Under Capricorn

Australian colonialism through the lens of the colonizers is already not a very enthralling subject to me and this doesn’t really do it any favors. Not the most riveting stuff. Definitely my least favorite Hitchcock.

Australian colonialism through the lens of the colonizers is already not a very enthralling subject to me and this doesn’t really do it any favors. Not the most riveting stuff. Definitely my least favorite Hitchcock.

A very non-Hitckcockian but still great Hitchcock movie. It may be slow for some but I was so caught up in the drama it didn't feel "slow" at all. It's not perfect and the plot might feel a little shallow at times but I still think it's an underrated Hitchcock. Just don't go into it expecting a suspense thriller.

A very non-Hitckcockian but still great Hitchcock movie. It may be slow for some but I was so caught up in the drama it didn't feel "slow" at all. It's not perfect and the plot might feel a little shallow at times but I still think it's an underrated Hitchcock. Just don't go into it expecting a suspense thriller.

“How do I look, Sam?”
“Alright”
“Alright? The Lakes of Killarney are alright, the sunrise over the pyramids are alright, the Taj Mahal is alright. Oh Sam, you can do better than that.”

Only a year after Alfred Hitchcock’s first film in Technicolor, Rope, he released his second film in the format, Under Capricorn. At the time, Rope was a commercial letdown, so Hitchcock chose to go back to his roots and make another romantic murder mystery. Unfortunately this film was also a commercial letdown and is today a film that only Hitchcock fans know about. Which is really sad because it really isn’t terrible.

I always say this with every movie she’s in, but I absolutely adore Ingrid Bergman, and her performance in this carries the whole movie. For a film where she’s the main character, her first appearance isn’t until 28 minutes into the film. Those first 28 minutes are really slow but once Ingrid Bergman is introduced, the film really finds its footing.

Soundtrack: 8.3/10

“How do I look, Sam?”
“Alright”
“Alright? The Lakes of Killarney are alright, the sunrise over the pyramids are alright, the Taj Mahal is alright. Oh Sam, you can do better than that.”

Only a year after Alfred Hitchcock’s first film in Technicolor, Rope, he released his second film in the format, Under Capricorn. At the time, Rope was a commercial letdown, so Hitchcock chose to go back to his roots and make another romantic murder mystery. Unfortunately this film was also a commercial letdown and is today a film that only Hitchcock fans know about. Which is really sad because it really isn’t terrible.

I always say this with every movie she’s in, but I absolutely adore Ingrid Bergman, and her performance in this carries the whole movie. For a film where she’s the main character, her first appearance isn’t until 28 minutes into the film. Those first 28 minutes are really slow but once Ingrid Bergman is introduced, the film really finds its footing.

Soundtrack: 8.3/10

I’m starting to love Ingrid Bergman 💙

I’m starting to love Ingrid Bergman 💙

Under Capricorn (1949)
🇺🇸

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

⭐⭐⭐

It's Hitchcock goes FULL STRAYA mate!

Will we see James Stewart dangling off the edge of the Sydney Opera House?

Cary Grant being chased through the outback by a mustering helicopter?

Tippi Hedren menaced by Kookaburras?

Or even just Gracy Kelly cracking open a VB and having a durry after a quick visit to cashies?

Sadly none of these things...and equally as sad that while 'Under Capicorn' is set in Australia it was not filmed on location. Still it does capture a little of our Anti-Authoritarian spirit it's tale of a stable hand who marries a well to do Irish socialite before being unfairly sentenced and sent to everyone's favourite antipodean penal colony.

Joseph Cotten is our stable hand, now a wealthy landowner, yet still shunned by the local aristocracy due to his convict background. Ingrid Bergman is his wife, who spends her days in a drunken stupor, lacking any confidence in her ability to move forward with her life. Into the mix is thrown Michael Wilding (kind of an olden days Alan Cumming) as the cousin of the British governer, who works his magic with Bergman to restore her former self, but his motives are not altogether ethical and also Milly (Margaret Leighton) kind of the nice version of Mrs Danvers from Rebecca, but with equally sinister gasligting techniques.

Finally free from Selznick this was Hitch's second effort from his own production arm Transatlantic Pictures. There is a strong emphasis on the use of extended takes with very few edits, something that Hitch previously utilised in Rope, although here he has a much larger space to roam within the large mansion of the wealthy landowner.

Although never much one for scenic vistas, it is a shame we don't get to see more of the beautiful Australian scenery - it appears to mostly be represented through matte paintings. There is definitely a mockery and contempt present for the stuffy British aristocracy which is totally Australian and there is even a bit of larrikinism when some wag yells out of the Governor to 'give us a song' after he finishes his pompous speech. It's a pretty whitewashed version of Australia, as most Hitch films are tbh, with no Indigneous representation at all, apart from the repellent use of a 'shrunken head' as a partial macguffin. I don't think 'Shrunken Heads' have ever been a thing with Australian Aborignal culture?

Under Capricorn (1949)
🇺🇸

Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

⭐⭐⭐

It's Hitchcock goes FULL STRAYA mate!

Will we see James Stewart dangling off the edge of the Sydney Opera House?

Cary Grant being chased through the outback by a mustering helicopter?

Tippi Hedren menaced by Kookaburras?

Or even just Gracy Kelly cracking open a VB and having a durry after a quick visit to cashies?

Sadly none of these things...and equally as sad that while 'Under Capicorn' is set in Australia it was not filmed on location. Still it does capture a little of our Anti-Authoritarian spirit it's tale of a stable hand who marries a well to do Irish socialite before being unfairly sentenced and sent to everyone's favourite antipodean penal colony.

Joseph Cotten is our stable hand, now a wealthy landowner, yet still shunned by the local aristocracy due to his convict background. Ingrid Bergman is his wife, who spends her days in a drunken stupor, lacking any confidence in her ability to move forward with her life. Into the mix is thrown Michael Wilding (kind of an olden days Alan Cumming) as the cousin of the British governer, who works his magic with Bergman to restore her former self, but his motives are not altogether ethical and also Milly (Margaret Leighton) kind of the nice version of Mrs Danvers from Rebecca, but with equally sinister gasligting techniques.

Finally free from Selznick this was Hitch's second effort from his own production arm Transatlantic Pictures. There is a strong emphasis on the use of extended takes with very few edits, something that Hitch previously utilised in Rope, although here he has a much larger space to roam within the large mansion of the wealthy landowner.

Although never much one for scenic vistas, it is a shame we don't get to see more of the beautiful Australian scenery - it appears to mostly be represented through matte paintings. There is definitely a mockery and contempt present for the stuffy British aristocracy which is totally Australian and there is even a bit of larrikinism when some wag yells out of the Governor to 'give us a song' after he finishes his pompous speech. It's a pretty whitewashed version of Australia, as most Hitch films are tbh, with no Indigneous representation at all, apart from the repellent use of a 'shrunken head' as a partial macguffin. I don't think 'Shrunken Heads' have ever been a thing with Australian Aborignal culture?