Hitchcock's first film: 1926

Hitchcock's THE PLEASURE GARDEN (1926) - 75 min - Silent, B&W
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PLOT SYNOPSIS by Hal Erickson

After several collaborative efforts, Alfred Hitchcock made his solo
directorial debut in the German-British co-production The Pleasure
Garden. Based on the novel by Oliver Sandys, it's the tale of two chorus
girls, Patsy (Virginia Valli) and Jill (Carmelita Geraghty). The
comparatively virtuous Patsy marries Levett (Miles Mander), the best
friend of Jill's fiance Fielding (John Stuart). After the honeymoon,
Levett leaves for a job in the tropics, promising to send for Patsy as
soon as he's settled. Back in London, Patsy discovers that Jill has been
cheating on Fielding with other men. Secure in the belief that her own
husband would never betray her, Patsy is shocked to discover that Levett
has been sleeping with a native girl (Nita Naldi) in her absence. Driven
mad by the treacherous native, Levett kills her and tries to murder
Patsy, but she is rescued at the very last minute. Wearily, she comes
back to London, where she finally finds happiness with Jill's cast-off
sweetheart Fielding. Filmed on a very tight budget, The Pleasure Garden
never betrays its parsimonious nature. And though it cannot be labelled
a "typical" Hitchcock picture, it contains enough clever pictorial
touches to indicate that the man in the director's chair was definitely
someone to conjure with. To quote the reviewer of the London Daily
Express: "His work is of a uniformly high quality; there are times when
it is great, times when the onlooker says to himself 'That is perfect'."
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CAST:

Virginia Valli - Patsy Brand

Carmelita Geraghty - Jill Cheyne

John Stuart - Hugh Fielding