Young and Innocent
| Young and Innocent | |
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Promotional poster
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | Edward Black |
| Written by |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey |
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Bernard Knowles |
| Edited by | Charles Frend |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | GFD |
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Release date
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Running time
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83 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Young and Innocent (American title: The Girl Was Young) is a 1937 British crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney. Based on the 1936 novel A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey, the film is about a young man on the run from a murder charge who enlists the help of a woman who must put herself at risk for his cause. It is notable for an elaborately staged crane shot Hitchcock devised towards the end of the film, which identifies the real murderer.
At a retreat on the English coast, Christine Clay (Pamela Carme), a successful actress, argues passionately with her jealous ex-husband Guy (George Curzon). Not accepting her Reno divorce as valid, he accuses her of having an affair. His face twitches violently around his eyes as they argue. Finally he leaves.
The next morning, Robert Tisdall (Derrick De Marney) happens to be walking along the seaside when Christine's dead body washes ashore. Tisdall recognizes her, and runs for help. Two young women arrive just in time to see him racing away from the corpse. The police quickly decide that he is the only suspect. Christine was strangled with the belt from a raincoat; Tisdall's raincoat is missing and he says it was recently stolen. He admits knowing the victim from three years ago when he sold her a story, but they assume the two have been having an affair. When they learn that she left him money in her will (unknown to him), Tisdall is arrested.
Tisdall is grilled all night by Scotland Yard detectives until he faints. He is revived by the aid of Erica Burgoyne (Nova Pilbeam), daughter of the local police Chief Constable. Tisdall is assigned an incompetent barrister, and is taken into court for his formal arraignment. Doubting if his innocence will ever be established, he takes advantage of overcrowding in the courthouse to escape, wearing the barrister's eyeglasses as a disguise. He gets away by riding on the running board of Erica's Morris car, revealing himself to her after the car runs out of petrol.
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Wikipedia