Murder!

Hitchcock's third talkie is a whodunit with a bad conscience. Herbert Marshall plays Sir John Menier, a West End actor-manager who votes guilty under pressure in the jury room and then cannot sleep. He investigates the only way he knows, as a director: he casts the suspects, writes them a scene and watches who forgets their lines. Sound was a year old and Hitchcock was already bending it. Watch Sir John shave in front of the mirror while we hear his thoughts over Wagner on the wireless; the orchestra was hidden behind the set, playing live as the camera turned. The last act climbs into the roof of a circus tent.