Downhill

The story was okay. But the escalator shot was great. A couple of funny moments liven up this otherwise mediocre film.

Hitchcock gets a bit experimental by 20's standards, depending on less literal means of storytelling than his previous outing. Silent films naturally lean on their score selection to assist in emotional tone. Downhill's did that to its own extent, but more notably it is incredibly modern music for something made in '27. There's this strange electro experimental piano track within the ST that could easily be attached to the ambient movement today.

can’t believe hitch could make something so dull

The main reason people watch Hitchcock's silents is because they hope to see some interesting setups or sequences that give an early glimpse of his style and ambition. This actually has quite a few such moments, showing his interest in montage, Dutch angles, background action, etc. Unfortunately, you have to sit through a fairly dull and roughly made film to see them.

Old Hitchcock stuff. This was well before he hit his stride with mysteries.

Damnation in the late 20s as Roddy takes the blame for his friend -- who seems to have better family connections -- and ends up in such a miserable path -- marries an actress, loses his heritage to her, has feverish nightmares in a Marseille dock, all in favor of honoring the pact. Basically a 110min wrong man melodrama that could've easily been 80min. Still, some visual flair here and there -- the theater scene is brilliant, as well as the 'revelation' of who's the thief in the beginning.

45.250

Adapted from a stage play co-written by Novello, this early silent from Hitchcock has a fairly routine story, but real visual flair. Hitchcock continues to show the strong influence that German directors had on his style, with some scenes, particularly one where morning sunlight reveals the depravations in a Parisian nightclub, being visually reminiscent of Murnau. The film uses intertitles so sparingly that it's kind of difficult to follow the plot at times.

The plot is very dated and the moral of the story questionable. While there are some rare moments of eye-candy, it mostly comes off as style without substance.

The most technically experimental of Hitchcock's silent work, which is fun, but the story is kind of a mess, with a mean misogynistic streak.