Number Seventeen

After a bold jewel heist, a tight crew of thieves holes up in an empty London townhouse, hoping to lay low until the heat dies down. The grim building becomes a stage for misdirection as each member weighs loyalty and opportunity while the city outside rattles with fog and footsteps. The group is unaware that a sharp observer has slipped into their circle, blending in as one of them; suspicion, nerves, and small misreads threaten to blow the plan apart. As tension climbs, an unseen watcher pushes the plot toward a dangerous crossroads, where trust proves thinner than paper and every gesture matters. The atmosphere crackles with wit and danger, typical of early Hitchcock thrillers.

Released in 1932, Number Seventeen was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, with source material credited to Joseph Jefferson Farjeon and screenplay by Alma Reville and Rodney Ackland. The collaboration preserves Hitchcock's economical storytelling while highlighting early sound era London and brisk, twist friendly pacing.

As an early Hitchcock crime thriller, Number Seventeen shows the director sharpening his talent for constrained spaces, quick reversals, and a wry sense of urban paranoia. Its brisk pacing and ensemble dynamics helped shape how British thrillers from this era built tension with wit. The clever interplays on a single location foreshadow some of his later celebrated set pieces.

Critics noted the film's crisp plotting and atmosphere, balancing a caper mood with darker undertones about trust under pressure. Themes of disguise, loyalty, and surveillance thread through the story, reflecting Hitchcock's fascination with who we think we are and what we conceal. These themes continue to echo in discussions of his career and in surveys of early talkie thrillers.

Box office details for Number Seventeen are not widely documented, though the film contributed to Hitchcock's rising reputation in British cinema during the early sound era, helping establish his flair for suspense on a studio budget.