Alfred Hitchcock has often times been rightfully referred to as the master of suspense. He is often the first name that comes into peoples minds when they think of thriller films. However many of these people would be surprised to see my silent film of the month. It is not a thriller, horror, or any similar type of movie. It is rather a romantic melodrama about a boxer fighting for his girl. However with films like this Hitchcock proved he was one of the greatest filmmakers that ever lived, no matter what genre he was working in.
When The Ring was made Hitchcock had not yet moved to Hollywood. He was still making films in Britain. In fact The Ring was his forth feature film. He had only made one suspense movie at this time and that was the film right before this, The Lodger. Producer John Maxwell had seen this film and since The Lodger was a huge hit was very surprised by Hitchcock's decision not to follow it with another thriller. What is interesting about Hitchcock's British period is that the films he made there did not always fit into what people associate him with today. At this time he was not known as the master of suspense, but rather as a director who did a wide variety of different genres.
This film is written by Hitchcock himself. Hitchcock is not known as a writer. In fact he would stop being his own writer in the 1940's. Most other films Hitchcock wrote on were based off of books, and plays. So this is a very rare completely original screen play by him. It is also the only film Hitchcock wrote by himself without any co-writers.One reason Hitchcock would later stop writing his own screenplays was that he thought in mainly visual terms, and dialog did not come naturally. However this works just great when he was handling a silent film like this.
In this film two boxers, "One Eyed" Jack Sander (played by Carl Brisson) and Bob Croby (played by Ian Hunter), fight over a woman (played by Lillian Hall-Davis), both in and out of the boxing ring. The title refers to the boxing ring, a wedding ring, and a symbolic snake bracelet. Jack is a carnival attraction, and people pay to see and to fight him. Members of the audience try and see if they can last more than one round in a boxing match with Jack. In comes Bob, who not only stays more than one round with Jack, but also wins the match. Jack's girlfriend develops an interest in Bob, and Bob an interest in her. At the same time, Bob's manger is impressed with Jack and has him join the same boxing torment as Bob. Jack upon hearing this news figures he has finally made it big, and marries his girlfriend. However Jack suspects that Bob is interested in his new wife, and vows to fight for his girl in the boxing ring. However when he finds that his wife might be interested in Bob, the fight for his girl, becomes a fight for revenge.
Hitchcock, even though he wrote the film, interest laid not in the plot, but rather in how he could use the camera to tell the story. This was not always easy considering he fired his original camera man due to a contract dispute. This new camera man, Jack Cox, was so liked by Hitchcock that he would be the cameraman on Hitch's next nine films.The camera work rather than showing off, adds layers of depth to the film. It gives you an insight to how the characters perceive what is happening in the story. This is particularly true in a fantastic scene at a party, when Jack becomes jealous of Bob's relationship with his wife. This is all shown visually through the camera, and it tells what is happening better than any intertitle could.
The Ring while not a box office success was a huge critical success. Some critics even referred to it as the greatest British film ever made.
The Ring is a delightful film, and should be much better remembered. There is no doubt after you watch this film that Hitchcock is not only a the master of suspense, but also a great filmmaker no matter what type of film he was making, and one of the greatest directors who ever lived.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Recourses Used
http://www.silentfilm.org/archive/the-ring
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/449788/The-Ring/articles.html
Hitchcock's British Films by Maurice Yacowar
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