The Fifties
The 50s has Hitchcock making his finest and most well
known films. Starting with the solid Stage Fright, Strangers on a train and I
Confess, he moves from strength to strength with Dial M for Murder, Rear Window,
To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry, The Man who Knew too Much, The Wrong
Man, Vertigo and my personal favourite North by Northwest. It was also in the
mid 50s he began his television series, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He was at the
top of his game and an output many would find hard to match in a career let
alone one decade.
I have a soft spot for Strangers on a Train. It's very
clever and very edgy. Two strangers meet on a train, hence the title. They both
want to be rid of someone in their lives, one suggests they murder the person
they want rid of for each other. Crisscross Crisscross. The theory being, no one
knows they know each other and it would be the perfect murder. The strangers are
Robert Walker as the creepy Bruno and Farley Granger as the everyman Guy. Guy is
amused but takes it all as a joke, until Bruno goes ahead with his side of the
'bargain'. Completely unhinged Bruno then begins to blackmail Guy, a tennis
player, into his side of the 'bargain'. Hugely suspenseful, with a great scene
at a tennis match, and sublimely shot. The murder as seen through a pair
of sunglasses is subtle yet very clever and the huge climax at the carousel is
incredible.
Dial M for Murder is another one people forget about.
Grace Kelly is less glamorous, though still stunning, in this edgier role. She
has been having an affair for about a year and doesn't realise her husband knows
and is plotting her murder! I just realised her husband was a tennis player, so
now can't remember if the aforementioned tennis scene is in Strangers on a Train
or this one!?! Most of the action in Dial M for Murder takes place in an
apartment, which gives an enclosed claustrophobic feeling. The thing I most
remember about this film is one shot when Kelly is being attacked and she looked
exactly like her daughter, Caroline, looked at the time I saw it. Was
uncanny.
Hitchcock gets to expand on the feeling of
claustrophobia with Rear Window. This is a simple story but shot in such detail
and with such precision it requires careful and multiple viewing. Every time you
see or find something else. Everyone knows this film (surely!?!), Jeff played by
James Stewart is stuck in his apartment with a broken leg. He is bored and
begins 'spying' on his neighbours in the apartment block opposite and believes
he has witnessed a murder. Aided by his good girlfriend, Grace Kelly as the
model Lisa, they begin to investigate what is going on. So incredibly layered
with multiple storylines following many inhabitants of the apartment block;
romance, humour, sadness and suspense are witnessed. There is also the story of
the relationship between Lisa and Jeff which appears stuck, and of course, the
supposed murder itself. Also great supporting performances by the fabulous
Thelma Ritter as Jeff's nurse and Raymond Burr as the suspected
murderer.
To Catch a Thief is less thriller and more romance and
beauty. Filmed in the French Riviera and starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly it
is the prettiest of Hitchcock's films. Lots of beautiful homes, fancy cars,
amazing costumes (by Edith Head), stunning jewels and ballroom scenes. Grant is
a retired cat burglar, trying to work out who is doing some copycat burgling of
the rich and famous. Must watch scene, besides every costume change for Kelly,
is where she is driving Grant very fast through the winding roads of the
Riviera, especially given that is pretty much how she dies in real life years
later.
The Trouble with Harry troubles a lot of Hitchcock fans
as it seems out of place. To be honest I've only seen it once, cannot remember
much except I did like it. A body is found in a small town and everyone suspects
they could be involved. I believe it was meant to be intentionally funny, ironic
even, but people didn't get that. It was not the usual subtle humour one
expected from The Master. I do remember Shirley MacLaine being young
and beautiful in it, her first film role, and the gorgeous young John Forsythe
being...gorgeous! I must watch it again.
The Man who Knew too Much is the remake of his earlier
film. Much more polished, you can see the changes and growth of Hitchcock. I
like the grittiness of the earlier film, where this one seems a bit too
polished. James Stewart and Doris Day star as parents holidaying in Morocco when
their boy is kidnapped. They are both great, though Day is an odd choice.
Blonde, yes, but possibly not the best choice. Though, playing a singer, we get
the opportunity to hear her sing Que Sera Sera - which is gorgeous. Also in a
small role, look out for the gorgeous Carolyn Jones (Mortica
Addams).
Hitchcock rounds out the decade with the one, two punch
of Vertigo and North by Northwest. Vertigo, now considered the greatest film
ever made, requires multiple viewings. It is a complex plot and difficult to
explain properly. In short, Scottie, played by James Stewart, is a retired
detective asked to follow a friend's wife as he fears she may commit suicide.
Many twists and psychological turns happen and Scottie falls in love with
Madeleine, played beautifully by Kim Novak. But Madeleine dies, was it suicide,
murder or indeed is she dead at all? Suspenseful, haunting and stunningly filmed
using tricky shots and photography to encapsulate the drama. Whilst it's not my
favourite film, it is definitely his masterpiece. And watch out for a beautiful,
young Barbara Bel Geddes (Miss Ellie Ewing) as Scottie's friend
Midge.
North by Northwest is my favourite. It has Cary Grant at
his best, on the run, after a mistaken identity, which turns into being framed
for murder. But really, none of that part of the plot is that important, they
are merely catalysts for the humour, adventure, romance and action that ensues.
