The Canadian premiere of the Hitchcock 9 continues with the British Film Institute National Archive restorations of Britain's most iconic and influential director. All 9 of Hitchcock's extant silent films have been restored and have traveled to cities throughout the world.

Downhill 1927

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Ivor Novello, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter

Downhill is own of the darkest of Hitchcock’s early films and follows the fall from grace of Roddy, a star pupil and athlete from a well respected family, after a false accusation. It features a succession of predatory and manipulative female characters that torment Roddy throughout his life. At each stage, Roddy falls further and further into ruin until he winds up in a shoddy Paris nightclub being paid to dance and pay attention to elderly matrons. It’s not hard to imagine that the film reflects some of the experiences of the star, Ivor Novello, himself, a gay matinee idol oppressed by unwanted female attention. One could even include him in the lineage of Hitchcock blondes—imperiled and vulnerable and prey to the camera’s fetishistic gaze.

Downhill is a deceptively rich and often elegant work. Watch for a tinting sequence used to express the character’s nausea and mental turmoil which he would employ as a similar device in Vertigo.

The screening will be utilizing the restoration's musical soundtrack by internationally acclaimed composer Shlomo's in a groundbreaking score written for this film.

Single Tickets: $15 in advance online or at the door

Royal Screening Pass: $40 (Blackmail, The Pleasure Garden, Downhill) in advance online or at the door

Hitchcock 9 Pass: $100 (all 9 films- Royal Cinema Nov 1/2, Fox Theatre Nov 7/8, Revue Cinema 15/16)

available online