The British Film Institute undertook the task of restoring all 9 of iconic director Alfred Hitchcock's extant silent films using the finest prints available from archives all over the world. They have traveled the globe and now they are coming to Toronto in an exclusive series and Canadian premiere.

The Hitchcock 9 The Pleasure Garden 1926

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Virginia Valli, Carmetlita Geraghty, John Stuart

The 25 year old Alfred Hitchcock had done nearly every job on the studio floor by the time he was given his first directing job by the Gainsborough studio —he had designed intertitles, written scripts, art directed and had been assistant director to the studio’s most successful director. The Pleasure Garden was his first assignment as director and was an adaptation of the bestselling 1923 novel.

The fates of two chorus girls are thrown into sharp relief—Jill, the schemer, finds success, and Patsy, the good hearted girl, is betrayed by her unscrupulous husband.

Hitchcock’s confident filmmaking style is evident from the first frame, with a cascade of chorus girls’ legs tripping down a spiral staircase, but it is his ability to condense the story and then weave in extra layers of meaning that is truly impressive.

The Pleasure Garden is a treatise on voyeurism, sexual politics and the gap between romantic dreams and reality. Hitchcock uses the minor characters to comment on the principals, to contrast the behaviour of the good and the bad characters through the use of parallel action. The shot of the casually discarded apple, one bite taken from it, effectively symbolises Patsy’s husband’s disregard for her on their wedding night, and hints at his future conduct. It also fits into a scheme of visual images of natural elements, such as fruit and flowers that Hitchcock uses to express Patsy’s character.

The Daily Express in their review saw the cleverness that we see now and dubbed Hitchcock the “Young Man with a Master Mind”

This film will have live piano accompaniment: Laura Silberberg

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

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

Full Hitchcock 9 Pass: $100 (all 9 films) available online

Series runs November 1-16 at the Royal Cinema (Nov 1/2), Fox Theatre (Nov 7/8), Revue Cinema (15/16)