Young and Innocent

A woman's body is found on a beach and Robert, the young screenwriter who finds it, becomes the suspect. He escapes from the police station and Erica, the chief constable's daughter, ends up alongside him, helping first out of necessity and then out of belief. Alfred Hitchcock builds the wrong-man chase in a light, almost cheerful key, and the real subject is not the crime but two young people learning to trust each other on the road. The famous moment comes at the end: the camera starts high above a hotel ballroom, travels across the band and descends to the drummer's face, settling on his twitching eyes. That descent, made in one shot, is among the clearest cases of Hitchcock handing the audience information with the camera itself. Who it is for: viewers who like Hitchcock's English period and classic chase stories. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the pace of a modern thriller.