Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Number Seventeen 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.

The Old Dark House may be much better remembered than Number Seventeen in terms of comedy thrillers featuring, well, old dark houses released in 1932, but the fact is Number Seventeen actually predated the James Whale effort by several months, and that doesn't even include the source versions of the tale, which stretch back even further. This film might be jokingly retitled The Old Dark Apartment House, since it features just such a "terrace house" with a number of flats inside, including the titular Number 17 in this case. Suffice it to say a motley crew of characters arrives at this location for a number of different reasons, and bodies begin accruing almost as soon as things get underway.

This is a fun and at least occasionally funny outing by Hitchcock, but its narrative deficiencies lead to outright confusion at times, especially with an almost French farcical aspect where some characters are pretending to be other people, and at least in one major instance, another character who's actually part of the story. There are shenanigans afoot as a supposed jewel theft enters the fray, and Hitchcock and his co-writers Alma Reville and Rodney Ackland keep their veritable cards close to their veritable vests in terms of revelations, which end up spilling out in a calamitous third act that suddenly seems to presage Runaway Train.

Number Seventeen Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rich and Strange is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Studio Canal with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.20:1. While Studio Canal sent only check discs for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any additional information that might be offered in an insert booklet, and rather weirdly this film didn't have the typical prefatory text card mentioning a restoration by Silver Salt, I did find the following information online, which may be from Studio Canal's booklet:

This restoration was scanned in 4K by Silver Salt Restoration in the UK, from a 35mm duplicating positive. Colour grading and restoration were completed by Silver Salt Restoration.

A restoration by Studio Canal, supervised by Jahanzeb Hayat.

I've also received further confirmation from Silver Salt itself that this was a wetgate scan done on their Arri XT. This is another largely fantastic looking presentation, though I'd probably argue it's just slightly less consistent looking than either Blackmail or Rich and Strange. There's a somewhat more coarse looking grain field here at times, and that, combined with a surplus of rather dimly lit interior shots, can lead to occasional deficits in fine detail and/or shadow definition. Some midrange and wide framings can be on the slightly fuzzy side, but overall clarity is commendable and detail levels on props and costumes is convincing. Age related wear and tear has been minimized if not completely eliminated. My score is 4.25.

Number Seventeen Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Number Seventeen features a surprisingly spry sounding LPCM 2.0 Mono track. Yes, things are still undeniably thin and tinny sounding at times, but the score, which offers some colorful orchestrations, resonates decently well and has some dynamic flair. Some of the sound effects like roaring wind may not come off as overly realistic. Dialogue can be just slightly muffled sounding at times, but on the whole is delivered clearly and cleanly. Optional English and German subtitles are available.

Number Seventeen Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• From Silent Film Idol to Superman: John Stuart by Jonathan Croall (HD; 15:58) has some great background on the production, courtesy of John Stuart's son.


• Audio Commentary by film historian and critic Peter Tonguette


• Hitchcock / Truffaut (HD; 5:58)

Noel 3:46

Number Seventeen Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a number of elements at play in Number Seventeen that clearly point the way toward where Hitchcock was heading in his later career, especially with such classics as, say, North by Northwest which were able to combine nail biting suspense with liberal doses of humor. This certainly does not have the narrative efficiency of Ernest Lehman's screenplay for that 1959 classic, but the characters are certainly memorable and Hitch is able to inject at least a few of his directorial flourishes into the proceedings. Technical merits are generally solid, and the supplements very enjoyable, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.