Number Seventeen (1932)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Joseph Jefferson Farjeon
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon (play)
(more)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery, but a detective is on their trail.

Plot Keywords:

Detective | Necklace | Pretending To Be Unconscious | Train Whistle | Handcuffs

Cast

Leon M. Lion	...	Ben
Anne Grey	...	Nora - the Girl
John Stuart	...	Barton - the Detective
Donald Calthrop	...	Brant - Nora's Escort
Barry Jones	...	Henry Doyle
Ann Casson	...	Rose Ackroyd
Henry Caine	...	Mr. Ackroyd
Garry Marsh	...	Sheldrake
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Herbert Langley	...	The Guard on Train (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon		(as J. Jefferson Farjeon)
Joseph Jefferson Farjeon		(play "Number Seventeen") (as J. Jefferson Farjeon)
Alma Reville		(scenario) &
Alfred Hitchcock		(scenario) &
Rodney Ackland		(scenario)

Produced by
Leon M. Lion	....	producer
John Maxwell	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Adolph Hallis		(musical score) (as A. Hallis)

Cinematography by
Jack E. Cox		(photography) (as John J. Cox)
Bryan Langley		(photography) (as Byran Langley)

Film Editing by
A.C. Hammond

Art Direction by
C. Wilfred Arnold		(as Wilfred Arnold)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Mills	....	assistant director

Sound Department
A.C. Hammond	....	sound editor
A.D. Valentine	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Bill Warrington	....	miniatures supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gilbert Taylor	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Production Companies

• British International Pictures (BIP) (presents) (as British International Pictures Ltd.)

Distributors

• Wardour Films (1932) (UK) (theatrical)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1978) (Finland) (TV) (as MTV2)
• Lumiere Pictures (1984) (UK) (VHS)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Castle Communications (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Weton Wesgram (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (????) (USA) (DVD)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (????) (USA) (TV)
• DTP Entertainment (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Studio Canal (????) (France) (TV)
• Studio Canal (2008) (UK) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Number 17" - USA
"17beonji" - South Korea (imdb display title)
"A tizenhetes számú ház" - Hungary (imdb display title)
"Midnatsbanden" - Denmark
"Mispar 17" - Israel (Hebrew title)
"Número 17" - Argentina (imdb display title)
"Número Dezassete" - Portugal
"Número diecisiete" - Spain
"No 17" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Numéro 17" - France
"Numero diciassette" - Italy
"Nummer 17" - Sweden
"Nummer siebzehn" - Germany
"Talo numero 17" - Finland (video title)
"Talo numero seitsemäntoista" - Finland (TV title)

Runtime:

63 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:U | Finland:K-12 (1995) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 (original rating) | Australia:PG | UK:Approved (British Film Censors)

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British International Pictures (BIP)

Trivia:

Alfred Hitchcock did not want to make this film. He had wanted to direct a prestige production of John Van Druten's play "London Wall," but to punish Hitchcock for the financial failure of his previous film Rich and Strange (1931), British International Pictures head John Maxwell took him off "London Wall" and put him on "Number Seventeen" instead. Hitchcock himself has referred to the film as "a terrible picture . . . very cheap melodrama".

Goofs:

Continuity: Hitchcock uses models quite well for the bus and train sequence, given the age of the film. However as the model train approaches the ferry it is seen to have about 8 carriages. When Doyle is being pursued across the carriages, it can be seen that there are many more than eight carriages - at least five behind the middle carriage (where Ben and Nora are) and at least five in front of this middle carriage.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ben:Oh! Oh, Gawd! Oh, Gawd! Oh, Gawd! Oh!
Fordyce/Barton:How do you feel? Now, where's that candle? Here, have some of this.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock (2009) (TV)

Much better than I expected

After seeing "Blackmail" and "Murder" I wasn't expecting very much of "Number Seventeen". I was very pleasantly surprised. It's certainly not up to the standard of Hitchcock's later work, but it's a moderately enjoyable film both in itself and for the insight it offers into Hitchcock's development as a director.

The plot is rather complex and can be a bit difficult to follow at times. But nearly every element - concept, plot, characterization, and so forth - is superior to his earlier work. There are some action scenes toward the end that are strikingly exciting for a movie from 1932. My favorite part of the movie, however, is the first third or so, where Hitchcock achieves a perfect "spooky old house" atmosphere.

If this were a long movie, I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone but Hitchcock fanatics. But it's only 63 minutes - if you can find it, take the hour and watch it. At worst, you'll learn some things about Hitchcock's developing technique. At best, you'll discover a highly enjoyable little movie.