Easy Virtue (1928)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Isabel Jeans, Robin Irvine
Length: 79 min
Genre: Drama
Based on: Play "Easy Virtue" by Noel Coward
One of Alfred Hitchcock's last silent movies (the last one on our journey since the next one will be Blackmail, his first sound picture). I saw a lot of what would become Hitchcock in The Lodger, but I hardly saw any of that in this movie.
The film starts with Larita Filton (Isabel Jeans) being accused of loving someone else by her rich husband. There is a scandalous trial, the press covers it, and when it's over, she flees the area. She finds another man, John Whitaker (Robin Irvine), to marry her, but his family does not like her at all.
One day, the chance for his family to get rid of her comes when they learn of her true identity. They confront Larita and tell John. At first, they make plans for her to leave, but must hold off since there is a huge party being held. Larita decides to crash the party, however, and win back John's heart.
A pretty standard cut-and-paste drama. There was a bit of Hitchcock experimenting with camera shots, and for the Hitchcock fanatic, it's obviously a must see. But other than the draw of being a Hitchcock movie, there is nothing in this movie that stands out. Nothing stands out as being bad, but it's just an average film.
My Rating: 5/10
IMDB User Rating: 5.8/10 (695 votes)