Number Seventeen [PG]

The vacant and dilapidated house Number Seventeen sees a flood of action all in one night as two men serendipitously come across the corpse of a man, a young lady falls through the ceiling, a group of mysterious visitors arrive at midnight with train tickets, the corpse disappears, and there’s someone hiding in the shadows. The connection: the heist of a diamond necklace. 

Without a doubt, this has to be the most confusing, rollicking, and all-out juiced up Hitchcock film that I’ve ever seen. You quite literally are being batted from all possible angles, and you never, even up to the very end, know whom you can trust. Number Seventeen is an ecstatic and brilliant whirlwind of action, suspense, violence, and mystery that’s so devilishly chaotic that you’re left with room-spin by the end of the whole affair. 

The vacant and dilapidated house Number Seventeen sees a flood of action all in one night as two men serendipitously come across the corpse of a man, a young lady falls through the ceiling, a group of mysterious visitors arrive at midnight with train tickets, the corpse disappears, and there’s someone hiding in the shadows. The connection: the heist of a diamond necklace. 

On a quick note, I know that recent posts have all been old Hitchcock films from the 20s and 30s and I realise that people are probably sick to death of them and are demanding the old mixture of reviews again. My reason for watching so many Hitchcock films, aside from him being one of my favourite filmmakers, is because I have a 20-pack ‘Legends series’ that my folks brought back for me from America and as it’s one of my personal projects to review all the movies in our collective film library, this Hitch bender is just another step that has to be taken. So I apologise if readers are getting bored with this stream… it will eventually end I promise. 

All right, onto the movie… 

For me, this was a movie in which Hitchcock just let loose and really indulged in his love of deception, suspense, mystery, and action: for modern audiences it’s a bit like Tarantino’s splurge on violence, bloodshed, and Japanese culture in Kill Bill. We begin the movie as a thriller: a body has been found and foul play is immediately suspected. We then have the added secret agent-type mystery and deception that comes into play when the group of visitors turn up. It’s here when things become a little chaotic as no one, characters and audience alike, can determine whom they can trust: a power-punching ploy of both plot misdirection and curiosity incitement as it piques audience’s burning desire to get a handle on what’s happening and inspires them to watch the film more closely and critically, taking note of every infinitesimal detail, word, or gesture: again, another example of how Hitchcock plays on primal human emotions and desires and manipulates them so as to keep his audiences enthralled. Throughout this part of the movie, Hitchcock plays around, to great effect, with light, shadows, and slow movement. The camera is used in those signature close-ups of when a character screams in terror or is dealt a terrible blow, adding that anticipated layer of drama. You’ve got to love this man for what he does. 

Once the audience are allowed to get some handle on the plot, the rollicking action element comes into play; without a doubt this has to be the most action-packed of all Hitchcock’s films (that I’ve seen anyway). Where I thought the climactic fight in Strangers on a Train or the shoot-out on the train in The Lady Vanishes were adrenaline pinching, the rollicking train sequence, the punch-ups, and the chase in this film pushed them out of the limelight and took centre stage for encore after encore! 

Starring Leon M. Lion, Anne Grey, John Stuart, Donald Calthrop, Barry Jones, Ann Casson, Henry Caine, and Gary Marsh, Number Seventeen is a brilliant movie that keeps you on the edge of your seat and ends on a high note. Filled with action, suspense, mystery, and comedy I found it hugely enjoyable right from the get go and would highly recommend it for those out there who don’t mind the crackling classics of the 30s.