'Young and Innocent' (1937)

I think 'Rich and Strange' and 'The Manxman' are more melodramatic than
fun though.

In the former, Fred has to learn things .. important things .. like how
not to take his wife for granted .. like how not be so closed-minded
with respect to others that are in some way different to him. (Also,
Emma falls in love with another man -- well, it was certainly more
profound than Fred's fling with the fake princess -- and considers
leaving Fred.)

And 'The Manxman' is a beautiful and rich tale centred around a
ménage-á-trois. More so in this one, the pain and loss depicted
precludes it from being described as fun-filled.

(Poor Carl Brisson. The Dane only appeared in two Hitchcock films and
in both -- 'The Ring' and 'The Manxman' -- he played the cuckold. Well,
at least in one of them, she returns to him .. although .. is that such
a good thing???)
 >> Stay informed about: 'Young and Innocent' (1937) 

I'll agree with you on "Manxman" but lets take another look at Emma
(0r is it simply Em?).
The film shows how true love for Fred has completely blinded her to the
point that she still looked at Fred as her only reason for existance.
Sure, she spends lots of time while the other man grows madly in love
with her, but through it all, she's Fred's and no one else is ever in
her heart. When Fred finally breaks her heart, she's crushed and
possibly because of her devotion to him still won't stand in his way.
When she learns that Fred has been dupped, she abandons everything,
rushing back to try and help Fred realize what a fool he's been. Even
though she finally realizes the fool he is, she's still there for him
when he's in trouble.
In some ways my wife reminds me of Em, because she will sometime
look to me to know all the right answers (which of course I don't).
There's comedy especially while on the Junk and the surprises Hitch
put into this voyage around the world still seem to me to fit into your
list.

But then, it is your list and not mine,

Rich

sawakatoome wrote:
> I think 'Rich and Strange' and 'The Manxman' are more melodramatic than
> fun though.
>
> In the former, Fred has to learn things .. important things .. like how
> not to take his wife for granted .. like how not be so closed-minded
> with respect to others that are in some way different to him. (Also,
> Emma falls in love with another man -- well, it was certainly more
> profound than Fred's fling with the fake princess -- and considers
> leaving Fred.)
>
> And 'The Manxman' is a beautiful and rich tale centred around a
> ménage-á-trois. More so in this one, the pain and loss depicted
> precludes it from being described as fun-filled.
>
> (Poor Carl Brisson. The Dane only appeared in two Hitchcock films and
> in both -- 'The Ring' and 'The Manxman' -- he played the cuckold. Well,
> at least in one of them, she returns to him .. although .. is that such
> a good thing???)
 >> Stay informed about: 'Young and Innocent' (1937) 

Rich wrote:
I'll agree with you on "Manxman" but lets take another look at Emma
(0r is it simply Em?).

sawky replies:
It seems we're both wrong. According to the IMDb, its Emily.

Rich wrote:
The film shows how true love for Fred has completely blinded her to the

point that she still looked at Fred as her only reason for existance.
Sure, she spends lots of time while the other man grows madly in love
with her, but through it all, she's Fred's and no one else is ever in
her heart.

sawky replies:
The way the film seems to show it is Fred quickly forgets about his
wife once the 'princess' starts flirting with him, seduced by the
promise of a sexual fling.
As regards Emily, we get to see her friendship with Commander Gordon
blossom into something much much deeper as they appear to truly fall in
love. (IIRC, there's even a passionate kiss aboard the ship.)

Rich wrote:
When Fred finally breaks her heart, she's crushed and
possibly because of her devotion to him still won't stand in his way.
When she learns that Fred has been dupped, she abandons everything,
rushing back to try and help Fred realize what a fool he's been. Even
though she finally realizes the fool he is, she's still there for him
when he's in trouble.

sawky replies:
This is true. I think Fred's a very lucky man to have such an
understanding woman as his wife ('for better or worse' indeed!).
The two seem to be complete opposites in almost everything. We start
the film with Fred extremely fed up with his lot .. whilst Emily
doesn't quite see what the problem is, i.e. she simply gets on with
life.
Later, where he desires a sexual fling, a one-night stand, she has a
more profound relationship.

Rich wrote:
There's comedy especially while on the Junk and the surprises Hitch
put into this voyage around the world still seem to me to fit into your

list.

sawky replies:
Of course there's comedy. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Hitchcock
film that lacked it.
What I'm saying is I agree with author Lesley Brill, who in his
excellent 'The Hitchcock Romance' (Princeton University Press, 1988),
said that there are a number of Hitchcocks where the overall tone is
one of sheer fun, i.e. not showing us what life is really like, warts
and all .. but just giving us a 'slice of cake'.
 >> Stay informed about: 'Young and Innocent' (1937)