The Blackguard – 1925 | | Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Alfred Hitchcock adapted The Blackguard from Raymond Paton’s extravagant romantic novel. The story tells how a philanthropic artist takes pity on an abused small boy and helps him develop his skills as a great violinist. Grown up, the violinist succeeds in rescuing a Russian princess, whom he has loved since childhood, from revolutionaries who are led by his disreputable former teacher.

Hitchcock later claimed that he was obliged virtually to take over the direction, since the designated director Graham Cutts was increasingly distracted by the problems of concealing an affair with an Estonian dancer from his English wife, who was also in Berlin. Finally Cutts and his dancer fled to France, leaving Hitchcock to finish the film.