Young and Innocent

1937 Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

A romantic murder-mystery drama!

Robert Tisdall finds on the beach the corpse of a woman he knew. Others wrongly conclude that he is the murderer. Fleeing, he desperately attempts to prove that he is not the killer. A young woman becomes embroiled in the effort.

Nova Pilbeam Derrick De Marney Percy Marmont Edward Rigby Mary Clare John Longden George Curzon Basil Radford Pamela Carme George Merritt J.H. Roberts Jerry Verno H.F. Maltby John Miller Pat Fitzpatrick Alfred Hitchcock Anna Konstam Bill Shine Peggy Simpson Torin Thatcher

Country

Language

English

Alternative Titles

The Girl Was Young, Innocència i joventut

romance thriller crime

83 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Ziglet_mir ★★★

My poetic tribute to the lovely leading lady:
Ah yes, ‘twas a (super)Nova and not a star,
none smarter than she and could work a car,
light on her feet, a twinkle in her eyes,
soft spoken words could catch all the guys,
Thank God for Hitch that saw her glow,
to remember her always for us to know,
an ember breathing; a live fire it seems,
What a woman that Nova Pilbeam!
Now here is the romanticized “wrong man” trope Hitch struck gold with in The 39 Steps, even if Young and Innocent provides little to no suspense or an intimate love story, but Ms. Nova Pilbeam absolutely slays as the independent daughter of the police captain. Her enchanting…
Review by Josh Gillam ★★★★½ 3

Alfred Hitchcock directs this comedy thriller starring Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney, about a headstrong young woman who helps a man accused of murder try to clear his name.
Though similar in premise to The 39 Steps, the film has its own individual charm, with a breezy pace and lots of humour. The chemistry between the two leads is palpable, and they really help to make the film so enjoyable. Alongside them are a cast of colourful and memorable characters, especially Edward Rigby as Old Will, a tramp who helps them out.
Hitchcock was a master at efficiently giving information, and some moments feel like they could have come from one of his silent films, telling the audience all they…
Review by Silversaxophone ★★★★ 4

The title refers to the upstanding young person played by Nova Pilbeam, barely eighteen years old herself, so you can forget the kind of sexual electricity or hanky panky that went on between Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll in The 39 Steps. It also lacks the background political frissons of Hitchcock's previous two thrillers. So it feels less serious, more of a lark. This is despite a shouty opening scene involving a jealous husband and his wife followed by the intense imagery of a body washing up on shore. It quickly settles into comedy, for the most part, and Hitchcock's lightest man-on-the-run story. Except, bubbling beneath it all, is Hitchcock's deepest and most relentless condemnation of the police and, to…
Review by cowboy like eely ★★★

“the night always exaggerates things, doesn’t it? personally, i like the night. it’s much more reliable than the day.”
add this to the list of movies i was enjoying until people started randomly wearing blackface.
Review by Ruth Scouller ★★★ 2

Quintessential innocent man on the run plus love interest from Hitchcock. Whilst he subverted this trope in Stage Fright, it has arguably been his safety blanket to fall back on. Whilst this isn't an outstanding example, it's a solid film nonetheless.
The best thing about this is most certainly the chemistry and charisma of the two stars. It almost lifts this to a more notable regard. Outside that though, the whole murder is a little poorly communicated. Once again, it has shaky beginnings (despite an eyecatching lighthouse scene). There are certainly pacing issues as well. The film works best when we forget the why and just leave our brain behind and get caught up in the emotions and suspense of the piece.
Slightly underappreciated in the annals of Hitchcock (you almost never hear about it), but there is little here to really sell this as a must see. An enjoyable deep cut for Hitch nuts.
Review by claira @ tribeca film fest ★★½ 2

“She’s got a nerve.”
“She certainly has.”
Yes, and now I am in love with Nova Pilbeam because of her role as Erica!!
I was the exact opposite of enamored with my second Hitchcock compared to my first (North by Northwest). So much so that I tried to watch it yesterday and I fell asleep. Was able to stay awake for my watch through today though! However, despite my less than stoked response to the film, Young and Innocent is very smartly written, to such an extent that the dialogue and character actions really do feel quite authentic.

