The Blackguard (novel)

The Blackguard is 1923 novel by Raymond Paton. It is a melodrama set during the Russian Revolution of 1917: a French violinist rescues a Russian princess from execution at the hands of revolutionaries led by his former mentor. The novel was adapted into film in 1925 on a screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock. ^{[1] [2]}

The book is generally known as The Autobiography of a Blackguard. ^[3]

Reception

A 1933 review found it was "an extraordinary novel with a rather worn theme the life of a musical genius - treated in a new way. It has a full share of Russian horrors, a store of luridness ..." ^[4] Another review found it was an "extraordinarily interesting novel that defied adequate description in a brief review". ^[5]

Adaptation

Main article: The Blackguard

The film was adapted for the screen when a silent film The Blackguard (1925) was made as a co-production between the British Gainsborough Pictures and the German UFA Studios. ^[6] The film was directed by Graham Cutts.

References

1. Kerzoncuf, Alain; Barr, Charles (7 July 2020). Hitchcock Lost & Found: The Forgotten Films. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN   978-0-8131-6083-2.
2. Leitch, Thomas; Poague, Leland (1 March 2011). A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-1-4443-9731-4.
3. Paton, Raymond (1923). The Autobiography of a Blackguard. London.
4. The Pastoral Review. Wool Exchange. 1933.
5. "The Autobiography of a Blackguard". Western Champion. 4 November 1933. p. 14. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
6. Cook p.16-17

Bibliography

• Cook, Pam (ed.). Gainsborough Pictures. Cassell, 1997.
• Kreimeier, Klaus. The Ufa story: a history of Germany's greatest film company, 1918-1945. University of California Press, 1999.