Tom Ryall – författare

An account of Hitchcock's British films and film-making, now in its second edition, this study discusses the man and his work in the context of the history of British cinema in the 1930s and 1940s.

First published in 1986, this standard account of Hitchcock''s British films and film-making is now available again in a Second Edition with a new Introduction and Bibliography. It will be welcomed by all students of the film and admirers of Hitchcock.

This is the first comprehensive critical study of Anthony Asquith. Ryall sets the director's work in the context of British cinema from the silent period to the 1960s, examining the artistic and cultural influences which shaped his films.Asquith's silent films were compared favourably to those of his eminent contemporary Alfred Hitchcock, but his career faltered during the 1930s. However, the success of Pygmalion (1938) and French Without Tears (1939), based on plays by George Bernard Shaw and Terence Rattigan, together with his significant contributions to wartime British cinema, re-established him as a leading British film maker. Asquith's post-war career includes several pictures in collaboration with Terence Rattigan, and the definitive adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1951), but his versatility is demonstrated in a number of modest genre films including The Woman in Question (1950), The Young Lovers (1954) and Orders to Kill (1958).

Alfred Hitchcock's Blackmail (1929) was the first major British sound film. Tom Ryall examines its unusual production history, and places it in the context of Hitchcock's other British films of the period. Is is, Ryall argues, both a considerable work of art in itself, and also one of the first to display those touches we now think of as typically Hitchcockian: a blonde heroine in jeopardy, a surprise killing, some brilliantly manipulated suspense, and a last-reel chase around a familiar public landmark (in this case, the British Museum). There's also a cameo appearance by the director himself, as a harassed traveller on the London Underground.

Alfred Hitchcock''s Blackmail (1929) was the first major British sound film. Tom Ryall examines its unusual production history, and places it in the context of Hitchcock''s other British films of the period. Is is, Ryall argues, both a considerable work of art in itself, and also one of the first to display those touches we now think of as typically Hitchcockian: a blonde heroine in jeopardy, a surprise killing, some brilliantly manipulated suspense, and a last-reel chase around a familiar public landmark (in this case, the British Museum). There''s also a cameo appearance by the director himself, as a harassed traveller on the London Underground.

Alfred Hitchcock''s Blackmail (1929) was the first major British sound film. Tom Ryall examines its unusual production history, and places it in the context of Hitchcock''s other British films of the period. Is is, Ryall argues, both a considerable work of art in itself, and also one of the first to display those touches we now think of as typically Hitchcockian: a blonde heroine in jeopardy, a surprise killing, some brilliantly manipulated suspense, and a last-reel chase around a familiar public landmark (in this case, the British Museum). There''s also a cameo appearance by the director himself, as a harassed traveller on the London Underground.