ada the leading man is my tpye

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Keira Brennan The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Rainey Dawn I'm not big on most romance films - but this one I like. I've seen this one before, forgot about it, and watching it again it dawned on me that I have seen this one. I find it intriguing. Love triangles happen in real life and I would hope they don't end up in a tragic situation as in this film.The biggest questions when dealing with this love triangle is: "Is Kate really in-love with both men at once" (you know, finds something she loves about both of them)? OR is Kate really just a 'player' (using both men)? It seems to me that Kate is actually in-love with Phil but likes Pete as a good friend - so why did Kate flirt so hard with Pete? Why didn't Kate just tell Pete 'I'm in-love with Phil, and you are our good friend'? This whole thing/story happened because Kate flirted hard with both men but really only fell in-love with one man, Phil, and lead Pete on in the very beginning. Kate is to blame for all of this - left Pete hurting badly - not to mention Phil who was like a brother to Pete.Good film - I enjoyed this one.8/10

TheLittleSongbird Not one of the finest hours of the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock, but not one of his weakest either. The Manxman is rather lengthy and does feel too long, the second half does drag with the storytelling getting increasingly old-fashioned and melodramatic and the music did come across as forgettable and somewhat recycled-sounding. The Manxman is great to look at though, with the lovely scenery and very professional photography it is one of Hitchcock's better-looking early films and maybe even one of his better looking films full-stop. The first half is well-paced and compelling where you could relate to the characters and their situations and Hitchcock directs splendidly with a great atmospheric touch. The acting is very good, particularly from Carl Brisson while Anny Ondra is not just beautiful but brings a lot of heart to her character and Malcolm Keen completes the love triangle with an equally likable performance. All in all, interesting and quite good but Hitchcock has done better. 7/10 Bethany Cox

cstotlar-1 I read the story line elsewhere and it seemed to me rather over-complicated and uncinematic but having just seen the film, it is beautifully and efficiently presented. The musical score borrowed from Elgar's symphonies as well as some orchestrated Franz Liszt and matched the print to perfection. The age differences didn't bother me really at all. I don't know the Manx culture or the social values of the day so I'll leave it room.The "mise-en-scene" was exceptionally good. One scene sticks out in particular with Pete grinning and clapping in the background while Kate and Philip face the camera with despondent expressions. There were some slow dissolves as well to signify the passage of time which were handled quite adeptly. The use of the boats and the hills were strategically interspersed and quite lovely. There was an important clue near the beginning of the film when Philip's aunt warns him that his father married below his rank and suffered all his life. We are led to believe that Philip will suffer a similar fate. It is a story of two men's lives and their friendship destroyed by a woman who simply refuses to accept any sort of responsibility. The film wisely doesn't linger on the dire consequences. This was a tale well told.Curtis Stotlar

MartinHafer The "Manxman" in the title refers to a person from the Isle of Man--an independent part of the British Crown but technically not part of the United Kingdom. This large island is located between Britain and Ireland and actually produces its own money and has its own particular language (though English is commonly spoken). Outside the UK, I doubt if that man people are familiar with this place or would recognize the three-legged symbol (the "triskelion") on its flag. Just a bit of history to put the whole thing in perspective. Plus, it's the only film I can recall having seen that's set on this island.The film begins with two friends living on the island. Pete is a poor fisherman and Philip is from a well to do family. They both are in love with the same girl, though because Philip is such a nice guy, he stands aside and says nothing. However, the girl's father won't have Pete for a son-in-law because he's so poor, so Philip goes off to sea to earn his fortune. Unfortunately, word soon comes to everything that Pete has died, so Philip announces to the girl that he loves her. Coincidentally, it turns out she always loved Philip as well, so they plan on marrying. Then, out of the blue, Pete returns--he didn't die while at sea after all. The first thing he does is ask the girl again to be his bride. Heartbroken but feeling responsible since Pete asked her first, she agrees. Unfortunately, unknown to her and Philip is that she is carrying Philip's baby!! Yikes.Well, after the baby is born, apparently Pete couldn't figure out that the kid was his and Philip moves to England to start life anew. However, soon she follows him--leaving poor Pete stuck at home with the kid. What a mess, but in spite of this Pete keeps up a brave face and tells everyone she's on holiday. Later, he comes to see Philip to ask him to help find his wife--little did he know that she was with his best friend all along.If you think about it, this plot is very much like a soap opera and is nothing like the films for which Hitchcock became well-known. As far as the film goes, it is pretty interesting but the plot suffers from one problem. When Pete returned from sea, had they just told him the truth--that they fell in love AFTER they heard he was dead--then the whole mess could have been avoided. Sure, Pete would have been upset but would have no doubt understood. However, aside from this obvious solution, it's a pretty interesting film and is well made, though a tad predictable. As far as the acting goes, it's pretty good for a silent--without an serious over-emoting.By the way, Hitchcock's next film (also 1929) turned out to be Britain's first sound film. While this was well behind the US move to sound, it was still early compared to the rest of the world.