Alfred Hitchcock thread

No one's mentioned a little underrated movie that Hitch did in the fifties, my favorite period of his, with Henry Fonda called THE WRONG MAN. It's based on a true story and has the classic "fear of police" mentality about it as poor Henry Fonda is accused of a crime he didn't commit. Vera Miles is great as his wife too.

I've yet to see the most recent Hitchcock films, though I have them on the box set. I've not seen FRENZY, or TOPAZ, or FAMILY PLOT, and there are some other older ones I've not yet seen like THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY or TO CATCH A THIEF. I own all of those - I just haven't gotten around to them. Maybe this thread will get me to dig out another "new" one.

I think I like to savor Hitchcock. I'll watch one of his movies and then delve into it more through books or web essays and maybe even watch it again.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is great - maybe his best. The difference betweein the American version and the British alternate version is subtle. There's a slight difference in the ending, with the larger difference happening early on with a longer train meeting segment that hints a little more at Bruno's sexuality.

I love VERTIGO. To me that movie gets better every time I watch it. And I don't care WHICH soundtrack I listen to - but the newer disc in the box set is clearly better with the anamorphic mastering.

 

One thing Hitchcock didn't like was that they made him change the ending of the movie from the original story: in real life, the wife never recovered from the trauma. Still, it's a typical Hitchcock theme, just like in The Man Who Knew Too Much and even North By Northwest: an ordinary man is pulled into an extraordinary situation. And in two of these three, it's a case of mistaken identity.

The ending of The Wrong Man really leaves me wondering, too: is the person they found at the end really the criminal, or....another wrong man?

If you like Grace Kelly, she's radiant in To Catch A Thief...

 

Never thought of it that way. I always assumed it was the criminal so we would have a happy ending. Anyone know the details of the true story, or is it a bit too obscure?

I perfer wathcing Fonda in "12 Angry Men". Another film about someone being wrongfully accused of a crime. These two could make a good double feature.

 

all mentioned...plus...ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS!

 

My faves :

Shadow of a Doubt
Strangers on a Train
Rear Window
Vertigo
North by Northwest
Psycho

 

man, Dial M for Murder isn't getting nearly enough love.

my first choice is Rear Window (just incredible perfomances from Stewart, Kelly and Raymond Burr), followed by DMfM, then Strangers on a Train.

The Birds is awesome, too.

Jeff

 

I was luck enough to see this in 3-D at a repository theater.

 

"The Birds" had a profound impact on me as a kid. Thinking back, I think it was the first time I ever noticed what a director does in terms of selective shots. The scene in particular was the overhead shot of the burning gas station as the birds slowly started to swoop in in increasing quantity, and I remember thinking "that's an impossible vantage point but it shows you everything". I still love the movie (especially the Hedrin schoolhouse smoking scene) although it's not my favorite Hitchcock film - I'd have to nominate "Vertigo", "Shadow of a Doubt", and "North By Northwest" as superior, if not a couple of others too. Nonetheless, it has a special place in my heart for the aforementioned reason.
The thing with Hitch is that he's the filmmaker version of the Beatles: regardless of your favorites, virtually everything he did exhibited his mastery of the form. With very few exceptions, there's something (and usually many things) cinematically worthwhile in everything he touched. One of the greatest filmmakers ever? Without a shadow of a doubt...

Aaron

 

At least we got 33 posts before this turned into a Beatles thread.

 

great post, Aaron!

what gets me about The Birds (in particular) are all the details that on the surface have little to do with the suspense (yet underneath, have *everything* to do with the suspense) ... the juxtaposition of Tippie Hedren's convertible on the Pacific Coast Highway versus Rod Taylor's row across the Bay ... the arguments in the diner ... the whole pet-shop finches thing ... the parallels between birds of a feather flocking together and Taylor and his children ... just an amazing film. and remember, this is fourth on my list!

Jeff

 

NORTH BY NORTHWEST, REAR WINDOW and VERTIGO for me. They have a great look and impeccable performances.

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is fun and the first of the great Hitchcock-Herrmann scores that ended with TORN CURTAIN, which was partially recorded and rejected. TORN CURTAIN has some interesting scenes such as the chase where only footsteps are heard and the killing of Gromek but isn't that satisfying as a whole. I wonder what it would have been like with Herrmann's score.

P.S. Love the Harry Palmer avatar, Ginger.

 

Yes, it's certainly one of the most intellectually (and deliberately - Hitch did nothing on the fly) cyclical films ever made. Everything seen and shown has a meaning and purpose in terms of later developments in the film, however - in juxtaposition to it's setup - it's interesting that the ending is utterly ambiguous in the sense that the viewer has no idea what the eventual fate of the protagonists (or anyone else) will be. I think it was Truffaut who said that it was the greatest vision of the apocalypse on film at the time it was made. I'm inclined to agree, even 40+ years later.
And yet I still don't place it as my favorite of Hitchcock's films (although i'm now tempted to give it another viewing). It just goes to show what a truly amazing filmmaker he was...

Aaron

 

Busted! I apologize, but I thought it was a legitimate parallel. My bad.

