Juno and the Paycock – 1930 | 85mins | Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Hitchcock directed the film version of Sean O’Casey’s distinguished Juno and the Paycock. The scenario was written by Mr. and Mrs. Hitchcock. More of a play than a film, Juno and the Paycock interested Hitchcock for its mood, characters, humor and pace. The story is about a poor family about to inherit some money during the Dublin uprising of the early 1920′s. The money doesn’t come after all; the daughter is about to give birth to an illegitimate child; and the son, a member of the IRA, is shot as an informer by his own comrades. The critics raved about the picture and Hitchcock, but the director was unhappy with the work because it was based on another person’s success, in this case Sean O’Casey’s.

Extract© Richard A. Harris, Michael S. Lasky: The Complete Films of Alfred Hitchcock.