kidboots Originally conceived as a farce by its two authors, Ivor Novello and Constance Collier, it had a short run in the West End and longer in the provinces where Novello, who also starred, thrilled female fans by washing his bare legs after the rugby match!! The wit didn't transfer to the movie (only the title!!) the plot of which was so melodramatic it must have given Hitchcock, Novello and others of the sophisticated cast a bit of a laugh.The initial part shows Ivor as Robby Berwick, a school captain and star footballer at an exclusive English boarding school. He is lured into a threesome involving his best friend Tim, a scholarship boy and a grasping waitress Mabel (shades of "Of Human Bondage"). When Mabel finds herself pregnant she makes a fuss at the school and picks out Robby as the father (even though it is really Tim) as she sees his wealth as a bonus. He promises never to break his trust as Tim cannot afford to be expelled. The nicest scene in the movie for me is when Robby is left in charge of the little shop, a boy comes in with a halfpenny and Robby sells him a box of chocolates, next thing all his little mates are at the door waving halfpennies - very funny and a chance for Ivor to have a bit of fun.Alfred Hitchcock finds a way to add some wonderful touches - his title "the world of make believe" shows Robby, thrown out of home, is now working as a waiter. The couple move from the table and he then discreetly pockets what looks like a wallet but suddenly the camera moves back and you find Robby is a waiter - in a play, the two he was serving are the stars and elusive Julia has once again forgotten her cigarette case!! Isabel Jeans just sparkles as the money hungry Julia, she thinks Robby is a sweet boy but Archie (Ian Hunter) is the one who pays the bills - that is until Robby comes into a 30,000 pounds inheritance, then suddenly the society pages carry photos of Robby and Julia, his wife. She still hasn't given up Archie and both of them continue to bleed him dry until ..... his inheritance exhausted he becomes a gigolo!!It is when Robby can't go any lower that Hitchcock is able to experiment with unusual shots - a descending escalator to show his downward spiral, dream sequences, intensified by his delirium, that blur all the people who have bought him down sitting at a table playing cards. Perhaps the finest of all (in my opinion) a montage of super imposed images starting with the squalid lanes of the East End, then each street getting a little bit neater and nicer until Robby is back in his own gentrified surroundings.An excellent film that shows some innovative Hitchcock touches.

cstotlar-1 If I have to see another character go downstairs, I swear I'll watch the film in reverse! The plot is quite basic - nothing really new: chump plus a couple of manipulative floozies equal his downward spiral. Hitchcock wisely didn't work consciously with symbolism for most of his career and this one makes me happy he didn't! There are a few good scenes here. The characters in the cab photographed from the outside during a rain worked quite well. The super-impositions were very well done and the collage of London with its usual turmoil in the streets made its point of "business as usual" effectively. There was some rather heavy over-acting by Novello near the end that can be painful to watch. The depiction of Paris seemed as French as the English music hall. Hitchcock was learning to fly with this but as of its release, he hadn't earned his wings yet.Curtis Stotlar

djhbooklover I just watched this film which I purchased on Ebay. I am a fan of Ivor Novello primarily because of his operatic musicals of the thirties and forties. I saw The Lodger recently and was impressed with his performance, read a biography or two, enjoyed Jeremy Northam's portrayal in Gosford Park, and am hunting for other performances in the cinema. This movie is very well done and adds an interesting insight into Hitchcock's early career. The quality of the acting, photography, use of symbolism are undeniable. I thought the impression that women are a bit dangerous was a major point but at least his mother cared about him although she didn't seem to resist his father's impulsive banishment. This is a film which held my interest throughout and I highly recommend it.

tiedel With their theatre play Down Hill Ivor Novello and Constance Collier produced another lampoon dealing with British boarding school life and the layers of society it depends upon. Ivor Novello attended a school like that himself (Magdalen College, Oxford) and the theme of his play seems authentic in its unlikeliness. A school boy takes the blame for 'getting a girl into trouble' although a friend is to blame. He is expelled not only from school but also from his posh family home. Without his father's backing life quickly goes down hill. After a short career as a Paris gigolo he ends up in the slums of Marseille. Hitchcock filmed Down Hill with his typical mix of 'suspense' and humour throughout the film. The camera zooms into terrified faces, goes down hill on an escalator and an elevator and picks up every shadow and shade on its way. Apparently Hitch had the final scenes tinted in a horribly yellowish green when the protagonist feels ill. Apart from the almost unneeded final act Downhill is a downright Hitch. Its climax is the Paris night club scene where the young and inexperienced taxi dancer and gigolo is awaited by a horny elderly woman who has already compensated his services yet to be rendered.