The Skin Game (1931)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock 

Starring C.V. France, Helen Haye, Jill Esmond

Produced by British International Pictures 

The Jackmans have just gotten bad news. Their current landlord Mr. Hornblower is evicting them from their home. 

Despondent, they appeal to the prior land owner Mr. Hillcrest for assistance. Hillcrest is angered by their displacement as he had specifically required they be allowed to remain in the house as part of the sale. 

This sets the two families on a warpath, waging their battles through land auctions and family secrets. Who will emerge victorious? And will either family ever be the same again? 

The Skin Game has to be amongst the most boring films I have ever seen during this marathon. There are maybe 30 minutes of material here stretched to almost 80 minutes. And you never have the sense that anything is at stake. 

If the film succeeds at all, it is because of Hitchcock's direction. It's as though he realized how shoddy the material was and just decided he'd play with the camera a bit. 

The best scene in the movie involves an auction. Once the land goes up for sale, Hitchcock's camera gives us the perspective of the auctioneer, his eyes darting around the crowd for the next bidder. The approach adds tension to a scene that would otherwise be as exciting as watching paint dry. 

The flip side of the director's approach however is it becomes too busy, as though we can feel Hitchcock trying really hard to make it work. But all the excessive camera movement and editing does is highlight how little was there to start with. 

I'm sure there are some messages and themes in here about the plight of British aristocracy in the 1920s. I'm positive The Skin Game has a lot to say about the divide between new and old money and the peasants who are stuck in the middle. But the film has to keep its audience awake long enough to ask those questions.

As an experimental film and a step along the way to Hitchcock becoming the master of suspense, there's something here. I just don't think it is worth anyone's time. 

 *1/2 out of *****