IMDb plot summary: During the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Sara Allgood, Edward Chapman, and Barry Fitzgerald.
Juno and the Paycock is a very early Alfred Hitchcock, before he became known for thrillers. This story is a straight-up melodrama about a poor Irish family who learn they are coming into some money that would change everything, but then things take a downward turn. If I hadn't known this was Hitchcock, I wouldn't have been able to identify it as being directed by anyone notable. It feels very much in line with the many other family melodramas I've been watching from 1930. There's an interesting amount of time paid in the center of the film to the family celebrating their good fortune and singing -- I think we get three full songs -- and while it's easy to view that as being a bit of a waste of time, I can see how Hitchcock is trying to set us up for the family's downfall by highlighting their celebration. It doesn't fully work, but it's an interesting choice. The cinematography is also full of intriguing closeups, which certainly don't look realistic but do a good job of highlighting the larger-than-life nature of the story. Definitely worth watching as an early film from a talented director, but it doesn't fully stand on its own.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Juno and the Paycock > Jesus Christ Superstar (2000)
Juno and the Paycock < Dark Passage
Juno and the Paycock > Incendies
Juno and the Paycock < The Producers (2005)
Juno and the Paycock < 35 Up
Juno and the Paycock < Summer Stock
Juno and the Paycock < Flight of the Navigator
Juno and the Paycock < All That Jazz
Juno and the Paycock > Cafe Society
Juno and the Paycock < Dan in Real Life
Juno and the Paycock < Koyaanisqatsi
Juno and the Paycock < The Family Man
Final spot: #1375 out of 3689, or 63%.
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