It is a romp, a huge amount of fun and extremely suspenseful. There are so many
iconic scenes in this film, as Grants' Roger O Thornhill - the O stands for
nothing - crisscrosses across America, I have no idea
where to start. There is the famous crop dusting scene, with Grant running away
from the crop duster, the scene at the UN where Grant is framed for murder...you
know the innocent man pulls the knife out of the dead man's back and people
think he did it trick. Then there are scenes shot in a replica Frank Lloyd
Wright house and the famous finale shot at Mount Rushmore. James Mason and
Martina Landau are the 'baddies' and Eve Marie Saint is perfect as the
mysterious woman Grant meets on a train. If you haven't seen this, you are truly
missing out on a superb piece of entertainment.
The Sixties and Seventies
The sixties begin with Psycho, followed by The Birds two
years later...moving more into the horror thriller style of film. They are
followed by the underrated Marnie, and Torn Curtain. Then Topaz, followed by
Frenzy and Family Plot, both in the 70s.
Films were starting to change and Hitch was looking for
something new, he found the novel by Robert Bloch and started to make Psycho.
The film was groundbreaking for many reasons and is now his most recognised and
well known film. It's story was a secret, it was more horror than suspense, the
lead actress was killed very early on, and the techniques used were outstanding
and new. He famously advertised the film as one you were not allowed in to after
it had started and to keep the plot a secret so as to surprise people who
came to see it. Of course the shower scene is what it is famous for, the quick
cuts, Marion's scream (played wonderfully by Janet Leigh), the eye, the shower
plug hole and of course Bernstein's fabulous score.
I saw this when I was in my
late teens, I did not like anything too scary, but started to watch it late one
night. The shower scene, whilst atmospheric and shocking, did not scare me. I
kept waiting, and got about halfway through, I was the only one up and it was
dark and my imagination got the better of me, I put a tape in and recorded it. I
watched the remainder the following day, and whilst the revelation at the end
creeped me out, it was not the scary film I thought it was going to be...a
little bit of a let down. I recently did a review of the film, Hitchcock, which is about the making of Psycho and led to these musings.
The Birds however, was always going to be scary for me!
I was savagely attacked by a magpie when I was young, and have had quite the
fear of birds ever since. The Birds is a great premise; Melanie (Tippi Hedren)
follows a man, Mitch played by Rod Taylor, she met in San Francisco to Bodega
Bay but then all these birds start to appear and attack people for no reason.
The first time you see all these birds sitting on the electrical wires it is frightening, and then covering the plyground even worse.
Hitch lets the tension build slowly, the scarier scenes are when nothing happens
but you just know something is around the corner. Some of the visuals are quite
brutal which adds to the horror and suspense. Look out for Jessica Tandy as the
mother of Mitch.
Marnie is another underrated film. It's a psychological
thriller and very layered. Tippi Hedren is outstanding as the deeply troubled
Marnie, a seemingly bad girl intent on ruining her life. That is, until she
meets and marries Mark, played by a young Sean Connery. On their honeymoon, she
refuses Mark's advances and he realises there is something very wrong with her
and hires a private investigator to find out about her past...of which she has
been very shady about. I really like this and consider it his last great
film.
I've only seen the final four films once each and early
on in my Hitchcock experience but I remember being disappointed by them all. I
must re-watch someday and see if that still holds true. They didn't seem like
Hitchcock films, they were too modern, a little bit sleazy and had no glamour.
Torn Curtain is the best of the bunch and a cold war film starring Paul Newman
and Julie Andrews who, while great, didn't seem right in a Hitchcock film. Topaz
is based on the Leon Uris novel about the Cuban Missile Crisis and is set in
Cuba and France. It is a good movie, but not a great Hitchcock movie. Frenzy is
dark, about a serial killer in London, featuring a brutal rape scene. I didn't
care for it and thought Hitch was grasping a straws to come up with a hit and he
did not succeed. Family Plot has interweaving stories of crime involving
kidnapping, theft, blackmail and fortune telling. It's a bit messy and sad that
this was his final film.
The thing about the great Hitchcock films is they all
hold up today. The plots, characters and suspense are being rediscovered over
and over again and this is wonderful.
I've had two interesting Hitchcock experiences outside of
his films. The first was in Sydney some years back when an exhibition of his
memorabilia was at the MCA. There was some set pieces, books, writings, and
films showing. It was a small exhibition but fabulous to be close to bits and
pieces belonging to the great man. The second was touring Universal Studios in
Orlando, seeing the replica Psycho house and touring an exhibit of memorabilia
and seeing a 3D film on some of his scenes. There was also a section where
miniature sets showed how he filmed scenes, the apartment in Rear Window, the
carousel in Strangers on a Train and some of his camera 'tricks'.
I know these films will stay with me forever and I will
continue to watch and rewatch them. Great Art is a wonderful thing, good for the
soul and the brain. If you haven't had the opportunity to watch any Alfred
Hitchcock I highly recommend you do and hope my ramblings here will help you
choose a good one to start with.
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