The Pleasure Garden (1925)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Virginia Valli, Carmelita Geraghty, Miles Mander

Synopsis:
A young woman moves to the big city with dreams of becoming a dancer.

Impressions:
This is Alfred Hitchcock's first feature film and that's its primary merit. For the most part, the director's signature style hadn't come together at this point (though the ending gives some hint at things to come) and he doesn't have the advantage of a really stand-out cinematographer of the sort that made his more well-known films so visually striking. The story is fairly predictable and the acting is so-so at best (but we do have to acknowledge that film acting was quite different in the silent era). It doesn't help that Jill and Patsy look fairly similar (or, to a lesser extent, Levet and Mr. Hamilton) and I would sometimes get confused about who was who. Hitchcock fans and serious movie buffs will want to check it out for its historical value, but there's not much else going for it. Even though it's little over an hour long (the version I saw, at least), it's a bit of a slog if I'm being honest with you. Take it or leave it.

Rating:
50/50