Shadowplay Shadows #1
Beautiful shot from MURDER!, absent from the German version, MARY. Hitchcock seems to have executed his contractual duties on that one as hurriedly as possible.
What’s most gorgeous about the shot is that the shadow moves up the wall as we watch, signifying the approaching hour of execution. Hitch must have had a big light on a crane, or else let it slight down its lighting stand, to create the time-lapse sunset effect. More on MURDER! tomorrow.
shadowplay 
March 17, 2009 at 11:32 pm
nothing like a good hangin’ after a hard night of drinking!
better yet,a blessedly quick trip to Madam Guillotine!.oyyy
March 18, 2009 at 12:22 am
Herbert Lom wrote a novel about Dr. Guillotine, the inventor of that labour-saving boon. He’s still hoping to make a movie of it.
March 18, 2009 at 12:55 am
Very Vampyr, that shot.
March 18, 2009 at 2:57 am
You just don’t see great dramatic shadow or lighting effects in movies anymore..It would sure cut down on expenses…I was looking at Anton Grot’s design for Captain Blood the other night..One or two massive interior scenes had but a few bits of furniture,the rest was all lighting,yet the room was full and looked like they spent a fortune on it..
…I’d buy a ticket to see a film about Doc Guillotine…even 2 tickets for a musical..
March 18, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hitchcock was a great fan of VAMPYR.
March 18, 2009 at 11:29 am
But probably not by 1930, when he made Murder! Vampyr came out two years later…
March 18, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Hmmm.
Well then let’s credit the influence of Lang and Murnau.
March 18, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I think so. Impossible to overstate that influence.