Not much else to say here. It’s a very familiar type of story.
Week 5/52 of the Criterion Challenge
Review by Wesley Stenzel ★★★

Definitely one of Hitchcock’s lighter thrillers, Young and Innocent is a straightforward wrong-man film elevated by the chemistry of its leads. Despite being relatively underwritten, the romantic dynamic between Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney works because they easily find the comedy in every scenario without undermining the dramatic tension. They’re kinda-sorta reluctantly on the run together, but as they come across the family and friends of Pilbeam’s character, the duo plays it as if they’re lovers trying to balance their personal happiness with her loved ones’ expectations.
It’s all fun and games until the finale, which hinges on one of the worst scenes of Hitchcock’s career: we, the audience, identify a suspect as the camera slowly zooms in on him…
Review by Steve G 🇵🇸 ★★★ 2

Young And Innocent is a crime thriller that sees Alfred Hitchcock try and replicate the formula of The 39 Steps to entertaining effect, if not ever threatening to reach the heights of his 1935 classic.
It sees Derrick De Marney accused of murdering a woman and then fleeing from custody when he realises he has been set up good and proper. Headstrong Chief Constable's daughter Nova Pilbeam takes pity on him and assists him in trying to find the man really responsible for the murder.
It's easy to see Hitchcock would try and replicate the formula of The 39 Steps - his next two films, while relatively well received, failed to drum up nearly as much business and plaudits, and…
Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★ 1

Wrong-man crime thriller crossed with meet-cute rom-com. Robert is caught alone on the beach fleeing from a woman's dead body, and the chief constable's daughter Erica finds herself in the unfortunate situation of believing that he didn't kill her. We don't choose the ones we love, and so a cop's daughter falls for a wanted criminal and they run off together, like a nonviolent Bonnie and Clyde.
Erica can appreciate Robert's predicament because in a slightly different way she's been there herself. Nobody believes that he's who he says he is (that is to say, an innocent man, not a killer) because of the circumstantial evidence piled up against him, and likewise nobody believes that she's who she says she…
Review by loureviews ★★★★ 1

#35 in the Reverse Hitchcock project.
This is better than I remembered and I think I was harsh in only giving it three stars to begin with. Young Nova Pilbeam (who died last year aged 95) is marvellous as the Chief Constable's daughter who decides to help wrongly accused Derrick De Marney after his film star friend is found strangled on a beach.
This film has one of Hitchcock's famous standby plots, the 'wronged man', but is played straight and true in this one. The man on the run and woman to help was revisited in his next film, "The 39 Steps", and despite the lack of big names the stars do have a lot of chemistry.
JH Roberts plays…
Review by Matt_Samahl ★★★½

Have ya see the 39 steps? Well here it is again! Seriously it's amazing how similar this movie is, but then again i like the 39 steps so who am i to complain? So wich one is better, well like i said they are eerily similar but i think this one's got the edge 'cause the dialogue is a bit funnier and the female lead is more productive.
also uhm.. why the hell are the musicians in blackface?!
Review by PUNQ ★★★

Young and Innocent. The 1937 Hitchcock. Not one of his best, but it is a cute one. More sweet then a thrilling. Many amusing bits. The dumb cops, the café brawl, the garden gnome. Hitchcock really makes each scene memorable. Yet, for me it doesn't string all that well together. Feels like a movie with a selection of scenarios then a fully fletched continuous story. But they are quality moments!

Derrick De Marney & Nova Pilbeam in the leads are really the lifeline in this movie. How their romance gradually grows with each experience they have together. Edward Rigby as the old bum.... what a dancer!!! And naturally the point where we're re-introduced to the killer. Magnificently done. Oh, and those model train scenes where funny in a Thomas the Tank Engine kinda way. So yeah, plenty of little things that gets noticed to make it a fun film.