Aaron

 

My favourites -

To Catch a Thief
Psycho
Rear Window
Vertigo
Dial M for Murder

 

That's on purpose. Stewart plays a disturbed, troubled character. A brilliant movie, my favorite Hitchcock. It is also a masterpiece of cinematography, the pictures are more important than the dialogues.

 

Last time we played this, I think my top ten was something like:

1. Vertigo
2. North by Northwest
3. Rear Window
4. Notorious
5. Psycho
6. Marnie
7. The Lady Vanishes
8. Shadow of a Doubt
9. Rebecca/The 39 Steps (tie)

I guess my runner-up would be The Birds. No big surprises.

But my "honorable mentions" might include The Lodger, Rope, Strangers on a Train, The Trouble with Harry, Under Capricorn...sometimes getting more into the "quirky curiosity" category. As said earlier, with Hitchcock, getting into the depth and breadth of his work is part of the fun.

 

One ending apparently was filmed and shown to preview audiences but it was of Joan's character drinking the glass of milk...and discovering it had not been poisoned after all:

http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~muffin/suspicion_c.html#Middle

 

I think Vertigo is one of the greatest movies ever made. Jimmy Stewart is BRILLIANT.

 

I don't think Hitch intended for the criminal to be another "wrong man", but that's what is neat about a movie being open to interpretation. I see the supposed "real" criminal, he looks like Balestrero, and yet when I see him in the lineup with the same people, I can't help but think the same cycle is starting over again. I mean, it's almost like the end of the movie is a mirror of the beginning, with that lineup scene.

The details from the book I mentioned above only mention that Balestrero was found innocent and released, but that his wife remained in a depression. The studio wanted a "happy Hollywood ending" which is why they were shown as being happy and the wife cured of her mental illness.

 

Herrmann's music for Torn Curtain was released on a Warner Brothers Lp back in the late 70's, so you can hear the music. It is interesting in that he used a large grouping of flutes to project menace.

 

Hitchcock is my favorite director, all time! His work from The Trouble with Harry through The Birds has to be one of the greatest runs in motion picture history. His work was so strong during that period on so many levels. For me, Vertigo remains his crown jewel, simply an amazing work by an artist at the peak of his craft. I remember being mesmerized by it on NBC's old Saturday Night at the Movies as a kid, and being distraught when it was pulled from exhibition for a time. It is always in my list of 5 greatest films of all time!

That said, here are some works that tend to get overlooked, most from his British period (1925-1939).

1926 The Lodger - the first "true" Hitchcock film. Amazing camera work and effects (a ceiling disappears to show the suspect pacing the floor overhead) and a compelling story.

1929 Blackmail - the first British talking picture. Great use of microphonics during a scene where the word "knife" is repeated in the presence of a killer.

1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much - Peter Lorre is amazing in his own inimitable way in the first telling of this classic tale. A young Nova Pillbeam (later in Young & Innocent) plays the kidnapped daughter.

1936 The Secret Agent - A dark, amazing tale of spys, with a very young suave Robert Young (Marcus Welby).

1936 Sabotage - Hitchcock performed the unthinkable in killing off a kid in an excruciating scene! That aside, Sylvia Sidney is pure perfection as the mother involved with a possible terrorist (wow, could be today!).

1942 Saboteur - Bob Cumming is great in this fun forerunner to North by Northwest. A bit episodic, but lots of fun. The American 39 steps. Great finale on top of the Statue of Liberty where the villain is undone by a sleeve!

1953 I Confess - Montgomery Clift stars as a priest that has many burdens to carry. Interesting film that gets denigrated unjustly. A slow pace, but interesting.

Almost all of his work is worth a look, but a few only for the dogged...


1933 Waltzes from Vienna - Yes, Hitch did a musical...once...

1939 Jamaica Inn - He was about to set off to America for his rendezvous with post Gone with the Wind Selznick (and Rebecca), so I think he was not too interested in this one. Charles Laughton leads a band of pirates...where, I'm still not sure.

1947 Under Capricorn - Even the mighty Ingrid Bergman can't make this snoozer interesting.
One scene with a shruken head gives you a jolt, but that is all.

Enjoy!

 

I saw a nice print of Under Capricorn on a big screen that really showed off the beautiful (as usual, for Hitchcock) color work. I thought the muggy, tropical climate was well-communicated and very effective, too. A very unusual, but well-portrayed, atmosphere throughout the film. Put it this way: I don't think it's a Great Hitchcock Film, but I really dig that it's part of his oeuvre.

But no, I wouldn't pack it for the proverbial Desert Island...

 

I don' think The Paradine Case is all that bad. Gregory Peck is always interesting, and some of the camera work in the court scenes is pretty good. But as Hitchcock has pointed out, he miscast Louis Jordan as the groomer. He wanted a more "earthy" character. Paradine is one of those interesting but not great jaunts, sort of in line with Lifeboat or Stage Fright. Jamaica Inn is just a horrible film, any way you slice it. But as always, different strokes...that's what makes the forum interesting!