A Cottage on Dartmoor

A Cottage on Dartmoor (2007 DVD)
Directed by Anthony Asquith
UK, 1929
Silent with English intertitles

Although it's probably only a matter of time before fun nazi/jingoistic xenophobe Dr. Demented starts his usual bitching and moaning about never even having heard of this movie before (apparently the good Doktor limits his "film research" to waiting for recommendations from The View and/or pining for his idol Rex Reed), the more cinematically adventurous among you are invited to read on for a few words in praise of this early British thriller. While deemed "Hitchcockian" by more than a couple of online pogues, A Cottage on Dartmoor actually seems to have its own take on the manhunt-for-an-escaped-convict-on-the-lam genre that Sir Alfred almost singlehandedly made famous among the fish-and-chips eating peoples of the world. The story is told in flashback after barber Joe (Uno Henning) falls in love with but is then dissed by his lovely coworker Sally (Norah Baring, a cutie), leading to an unfortunate "accident" involving Sally's new fiancé (Hans Adalbert Schlettow) and a straight razor (played by itself) that's held to his throat a tad too closely. Asquith's visual style (featuring paired shots dissolving into each other and juxtapositions of barbershop chatter about sports with location shots taken at different sporting events) and sense of mischievousness (Joe's silent movie path down the slippery slope of terminal stalkerdom begins when Sally goes on a date to a "talkie" filled with Embassy Cinema-like bluehairs and a bigtime snorer like Z in attendance) keep you guessing where things will lead next, a nice surprise considering how many 21st century tales of jealousy and revenge have their outcomes given away in the course of the fucking trailer. Nice. (http://www.kino.com/)