Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

Mary

(1931)

Here’s something remarkable. This is a shot-for-shot remake … well, that’s not the right word, as the two films were shot at the same time. A simul-make? Anyway, this is Hitchcock’s Murder!, but with a whole different cast, and in German! Apparently that wasn’t uncommon in those days. There were a lot of movies made in Hollywood using some of their stars, mouthing words in a language they didn’t understand. There are even alternate language versions of some Monty Python episodes. Luckily, it’s available online. It was a bit odd seeing the same shots, the same sets, but different people and a different language, no dubbing. They couldn’t do dubbing back then. I didn’t go so far as to watch the whole thing, but it was fun to skip around, sampling some of the better scenes.