Alfred Hitchcock, Part 1

 

When I was writing about Hitchcock the film, I thought I should write about my love of Alfred Hitchcock and his films. As always with people of significance I found it difficult. Like The Beatles, what else is there to write that has not been written? And believe me, I have read most of it. So, I will share my history with the great man and what I love about his films!

 

I am not a fan of really scary movies. However a good thrill or mild scare is always a lot of fun, and Alfred Hitchcock seems to do it best. I guess that's why he's called The Master of Suspense.

 

I began enjoying his 'softer' films in my late teens, To catch a thief and Rear Window. They were glamorous and romantic, starred Grace Kelly, James Stewart and Cary Grant...what wasn't there to love? As I got older and had more means to seek out other films I began to devour his films and watch his television show. To this day he is my favourite director and North by Northwest one of my favourite films of all time. I have watched a lot of his films and many of them numerous times over.

 

Once I started to work in Libraries I had all these wonderful books about him and his movies at my hands. I read and reread them all, learning so much about the type of film making he established, such ground breaking work. This was over 20 years ago, and they've all melded into a 'super book' of information in my head, where 20 years later the information is not always easily retrieved but sometimes remembered at the most inopportune moments! Truffaut's Hitchcock is the seminal work in my opinion. Dan Auiler's Hitchcock's notebooks particularly interesting in terms of his work. And Alfred Hitchcock and the making of Psycho by Stephen Rebello is fascinating. This was a source for the film, Hitchcock.

 

I started to write about what I loved best as things entered my head, but it was too stream of consciousness.

 

So from a chronological list - thank you imdb, you are brilliant - I decided to write my thoughts on each film!

 

I can't remember what order I discovered the films in, so chronological seems the best way to mention them.

 

The Twenties

Of the 14 films Hitch directed during the 20s I have only seen 2, The Lodger and Blackmail. Both are very much of their time, with a little hint of the Hitch that was to come. They are melodramatic with minor thrills, though I'm sure for their day they were ground breaking. I recently had the good fortune to see The Lodger again but on the big screen as part of a silent film festival. It was great to see, we laughed a lot, though I am sure were not meant to. Casting the dishy Ivor Novello in the lead as the supposed murderer was brilliant, but many were not keen on it at the time apparently...went against type!

 

The Thirties

Between 1930 and 1934, Hitchcock made 9 films, Murder!, Rich and Strange, and Number 17 were much the same as the films from the 20s, basic plot, murder, a bit of a twist and happy resolution. But 1934s The Man who knew too much was the beginning of a change. A more nuanced film, with an assassination plot, a kidnapping, and starring the fabulously creepy Peter Lorre as the villain. Hitchcock remade this later in his career, but this is a grittier version and it's great.

 

Then came the more popular of his British films: The 39 Steps, Secret Agent, Sabotage, Young and Innocent, The Lady Vanishes, and Jamaica Inn. These are all outstanding films, with the weak link being Jamaica Inn. The 39 Steps would be the most well known and is a great romp of an innocent man on the run from the police after mistakenly being suspected for murder. Young and Innocent is pretty much a slightly different twist on the same story. My favs are The Lady Vanishes and Sabotage.

 

The Lady Vanishes is the first film that displays the subtle humour Hitch becomes known for. It has been there in previous films, but in this one it seems more intentional. Basic plot of a lady that disappears on a train, only noticed by one young girl. People don't believe her (a standard Hitch plotline) and the mystery begins.

 

Sabotage is much more serious, in fact probably the most shocking of his early films. Sylvia Sidney is amazing as the young girl who marries a mysterious older gentleman who is not as he appears. Hitch reveals everything early on, yet we watch as the drama unfolds in complete suspense. The couple own an old cinema which allows for some fabulous scenes. But a young boy, the younger brother of Sidney's character, steals the show with one of the most suspenseful scenes I've ever watched as he unwittingly carries a bomb through the city...would Hitchcock dare to let a bomb go off with a child carrying it?? Well, you have to watch to find out.

 

The Forties

He began the decade by moving to Hollywood and doing a quintessential British film, Rebecca. He made 12 films plus some shorts during this decade and they were hit and miss, but he was establishing himself and testing the boundaries in Hollywood. My favs are Rebecca, Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound, Notorious and Rope.

 

Rebecca is the quintessential gothic romance, very British, beautifully filmed and acted. Not a typical Hitchcock film, but he needed this to be perfect to work his way into Hollywood, and he succeeded. Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier are perfectly cast, but Judith Anderson as the nasty Mrs Danvers runs away with the show! Rebecca is the only of his films to win Best Picture at the Oscars, shameful!

 

Suspicion is a great little film with Joan Fontaine and Cary Grant - Cary's first of 4 films with Hitch. Fontaine's Lina meets Grant's charming Johnnie on a train and is swept off her feet. They marry quickly and Lina realises Johnnie is not as he seems, could he be a murderer? Cary Grant playing a murderer...no!?! This is a simple story but works well, mostly due to the superb casting of Grant and Fontaine. witty, romantic and suspenseful, Hitchcock continues to hone his craft.

 

Shadow of a doubt is a similar tale. Young Charlie (the gorgeous Teresa Wright) looks up to her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton), but he is not as he appears. Again Hitchcock reveals to the audience before his characters find out and you squirm as things unfold. Also a great supporting cast of older Hollywood establishment. Wright is perfect as the young girl eager for a bit of excitement in her life, but unprepared for the reality and truth.

 

Spellbound is an odd one, the story has a lot of twists and convolution. It is based around Psychoanalysis and murder, with Gregory Peck's character possibly being framed by psychiatrists. Ingrid Bergman's Dr is keen to get to the bottom of the truth. Salvador Dali assisted Hitchcock in putting together a surreal dream sequence (to be seen, though alleged Hitch did not use all of Dali's ideas). But really it is the magnificent chemistry between Peck and Bergman that makes this movie worth seeing.

 

Notorious is probably my second favourite film after North by Northwest. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are at the top of their game in a world of Nazis, agents, spies and sex. Bergman's Alicia loses herself in men, gambling and alcohol after her German father is convicted of treason. Grant's agent, Devlin, uses her to convict more Nazis, all the while falling in love with her. The things Devlin makes her do are astonishing, especially for that time. But he is so utterly charming and persuasive, and she so desperate you can see why. Bergman is amazingly stoic and sensual as only she can be. Things build until Devlin makes a move, and you get one of the most sensual and erotic scenes shown on film for the time, possibly even ever. Each time I see this film I find something new, the way Hitch filmed this was remarkable. There are some tracking shots that are groundbreaking, or subtle shots that seemingly make no sense until much later...he gives away little hints all the time. Great supporting cast of Claude Rains and Leopoldine Konstantin as the horrid mother and son.

 

Rope is a stunning piece of film. Filmed in long single takes ( 5 or 6 I think ), this story, based on the Leopold and Loeb murders, appears like as a suspenseful play. Two young men murder a friend prior to a party, lock his body in trunk and continue to hold the party with family and friends of theirs and the deceased in the very same room. James Stewart stars as an old school teacher, and as the boys begin to give subtle hints as to how 'clever' they have been, Stewart begins to unravel what has happened. Again, the viewer knows everything, and the suspense is in whether they will be found out or get away with murder. Stewart is outstanding and holds the piece together. A seemingly logistical nightmare to shoot, it had been perfectly plotted from story, acting to props and movement, a masterpiece to be seen.

 

I didn't realise how long this piece would take to write or end up being, still finishing the 50s-70s, so stay tuned for Part 2!