with 'Pete', with successive entries mentioning Pete taking part in regular activities with her. That scenario presented me with the idea that maybe her thoughts were becoming delusional.
When Kate made her suicide attempt, the picture took a dramatic downward turn in sentiment. Appearing before the newly assigned 'deemster' of the village, the parties are forced to acknowledge their relationship with each other, something that could have avoided a public spectacle if Philip and Kate had been true to themselves from the outset. There's also another element at play here, how was it possible that in such a small fishing village, the only party to have an inkling that Phil and Kate were seeing each other was Kate's father Caesar (Randle Ayrton). Oh, and Philip's mother too. Didn't people on the Isle of Man talk to each other in the way of gossip that would have been normal anywhere else?
So for me, much of the story didn't ring quite true to life, though for a silent film coming up on the last legs of the era, it was a commendable attempt by the famed director. The principal players were credible in their portrayals given what I feel were shortcomings in the story, while actress Anny Ondra proved to be a rare beauty of the silent screen.