THE SKIN GAME

The Skin Game tells the story of a bloody struggle between two families who seek to take over a piece of land near a small English town where they both live. One of them is part of the local gentry while the other is made up of wealthy upstarts and new industrialists. The Hillcrest family, of noble origin, guides the community and guards the collective feudal traditions, clashes with the Hornblower family, of low extraction but with an ever-increasing capacity for investment, resulting from the acquisition of plots to build industries. During the auction of the Jackman estate, the two families clash head-on, driving the price up to astronomical levels. In the end, it is the Hornblowers who come out on top, having enlisted the help of a third party. The Hillcrest’s vow of revenge is made when Mrs. Hillcrest learns a secret about the Hornblower family’s nephew, who married Chloe, a former prostitute…

Despite the fact that many critics have said that the class struggle theme was not particularly suited to Hitchcock, the director has had the merit of giving the characters more dramatic depth than in the original play.