Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Murder! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 13, 2025

Note: This version of this film is available as part of the Hitchcock: The Beginning set from Studio Canal.

1934 seems to be some kind of invisible dividing line between Alfred Hitchcock's more recognized output and some of his arguably lesser remembered earlier films. The first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much was released that year, and was followed in relatively short order by at least a couple of Hitch's best remembered British productions like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, but aside from those titles and maybe one or two others (i.e., The Lodger), even diehard film fans may be relatively unacquainted with other early (or at least earlier) films of one of the most celebrated directors in the annals of cinema. Studio Canal is helping to rectify that lack of renown with an appealing collection that aggregates ten early Hitchcock films, including one that has often been cited (rightly or wrongly) as the first British feature length sound production.

One of Hitchcock's lesser remembered efforts from the arguable ebb his career encountered after the rush of his World War II era successes but before his late fifties and later early sixties successes, The Wrong Man, posited an innocent guy wrongly fingered for a crime. And in a way Murder!, while a good deal more theatrical (in more than one way), might have been called The Wrong Woman, though in this case the emphasis is not so much on that accused character as one of the jurors who helps to convict her.

Murder! was culled from a novel called Enter Sir John, and the central focus of this tale turns out to be Sir John Menier (Herbert Marshall). Sir John's background as an actor and theatrical manager gives him special insight into the case where he is one of the jurors, since the accused murderer is an actress named Diana Baring (Norah Baring). Sir John's initial doubts as to her guilt in the deliberation room are eventually overcome by the other jurors, but Sir John soon begins to feel he's made a serious error.

The whole acting troupe situation is exploited by Hitchcock throughout the film, and is, as alluded to above in my use of the word "theatrical", an overt way for Hitch to play with everything from perceived gender roles and cross dressing (several backstage actors don "reverse" gender costumes as police question various suspects) to more "meta" aspects like when "real life" and "play acting" intersect and/or when the line between them is seriously blurred, something that is a subtext of much of the narrative, but which has a kind of delicious final reveal that kind of amazingly presages Deathtrap. There is some absolutely fascinating if perhaps objectionable to modern day sensibilities material here with regard to the actual villain (it's notable that all of the films in this set come with a prefatory warning about content that some may find offensive). That said and without posting any outright spoilers, I'd argue as much as the supposed "real" reason for this character's subterfuge is completely understandable in the context of that era, Hitch frankly ups the ante by clearly indicating the character may have certain other "secrets" which once again mirror some of the gender role assumptions that are kind of jokingly offered earlier.

Murder! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Murder! is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.21:1. It's perhaps notable that this is the only film in this set that doesn't include either the imprimatur of the BFI or restoration information involving Silver Salt. The presentation is certainly watchable, but it's littered with quite a bit of damage, and it certainly seems that this was not sourced from a negative or perhaps even an interpositive. Detail levels are decent in close-ups, but can be lacking even in some midrange shots, let alone wider framings. There are quite a few optical, including some quasi-montages, and many of these moments understandably have less fulsome detail levels. There's some noticeable wobble on the opening credits and later image instability throughout the presentation. There is also recurrent flicker and some variability in densities.

Murder! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Murder! features an LPCM 2.0 Mono track that, somewhat like the video side of things, has some recurrent issues, but generally provides a listenable experience. The track is rather thin a lot of the time and some the cues, as in the quote of Beethoven's Fifth at the opening of the film, can sound distorted and boxy. There are some balance issues throughout where dialogue (or internal monologues as in one notable scene when Sir John muses in front of a mirror as he shaves, in a Hitchcock innovation which occurs really rather early in the sound era) can be overwhelmed by ostensible underscore. There are some general amplitude differences that can be noted even when music isn't playing. Optional English and German subtitles are available.

Murder! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Mary: 1931 German Version of Murder! (HD; 1:22:01) is a fascinating remake by Hitchcock with a German cast.


• Alternate Ending (HD; 10:06)


• Audio Commentary by film historian Nick Pinkerton


• Hitchcock / Truffaut: Archival Audio Interview (HD; 14:22) plays to stills.


• Introduction by Director / Film Historian Noël Simsolo (HD; 5:12) is subtitled in English.


• Stills Gallery (HD)

Murder! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Murder! finds Hitchcock really hitting his stride both in terms of narrative, technical expertise, but perhaps most notably, playfulness. There are some issues with both video and audio, but the film is really a gem and deserves more notice. The supplements are great, including the fascinating German language version that Hitchcock directed. With caveats noted, Recommended.