Alfred Hitchcock Collectors Guide: Murder! and Mary (1930/1931), Part 2

by Brent Reid
Brent Reid
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Home video

  • Master of suspense’s groundbreaking mystery thriller has two separate versions
  • Second multiple-language version (MLV), Mary, was unavailable for many years
  • English-language version’s alternate American edit has a much pacier ending
  • Heavily bootlegged for years but here’s a survey of every quality official release
  • Beware: some still have inauthentic aspect ratio and egregiously altered audio

Note: this is part of an ongoing series of 150-odd Hitchcock articles; any dead links are to those not yet published. Subscribe to the email list to be notified when new ones appear.

Murder! and Mary, Part 1: Production

Mary (1931, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) German Illustrierter Film-Kurier magazine No. 1554

Illustrierter Film-Kurier German magazine No. 1554

Contents

Murder! (1930)

Hitchcock: The Beginning UK Studiocanal Blu-ray box set

This UK box set and its identical French and German brethren are the only accurate releases of Murder! to date

All official releases of Murder! feature the original, British theatrical version (102min, 98min PAL), as opposed to the American, which is shorter by around 10 minutes. Several discs, where noted, also include an extra US “alternative ending” (US AE), which is actually the abbreviated last 10 minutes of the American version, a poor quality copy of which features on most bootlegs. It’s of interest as it includes two brief, specially-shot scenes not present (or necessary) in the British version. They were added to cover gaps in continuity caused by the editing. Confused? Of course not, but this simple concept is clearly beyond the grasp of any number of previous Hitch commentators.

I’ll go into more detail below but in brief, although there’s only one official, preserved but unrestored transfer of Murder! its releases are complicated by different permutations. The original theatrical aspect ratio was 1.19:1 but until recently it was always transferred at a compromised 1.33:1. Secondly, circa 2005, Hitch’s original mono audio was egregiously remixed and new sound effects added. Here’s a breakdown of releases:

1.19:1 aspect ratio and original mono audio

1.33:1 aspect ratio and original mono audio

1.33:1 aspect ratio and remixed mono audio

All DVDs have the same solid transfer, though the US has a slight edge in detail over all others, as evidenced by numerous comparative screenshots of both licensed and bootleg releases at the invaluable Hitchcock Zone. However, note the two different soundtracks with one left unmolested while at several points on the other, as with Rich and Strange, owners Studiocanal made an ill-advised decision to replace music cues and foley effects or even add new ones altogether.

Alfred Hitchcock 3-Disc Collectors' Edition US Lionsgate DVD

Lionsgate’s US DVD set is still the format’s joint best, most authentic release of Murder! and several other Hitchcocks

All HD and American releases have original audio and are the best choice, while the altered audio afflicts all other DVDs. At least both films remain in period-appropriate mono; Suspicion, Rope, Lifeboat, To Catch a Thief, Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho have also had music and sound effects added or replaced. But most have also been remixed in gimmicky 2.0 stereo and surround sound, often completely omitting the original audio. Grrr.

The recent releases with both MLVs have a handful of relevant extras, the meatiest of which is a decent but desert-dry audio commentary by film critic Nick Pinkerton. Kino’s press release promised the inclusion of a documentary, Hitchcock: The Early Years (2004, 52:22), but it’s disappointingly absent. A French production only covering the Studiocanal-owned films, it was originally titled Alfred Hitchcock: Films de Jeunesse (1925-1934) and can be found on the French and UK DVDs; the latter with optional English subs. The anomalous French solo BD has the same HD transfer though no extras whatsoever, and optional French subtitles.

Hitchcock Screams: Murder! – Tony Williams

Murder! (1930, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) US Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Kino Lorber’s US BD and DVD are the joint second-best releases for Murder! but also include its MLV, Mary

Another disappointment is that for every release until 2024, Studiocanal’s master had the wrong aspect ratio of 1.33:1, exposing the whole frame instead of cropping the left edge to leave the correct 1.19:1. This was only corrected as a result of them consulting this article. You’re welcome. It results in frequently exposed set edges and equipment; at one point the director even gets a second unintended cameo! The left of the image would have originally been masked by the optical soundtrack; this was planned for by Hitch and his cinematographer Jack E. Cox. The latter worked on almost 100 British films from 1922–1952, including many universally regarded classics and a whopping 12 Hitchcocks. No slouch then, so it’s annoying to see their expertly composed framing thrown off centre to the right throughout.

Historically, countless films have been compromised on home video in similar fashion by people ignorant of the basics of their job. But this is still happening even with more recent formats and various other Hitchcocks are similarly afflicted, such as Dial M for Murder, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain and Topaz. Mind you, in those cases it’s even worse. Oh well, at least Murder! isn’t as shocking an aspect ratio blunder as those on Kino’s botched simultaneous release of Blackmail.

Herbert Marshall (centre, with cane) and Edward Chapman (with binoculars) in Murder! (1930, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)

“Ooh, I can hardly bear to look – but I shall anyway!” Herbert Marshall (with cane) and Edward Chapman (with binoculars), reel at the film’s shocking conclusion, which is set up differently on original British and bootleg US prints.

Mary (1931)

It’s easiest to get both of Hitch’s MLVs on the aforementioned Murder! BDs, though note Mary’s only an upscale from the sole standard definition master, so not true HD. She hasn’t been looked after as well as Murder! either; no film materials are stored in the BFI Archive, so I don’t know exactly what survives. The same transfer is also on the R2/PAL German DVD mentioned above, which goes under the film’s German title: Mord – Sir John greift ein! (Murder – Sir John Intervenes!). Unfortunately, it has no subtitles for Mary, while Murder!/Mord has an optional 1930 dub and German subs.

All releases feature Mary with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio instead of the theatrical 1.19:1, as per Murder! However, in this case it’s understandable as the older master is consistently more tightly framed than its counterpart, indicating slight cropping all around by default. Chopping the left edge to achieve the desired AR would only compromise it further; certainly, I haven’t spotted any set edges or production equipment inadvertently making an appearance.

Alfred Abel in Mary (1931, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)

Alfred Abel, also star of such classics as Phantom (1922), Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) and Metropolis (1927); and his new friend.

Mary can also be found on an R2/PAL French DVD of Hitch’s Jamaica Inn but do beware though: both its films have forced French subtitles, so they’re not burned into the image but still can’t be turned off. There’s another French disc which came with a Hitchcock DVD-magazine series but is a real rarity. Obviously, it too only has French subs.

Though Hitch’s first eight talkies prior to The Man Who Knew Too Much have mostly been available in good condition for a while, they’ve now all benefited hugely from full restorations (and the addition of subtitles to help with discerning their many instances of unintelligible dialogue). But this is with the exceptions of Murder! and Mary, despite the BFI archive holding the original nitrate negative to the former alongside various other early copies. I sincerely hope both films will also one day receive the loving care they so richly deserve.

Murder! and Mary, Part 1: Production

I started Brenton Film because I love film – quelle surprise! The silent era, 1930s and 1940s especially get my literary juices flowing, so you'll see a lot about those. For more, see the About page and read this before emailing.

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