Under Capricorn

Independent Films, Film Profiles

Under Capricorn (1949) is an Alfred Hitchcock film based on a novel by Helen Simpson, with screenplay written by James Bridie, and adaptation by Hume Cronyn. The movie was co-produced by Hitchcock and Sidney Bernstein for their short-lived production company Transatlantic Pictures and released through Warner Bros. The film starred Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding, and Margaret Leighton.The film was Hitchcock's second film in Technicolor and uses ten-minute takes similar to those in Hitchcock's film Rope (1948). It is believed that the audience thought Under Capricorn was going to be a thriller, which it was not -- it was a domestic love triangle with a few thriller elements thrown in -- which apparently led to its box office failure. However, the public reception of the film may not have been helped by the revelation in 1949 of Bergman's illicit relationship with, and subsequent pregnancy by, Italian film director Roberto Rossellini.In 1831 Australia, Charles Adare (Wilding) arrives with his uncle, the new governor (Cecil Parker). Charles hopes to make his fortune in Sydney. He is befriended by Samson Flusky (Cotten), a prosperous ex-convict. Sam's wife, Lady Henrietta (Bergman), was a friend of Charles's sister in Ireland. Sam hopes that Charles will cheer up his wife, who is an alcoholic. Meanwhile the housekeeper, Milly (Leighton), secretly loves Sam, and encourages Henrietta's drinking. Sam has been sent to an Australian prison after he confessed to a killing actually committed by Henrietta, who followed Sam and waited for his release...