Alfred Hitchcock started making Blackmail as a silent film, but after getting access to the new movie sound technology, he ended up releasing two versions. The sound version was one of the first “talkies” released in Britain. Some film aficionados prefer the silent version, which often uses different footage.

Blackmail‘s US copyright, once lost here due to formalities requirements, was restored in the 1990s. The film returns to the public domain here in 20 days. #PublicDomainDayCountdown