Recent reviews

Review by skotjay ★★★½

A movie that has a lot to say about what we see versus what we think we see. Little hints to this abound, from the stealing of eyeglasses from one who does not see the truth, by someone who does see it (that theft is a crucial plot point); to Hitchcock's cameo (around 0:16:00) as a photographer (one who attempts to see).
Y&I features one of my favorite heroines from a Hitchcock film, & it boasts more humor, and less political intrigue, than your usual HC fare.
All of this laced through the usual innocent accused who must solve the mystery themselves in order to clear their name.
Review by Martin Pedron ★★★½

Decimo film della mia monografia su Alfred Hitchcock, oggi parliamo di “Giovane e innocente”, uscito in Inghilterra nel 1937 con protagonista Nova Pilbeam. E possiamo ormai felicemente annunciare definitivamente come il regista Londinese, tramite una traccia comune che delinea tutti i suoi prodotti da “L’uomo che sapeva troppo” del 1934 in poi, abbia trovato un suo stile autoriale e personale di fare cinema. E questa pellicola, seppur non autoriale come altri e nonostante non ci sia quella potenza da Thriller che abbiamo visto altrove, nella sua semplicità funziona. La trama classica con un protagonista incastrato da una giustizia, quella inglese come penso in generale, incapace di far fronte alla verità per colpa della sua incompetenza, e di chi ci lavora…
Review by Jeffrey Coté ★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Basically just a simplified version of The 39 Steps, only not nearly as well-executed. The plot hinges on a number of ill-conceived, frail and contradictory details, and the narrative just isn't engrossing or original enough to overlook these faults.
Oh, and the finale centers upon a blackface performance. You see, it turns out the murderer was hiding in plain sight. Because he was wearing blackface. Clever, no? Yeesh.
Review by Shay Kelliher ★★★½

Whilst this film may lack some of the edge of other Hitchcock films from this period, there's still a great deal to admire in this comedy-thriller. I really enjoyed Nova Pilbeam, an actress that I had never heard of before, she's the backbone of the entire film and she carries it exceptionally well. There's also a great comedic performance from Edward Rigby, who shows up about an hour in and decides to steal the show for the sake of it.
There are definitely elements of this film that truly excel (there's a beautiful crane shot towards the end which is really impressive, and honestly the way in which Hitch builds towards the reveal of the killer, with plenty of tight close-ups, is incredibly well done), however it's lacking that special touch that really elevated something like "The 39 Steps".
Review by BabyClyde ★★★

Creaky but enjoyable example of Hitchcock’s endless ability to tell the exact same story again and again.
Wasn’t expecting a blackface big band number.
Review by ArkosTW ★★★★½

It may not be impressive from a 'cultivated' perspective but I thoroughly enjoyed it - Pilbeam did a great job as the prominent character of Erica Bourgoyn and I just loved De Marney's banterish attitude. The film's sharp wit was a nice refresher and pleasantly enjoyable as well
Review by BarryFink ★★★½

What an entertaining and amusing watch! The strengths of "Young and Innocent" are its fun and, at times, beautifully staged set pieces, as well as its loveable characters. The overall plot and some of the individual moments of tension feel a bit overly simple and clunky, but that does not deduct from the film`s entertainment factor. An actual bummer is that while "Young and Innocent" contains one of the greatest long tracking shot in cinema history, it is used to showcase a horribly racist case of blackfacing. Then again, this might make for a historically correct and honest depiction of the political landscape in England at the time - it still feels nasty.
Review by Paul Price ★★½ 6

Sorry Hitch. This was weak as heck. It’s basically a light romcom with a murder mystery conceit. The actors were competent, but nothing special.
Recommendation?
Watch If: you want to see Alfred Hitchcock attempt a It Happened One Night-esque project.
Discussion Question: Did… did the dog die in the cave-in?
Review by Shooby 🧿🧿 ★★★½

No one can like the drummer Guy in blackface...
Young and Innocent/The Girl Was Young is an entertaining Hitch film - one of his least know British films.
Review by solitaryfilmner ★★★½

Surprisingly a secret rom com of sorts under a mystery garb. The black face was the worst but at least the characters weren’t meant to be playing black. (Still bad). Pretty good early Hitchcock thriller that I weirdly like a tad more than The 39 Steps.
Review by N

Débute sur le visage d’une femme au milieu dmun conflit conjugal, finit sur le visage d’une femme debutant une nouvelle histoire d’amour. le plan du restaurant
Review by Ray Mc ★★★

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