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Mary
1931 Crime / Drama
Review
Mary is the German language
version of Alfred Hitchcock’s popular 1930 thriller whodunit Murder,
based on the play and novel Enter
Sir John by Clemence Dane. Hitchcock directed the two
films back-to-back, employing the same sets and technical personnel but
with a different cast of actors. Although it is shorter by
around thirty minutes, Mary
is virtually identical to the English version in terms of plot and
composition of shots. The most significant difference is that it
lacks much of the humour of Murder
and is a darker, more restrained, and consequently less interesting
film. There is one significant plot difference, which is the
explanation for why Mary wouldn’t testify against Fane. In the
English version of the film, the character is of mixed race (something
that would have made him a social pariah at the time), whereas in the
German version he is simply an escaped convict. In the original novel,
Fane’s secret is that he is homosexual, which is something that Hitchcock
hints at in both versions of the film.
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Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Alfred Abel, Olga Tschechowa, Paul Graetz, Lotte Stein, Ekkehard Arendt Synopsis
Mary Baring, a member of a provincial theatre company, is arrested and
tried for the murder of a fellow actress. The jury finds
her guilty and she is sentenced to death. One of the jurymen, the
celebrated actor-manager Sir John Menier, has second thoughts after the
trial. Convinced of Mary’s innocence, he begins his own
investigation to unmask the real killer...
Credits
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