Which Hitchcock film was based on Josephine Tey's novel A Shilling for Candles?

Young and Innocent was the Hitchcock film based on Josephine Tey’s novel A Shilling for Candles.

Released in 1937, the British thriller follows Robert Tisdall, a young man accused of murdering actress Christine Clay. He flees and seeks help from Erica Burgoyne, whose father is the local police chief. The film turns the investigation into a fast-moving chase and romance, rather than a straightforward police procedural.

Tey’s 1936 novel was the second mystery featuring Inspector Alan Grant, but Hitchcock’s adaptation substantially reshaped it. The film changed characters, added a children’s party and other set pieces, and made the relationship between Robert and Erica central. Its celebrated climax uses a long camera movement across a crowded hotel ballroom to identify the real killer through a distinctive facial twitch. The film was released in the United States as The Girl Was Young, a title that can cause confusion when searching for it.