Champagne (film)
| Champagne | |
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Original film poster
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | John Maxwell |
| Screenplay by | Alfred Hitchcock Eliot Stannard |
| Story by | Walter C. Mycroft |
| Starring |
Betty Balfour Gordon Harker Jean Bradin Ferdinand von Alten Fanny Wright |
| Cinematography | Jack E. Cox |
| Edited by | Alfred Hitchcock |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Wardour Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language |
silent film English intertitles |
Champagne is a 1928 British silent comedy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Betty Balfour, Gordon Harker and Jean Bradin. The screenplay was based on an original story by writer and critic Walter C. Mycroft. The film is about a young woman forced to get a job after her father tells her he has lost all his money.
The Heiress Betty (Betty Balfour) draws the ire of her father after using his aeroplane to fly to her boyfriend (Jean Braden) on an ocean liner headed to France. French customs obviously, at the time, were not favorable to such behaviors. Even for daughters of wealthy men in the Champagne business. Marriage, in France, has always been preferred to casual relationships.
Always uneasy due to seasickness, Betty's boyfriend is unable to dine with her. She notices a man watching her. He had been (briefly) watching her from a far, and sits to talk with her. Betty receives a telegram from her father who disapprovingly warns her the boyfriend is not going to be admired by her friends. To prove her father wrong she asks the boyfriend for his hand in marriage. A quarrel ensues during the trip and the two part company when it's over. The boyfriend regrets the fight and goes to Betty to apologize. He finds her excellence in chess, during a game with the mysterious man, to be quite surprising (he never took interest in her hobbies.) Another quarrel between the two is interrupted by the arrival of Betty's father (Gordon Harker). He tells Betty the family fortune, earned in the "champagne" business, has been wiped out in the stock market. The boyfriend leaves after hearing the news of their fortune. The father sees this as proof the boyfriend is only after money.
Betty decides to sell her jewellery but is robbed en route to the jewellers. Now penniless Betty and her father move into a small shabby apartment. Unbeknownst to Betty her father sneaks out to eat at an expensive restaurant after her cooking proves to be terrible. Once again her boyfriend tries for a reconciliation but is rebuked by Betty, who now thinks her father is right about the boyfriend and vows to get a job.
Betty finds work at a swank restaurant. Soon the mysterious man shows up and invites Betty to his table. She becomes uncomfortable with the stranger and is relieved when her boyfriend once again arrives. The mysterious man leaves after handing her a note that advises her to call him if she ever needs any help. The boyfriend openly disapproves of Betty's job. He leaves after a still angry Betty dances wildly to provoke him.
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Wikipedia