I've been watching one of Alfred Hitchcocks films called The 39 Steps (1935)The beginning scene starts off with a panning shot of the words Music Hall written in bright lights. The camera follows a customer without seeing his head as if the camera was the customer behind. The first customer sits down and the camera view broadens, the music starts and an entertainer is introduced with a memory act. The laughter and jeering reveal the audience as London working class. The crowd ask questions and he replies. The first customer the camera follows, who is well dressed for the place, is revealed as a Canadian. The act is suddenly interrupted with a brawl between the different working classes followed by a gun shot from an unknown character. I liked how this grabbed my attention and made me want to know more of the narrative.
I found it intriguing that the woman falls into the Canadians arms and then asks to go home with him. This is something which was not so common in those days and especially since neither of them had exchanged names. This was interesting in my opinion as it gave the film a sense of drama and made me wondered if taking the woman back would be risk for the man.
However, from a technical point of view, I did find the opening shot confusing as it seemed to be pointed too low. The point of view I think to be of a following customer, but it was too short in length. I also found that the titles were to simplistic. The titles didn't give any clues to what sort of drama is going be foreshadowed.
By Conor Sturgess
