Young and Innocent (1937)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Josephine Tey (novel)
Charles Bennett (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

17 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

A romantic murder-mystery drama!

Plot:

Man on the run from a murder charge enlists a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Escape | Murder | Beach | Actress

Cast

Nova Pilbeam	...	Erica Burgoyne
Derrick De Marney	...	Robert Tisdall (as Derrick de Marney)
Percy Marmont	...	Col. Burgoyne
Edward Rigby	...	Old Will
Mary Clare	...	Erica's Aunt
John Longden	...	Det. Insp. Kent
George Curzon	...	Guy
Basil Radford	...	Erica's Uncle
Pamela Carme	...	Christine
George Merritt	...	Det. Sgt. Miller
J.H. Roberts	...	Henry Briggs - Solicitor
Jerry Verno	...	Lorry Driver
H.F. Maltby	...	Police Sergeant
John Miller	...	Police Constable
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Atkinson	...	Petrol Pump Attendant (uncredited)
Clive Baxter	...	Burgoyne Boy (uncredited)
Pamela Bevan	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Albert Chevalier	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Syd Crossley	...	Policeman (uncredited)
William Fazan	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Gerry Fitzgerald	...	Singer (uncredited)
Pat Fitzpatrick	...	Boy (uncredited)
Richard George	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Photographer Outside Courthouse (uncredited)
Mike Johnson	...	Tramp at Tom's Hat Cafe (uncredited)
Anna Konstam	...	Bathing Girl (uncredited)
Fred O'Donovan	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Frederick Piper	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Bill Shine	...	Serving at Tom's Hat cafe (uncredited)
Peggy Simpson	...	Bathing Girl (uncredited)
Torin Thatcher	...	Nobby's Lodging House Caretaker (uncredited)
Beatrice Varley	...	Accused Man's Wife in First Court Case (uncredited)
Jack Vyvian	...	Police Constable at Grand Hotel (uncredited)
Humberston Wright	...	Bit Part (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Josephine Tey		(novel "A Shilling For Candles")
Charles Bennett		(screenplay) &
Edwin Greenwood		(screenplay) &
Anthony Armstrong		(screenplay)
Gerald Savory		(dialogue)
Alma Reville		uncredited

Produced by
Edward Black	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Jack Beaver		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Bernard Knowles		(photography)

Film Editing by
Charles Frend

Art Direction by
Alfred Junge

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pen Tennyson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Albert Whitlock	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
A. O'Donoghue	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen Dade	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Reg Johnson	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marianne	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director
Louis Levy	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Alma Reville	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Gaumont British Picture Corporation (as A Gaumont British Production)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1937) (UK) (theatrical) (controlled throughout the world excluding U.S.A. by)
• Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (retitled)
• Crown Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Collection International (1993) (UK) (VHS)
• Timeless Video (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Hallmark Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Take 2 Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Orbit Media (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Whirlwind Media (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Ryko Distribution (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• BCI Eclipse (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Sunset Home Visual Entertainment (SHE) (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Rank Video Library (1986) (UK) (VHS)
• Stokey Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

The Girl Was Young (USA)

Runtime:

80 min | USA:83 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (2006) | Iceland:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Germany:6 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1986) | USA:Unrated | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Lime Grove Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Alfred Hitchcock]outside the courthouse holding a camera as Derrick De Marney escapes.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the murder was published in the newspapers, one says it was the first of September 1937, but the next newspaper was dated 1936.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Husband: Christine!
Christine: Don't shout, I tell you! Don't shout!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Colditz (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

No One Can Like the Drummer Man

well worth catching

I hold with what seems to be the majority opinion here, i.e. that this early Hitchcock effort is a neglected gem. Though certainly not as well-done as some of his more noteworthy movies, I found it to be thoroughly captivating and entertaining, with the blend of suspense and humor that one finds in, say, "To Catch a Thief" or "Family Plot". Derrick deMarney as the romantic lead does a particularly fine job; sort of a foreshadowing of the kind of thing Cary Grant later did so well.

One thought is that the title is perhaps a bit of a double entendre; we always associate the phrase "Young and Innocent" with a female, but the story is really about the attempt of the lead character - a young man - to prove his innocence. Then again, is he really the lead, or is the story about the girl after all? I'm sure Hitch intended this touch of ambiguity.

Once again I have to thank American Movie Classics for bringing us another worthy movie from the past. Hitchcock fans should not miss this one (come to think of it, the only dog that I have seen from Hitch is "The Paradine Case").