Under Capricorn – 1949 | 117mins | Drama| B&W

Plot Synopsis

Under Capricorn is a costume epic with a suspenseful side story. It was Hitchcock in a terrain in which he did not belong. It was, however, his first film produced in England since he left in 1939 after finishing, his only other costume drama, Jamaica Inn. The plot of the film was as uninspiring as it’s nearly two hours of dialogue. Hitchcock has said the only reason he took on Under Capricorn was because it was a project that lured Ingrid Bergman, a star then in demand by every studio. Hitchcock thought it would be a coup if he could sign her up. It ended being a hollow victory because he spent some $2.5 million on the picture.

The making of Under Capricorn was a caravan of mistakes. Heady with success and fame, Hitchcock became intoxicated with the idea of being the centre of attention with his star as he returned to London after so long an absence. It was the only time Hitchcock publicly allowed his emotions to interfere with his craft. Before and after, he has remained the sober gentleman with the saturnine poker-face. Another error lay in his allowing Hume Cronyn, the actor, and novelist James Bridie to assist in the scenario. The result was a “talking” picture, and a total financial and critical flop. After all the trouble Hitchcock had spent to get Ingrid Bergman, his star proved to have the petulant disposition of a prima donna, which, of course, she was at the time.

Hitchcock was still hooked on his experiments with long takes, using whole magazines of film with no cuts. One sequence at a dinner table, just before Miss Bergman’s entrance, ran more than seven minutes without a cut. What worked in the filming of a stage play (Rope) was not as successful in Under Capricorn. Bergman complained to her director about the stress caused by such long takes. Hitchcock, never the director to argue with his cast, simply walked off. Bergman continued her temperamental outburst long after she realised Hitchcock was no longer an audience to it.

One of the chief reasons for the film’s failure had nothing to do with its quality; it was simply because it was a costume picture. Although Hitchcock was billed as the Master of Suspense, there was little here. This was his second film with his own production company and he was eager to show Hollywood what he could do if left on his own. Although he was always a stickler for extensive pre-production planning, Hitchcock learned his lesson the hard way from Rope and Under Capricorn and after them made sure he knew what he was doing before a frame was shot. In the end, the film lost money and was repossessed by the bank that financed it. Under Capricorn also marked the collapse of Transatlantic.

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