Art is one of the many motifs Alfred Hitchcock uses in several of his films to reveal deeper themes that are important, but an average viewer may not notice at first. In his 1929 film Blackmail, Hitchcock’s villain is an artist and his paintings are an important part of the film in what they represent. The use of art as a motif in Blackmail reveals more about the characters, advances the plotline, foreshadows events, and symbolizes covert themes of the film.
The painting of the jester is a reoccurring image in Blackmail that conveys several different ideas as the film progresses. The first time the jester painting appears on screen is when Alice has gone up to and is exploring Mr. Crewe’s apartment. When Alice comes across the painting she mimics the gesture of the pointing finger and laughs whole-heartedly at what she sees as a silly portrait. By imitating the jester Alice is therefore identifying with him, as up until this point she has lived a carefree and jovial life where she can date a dependable police detective but also have fun with a spontaneous artist on the side. The next time the jester painting shows up is right after Alice has tried to fend off and eventually stabbed Mr. Crewe and is about to leave his apartment. This time Alice’s reaction to the piece of art is to be horrified rather than to laugh, and the outstretched finger of the jester is now accusatory as it blames Alice for what she has just done. Her response is to lash out and stab through the canvas; an act that mirrors what Alice has just done to the artist of the work.
The idea that after this horrendous incident Alice now sees the painting of the jester in a different way represents how Alice now sees the rest of the world in a different way. Before that particular night, Alice’s world was one full of innocence and ease. After the attempted rape and self-defense that resulted in murder on Alice’s part, her world is then tainted with scandal and she will never view it the same way again. This is further reiterated by the next scene were Alice stumbles aimlessly through the city and everything reminds her of the event she has just gone through. The jester also is the first instance of the common motif of an outstretched hand seen throughout the film Blackmail, especially after the murder where Alice continually associates any outstretched hand with that of Mr. Crewe’s limp hand hanging out of the curtain. The image of the jester seemingly catching Alice in her incriminating act also foreshadows the blackmailer, Tracy, who discovers what she has done and tries to make her suffer the consequences. The blackmailer, like the jester, appears to take great joy in getting Alice in this position as he takes his time tormenting her at her parent’s breakfast table.
The jester painting also plays into Frank’s storyline as well as the resolution, or lack there of, of the film. The day after Alice has been at Mr. Crewe’s, Frank is in the same apartment investigating the murder of the artist with his coworkers. While examining the crime scene, Frank finds one of Alice’s gloves and realizes that she had been in the apartment the night before and may have something to do with the murder. Frank turns and sees the painting of the jester that is now laughing at him, as he is realizing his suspicions were right in that his girlfriend has not been faithful to him. The jester laughing at him also means that Frank should have known and stopped the infidelity earlier, especially after he saw Alice and the artist together after Frank had dinner with Alice the night before. The jester is lastly seen at the end of the film after Alice has tried to confess to the murder but Frank has made sure that all the blame is placed on the now deceased blackmailer, Tracy. The painting of the jester is shown being taken into evidence and is now laughing once again at Alice, who is left to live with her guilt in an unhappy and controlling relationship with Frank. This is particularly clear in the final scene of the film where Alice and Frank walk stoically out of the police station without holding hands.
The artist, Mr. Crewe, and the portrait of a nude figure he and Alice paint are both important symbols in Blackmail as well. Alice’s life, as played out through the beginning of the film, is one of relative comfort and ease where she is used to getting what she wants. This is best shown by her reaction when she meets Frank at the police station and immediately reprimands him for being late. Because of her easy and predictable life, Alice sees Mr. Crewe, the artist, as an exciting form of escape especially compared to her boredom in her relationship with Frank. She is clearly interested in Mr. Crewe’s profession, as she looks over his paintings at his apartment and asks him to help her hold a paint palette correctly. Mr. Crewe, on the other hand, uses art and being an artist to his advantage in order to lure Alice to his apartment where he plans to take advantage of her. He understands Alice’s desire for spontaneity and practically dares her to come up to his apartment with him.
While looking through Mr. Crewe’s art supplies, Alice inadvertently makes a mark on his blank canvas that she then turns into a smiley face. Mr. Crewe then guides her hand to finish the person and draws an outline of a naked woman, which represents the artist taking control over Alice in a sexual way. After undressing Alice with his paintbrush, the artist will literally get her undressed and try to take advantage of her only moments later in the film. When the painting is complete, Alice giggles and jokingly reprimands the artist for his work, but she is clearly still comfortable and thinking of it as a game. Alice then signs her name at the bottom of the painting in bold, capital letters that further suggests she is the subject of the painting rather than the artist. After Alice has defended herself from Mr. Crewe and killed him, she sees the nude painting again as she prepares to leave and is now disgusted to realize the true intentions of the artist from the beginning. She quickly takes a paintbrush and crosses out the title, which also represents a blackening of her name as she has been robbed of her innocence.
In Blackmail, Hitchcock uses this theme to his advantage in several different ways, though especially in the central plotline of Alice turning from an innocent girl to a tarnished victim that defines the second half of the film. Just as art is not only visually appealing, Hitchcock uses this motif in order to serve a deeper purpose with a clear point of view as well.
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