Under Capricorn (1949)
A native Briton banished to Australia for murder, and his wife, Henrietta, the disturbed sister of the man he was convicted on killing, set out to help her conquer her demons and return her life to normal.
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Helen Simpson
- Margaret Linden
- Hume Cronyn
- John Colton
- James Bridie
- Peter Ustinov
- Marjorie Bowen
Rating: 6/10 by 165 users
Alternative Title:
Het Dodenmasker - NL
Sotto il capricorno - IT
Lady Henrietta - DE
Kapri Aşıklar - TR
Kapri Yıldızı - TR
Alfred Hitchcock's Under Capricorn - US
Country:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 58 minutes
Budget: $2,500,000
Revenue: $1,500,000
Plot Keyword: australia, immigrant, class society, love of one's life, loss of loved one, penitentiary, run away, alcoholism, 19th century
There are two ways to look at this rather procedural Victorial melodrama: either it's Hitchcock very much off form from his usual perfection; or it's Hitchcock demonstrating that he has other strings to his bow than his much lauded suspense thrillers. I prefer the latter! Michael Wilding arrives in New South Wales looking for his fortune. He alights on "Mr. Flusky" (Joseph Cotton) as a likely business partner, and at a dinner discovers that he has history with his wife, the alcoholic "Lady Henrietta" (Ingrid Bergman). The story tries to reconcile their respective back stories with their current scenarios and the three - alongside a solid performance from Cecil Parker as the Governor - create a decent enough melodrama that isn't half bad, even if I found Bergman - her usual emotional and over-performing self - a bit pathetic after a while.
