100
Collider
It is a deft mix of comedy, romance, and suspense typical of Hitchcock’s formative British years.
Young and Innocent
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- United Kingdom
- 1937
- · 83m
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Cast
Nova Pilbeam,
Derrick De Marney,
Percy Marmont,
Edward Rigby,
Mary Clare,
John Longden
Genre
Crime,
Romance,
Thriller
An actress is murdered by her estranged husband, and one of her former lovers, writer Robert Tisdall, discovers her body on the beach. He runs to call the police. However, two witnesses think that he is the escaping murderer. Escaping the police, he enlists a beautiful stranger to help prove his innocence.
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What are critics saying?
100
Collider by Bob May
It is a deft mix of comedy, romance, and suspense typical of Hitchcock’s formative British years.
88
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Though relatively little-known, this ingenious romantic chase thriller, based on Josephine Tey's "A Shilling for Candles," is one of Hitchcock's most inventive and charming '30s films. [22 Jan 1999, p.F]
80
The Observer (UK)
Lightweight and immensely enjoyable Hitchcock thriller. [22 Oct 2000, p.11]
80
The New York Times by Frank S. Nugent
Alfred Hitchcock, England's jovial and rotund master of melodrama, has turned out another crisply paced, excellently performed film in "The Girl Was Young."
80
The Telegraph by Staff (Not Credited)
Although overshadowed by his later classics Psycho and The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock's thriller is still a masterclass in suspenseful cinema. [14 Sep 2022, p.29]
80
The Observer (UK) by Philip French
Lightweight and immensely enjoyable Hitchcock thriller. [22 Oct 2000, p.11]
75
San Francisco Chronicle by Walter Addiego
Not a great picture but an entirely entertaining one. [02 Nov 2008, p.N34]
75
Entertainment Weekly
One of Hitchcock's lighter thrillers, Young and Innocent is a straightforward wrong-man film elevated by the chemistry of its leads, Derrick De Marney as fugitive and Nova Pilbeam as a young woman roped into his antics. Despite being relatively underwritten, their romantic dynamic crackles as the two easily find the comedy in every scenario without undermining the dramatic tension.
75
Chicago Reader by Dave Kehr
Made in 1937 by a relatively young and innocent Alfred Hitchcock, this British feature tends to be overshadowed by The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, but actually it’s only the uncharismatic casting that holds it back from being one of the most entertaining of Hitchcock’s English films.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Wesley Stenzel
One of Hitchcock's lighter thrillers, Young and Innocent is a straightforward wrong-man film elevated by the chemistry of its leads, Derrick De Marney as fugitive and Nova Pilbeam as a young woman roped into his antics. Despite being relatively underwritten, their romantic dynamic crackles as the two easily find the comedy in every scenario without undermining the dramatic tension.
70
The New Yorker by Pauline Kael
The film is pretty fair Hitchcock, though not as sexy or as witty as the 39 Steps.
60
Time Out
Not top-notch Hitchcock, but engrossing enough.
60
Time
A melodramatic hodge-podge that lacks the vivid outlines and clear characterizations of previous Hitchcock films, but is, nevertheless, a fair sample of Hitchcock devices.
60
Time by Staff (Not Credited)
A melodramatic hodge-podge that lacks the vivid outlines and clear characterizations of previous Hitchcock films, but is, nevertheless, a fair sample of Hitchcock devices.
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