Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film is largely entertaining. It has some rather stiff performances from the principals before the plot kicks in, but once the near-rape and resultant manslaughter have taken place, the acting seems to improve with the heightened suspense. The flighty ingenue Alice is annoying until first shock and then guilt transform her into a genuinely haunted figure. Her boyfriend Frank is more tolerable too, once love and circumstances make him an accessory after the fact. They exchange some of the most deliciously furtive and secretive glances this side of ROPE while at the breakfast table with the Whites. And once our blackmailer appears, the tension could be cut with a knife. You can see Hitch working out some themes of guilt and emotional trauma he'll explore again in his British films like SABOTAGE and SECRET AGENT, and in later films like the aforementioned ROPE and MARNIE. It's a nice diversion... highly recommended!