Fox Movies here has been showing a Hitchcock retrospective all month and what's so great about Hitch is that none of his films ever seem like homework. I'm a fan of the early period Hitch esp The 39 Steps (maybe my favourite Hitchcock of all) The Lady Vanishes and Rebecca but the era 1951 - 1961 is simply stunning, producing amazing film after amazing film. I can't think of a director who came up with such a strong second act to his or her career. Anyway, here's the complete list, have a read and tell me that I'm wrong:Strangers on a Train (1951)
Farley Granger in a must-see classic story from Patricia Highsmith (screenplay by Raymond Chandler) of two strangers who take on each other's murders. You'll never ride the carousel again without thinking of this film.
I Confess (1953)
Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter in a thoughtful and influential character study of a priest who hears a murderer's confession.
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Ray Milland wants to kill Grace Kelly. Is he nuts? You gotta love the police inspector and the dimwitted boyfriend and the- wait a minute there's the doorbell, now where's me key?
Rear Window (1954)
The other contender for my favourite Hitchcock. James Stewart is a photographer who doesn't want to marry Grace Kelly (again, is he nuts?). He's laid up at home with a broken leg (and a sassy masseuse) and, bored out of his mind, he begins spying on his neighbours; of course he finds himself caught up in one of their murders - or maybe not.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Cary Grant resists the charms of Grace Kelly (what is the matter with everyone?) on the Cote d'Azur while a mysterious stranger carries out a rash of burglaries. Think of the finest dessert you've ever had - this is just like that.
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
A pretty, short haired Shirley McClaine finds a corpse in the woods and black comedy ensues. This one's more of a B+.
The Wrong Man (1956)
Henry Fonda and Vera Miles star in a cheapo noir about a wrongly-accused jazz musician. Another B+. Fonda does a terrific job though.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Hitchcock's remake of his own 1934 movie involves an American (Jimmy Stewart) sucked into an assassination plot via Morocco, London and Doris Day's pipes. Nice work by everyone including the orchestra.
Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Yes that is the actual title. Considered by some to be Hitchcock's masterpiece. Jimmy Stewart is snared in a tragic spiral of lies, deception and obsession as Kim Novak tries to commit suicide by half assedly jumping into San Francisco Bay when there's a perfectly good bridge to leap off just to her left.
North by Northwest (1959)
My second favourite. A frothy mousse of a movie that I first saw on the big screen in Bryant Park. The crowd cheered Cary Grant all the way through and who wouldn't? Eva Marie Saint (last seen in Superman Returns playing Jorel's mum) is the charming female lead in this cross country crossed identity caper.
Farley Granger in a must-see classic story from Patricia Highsmith (screenplay by Raymond Chandler) of two strangers who take on each other's murders. You'll never ride the carousel again without thinking of this film.
I Confess (1953)
Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter in a thoughtful and influential character study of a priest who hears a murderer's confession.
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Ray Milland wants to kill Grace Kelly. Is he nuts? You gotta love the police inspector and the dimwitted boyfriend and the- wait a minute there's the doorbell, now where's me key?
Rear Window (1954)
The other contender for my favourite Hitchcock. James Stewart is a photographer who doesn't want to marry Grace Kelly (again, is he nuts?). He's laid up at home with a broken leg (and a sassy masseuse) and, bored out of his mind, he begins spying on his neighbours; of course he finds himself caught up in one of their murders - or maybe not.
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Cary Grant resists the charms of Grace Kelly (what is the matter with everyone?) on the Cote d'Azur while a mysterious stranger carries out a rash of burglaries. Think of the finest dessert you've ever had - this is just like that.
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
A pretty, short haired Shirley McClaine finds a corpse in the woods and black comedy ensues. This one's more of a B+.
The Wrong Man (1956)
Henry Fonda and Vera Miles star in a cheapo noir about a wrongly-accused jazz musician. Another B+. Fonda does a terrific job though.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Hitchcock's remake of his own 1934 movie involves an American (Jimmy Stewart) sucked into an assassination plot via Morocco, London and Doris Day's pipes. Nice work by everyone including the orchestra.
Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock (1958)
Yes that is the actual title. Considered by some to be Hitchcock's masterpiece. Jimmy Stewart is snared in a tragic spiral of lies, deception and obsession as Kim Novak tries to commit suicide by half assedly jumping into San Francisco Bay when there's a perfectly good bridge to leap off just to her left.
North by Northwest (1959)
My second favourite. A frothy mousse of a movie that I first saw on the big screen in Bryant Park. The crowd cheered Cary Grant all the way through and who wouldn't? Eva Marie Saint (last seen in Superman Returns playing Jorel's mum) is the charming female lead in this cross country crossed identity caper.
Psycho (1961)
Booed at the time and now recognised as one of the most influential films ever made. Hitch makes you root like mad for nutter Tony Perkins when poor Marion's car doesn't sink in the quicksand. How does Hitch do that? He's a genius that's how.
46 comments:
Thanks--some friends want to do a sort of community movie night from time to time, and Hitchcock seems like a good possibility.
When I was a kid, Psycho was the freak out movie that my parents and all their friends went to and talked about in fear and trembling after. My mom, being my mom, was able to take it quite calmly, as some people are with really scary movies, and perhaps life in general. But I remember them talking about my friend's father, this big, bluff outdoors type who wasn't afraid of much in the real world, getting totally unnerved by it. I think I resolved then and there never to have anything to do with it.
I broke my resolution in the end, of course--we always do. But when I was in college, there was one of those college retrospective movie nights and Psycho was the movie my friends chose to go to. I politely declined. I did get in the spirit of the thing enough, though, to wait till I could hear them coming home and then lie on the floor with my arm sticking out on the floor through the door into the dorm hallway.
Let's just say that the response was gratifying.
Seana
Whats truly beautiful about that film is that he was the first one to think of SPOILER ALERT - killing the female lead twenty minutes in. No one had done that before. Course now we have Drew Barrymore koping it in Scream etc. but back then it must have been really really disturbing.
I think it's still disturbing now, though it's been a few years since I watched it.
Of course, I'm the type who has to invent things like staring at the upper corner of the screen in pretty much any suspenseful moment whatsoever. Most real horror flicks I don't even bother with. When they're critically acclaimed I really have to steel myself to go.
But you're right. It's a brilliant shocking decision he made to kill off the female lead so early. It isn't hard to do, but then what you do with the rest of the movie becomes the question.
Seana
And he never won an Oscar. Nor did Stanley Kubrick. Or Orson Welles.
And Sean Penn's got two.
you know I was just reading this post over and I noticed a mistake but its unintentionally funny so I'm going to leave it in Henry Fonda is "a wrongly accused Jazz musician" no, McKinty, even back then playing Jazz wasn't a crime.
You know, you really should have left that for someone else to skewer you with. You kill all our fun when you do it yourself.
Hitchcock not getting any Oscars is quite surprising to me. It wasn't as if he wasn't accepted and even acknowledged in his day. I think the Oscars occasionally get it right and reward talent. I don't know that they reward genius except by accident.
Speaking of talent, film, and Oscars, I went and saw the movie Is Anyone There? I, and I think everyone else in the theatre that day was stunned by Michael Caine's performance as an old man facing death. The friend I went with turned to me after and said in a quavering voice, "Did he ever win an Oscar?" I seemed to remember he had, though quite recently. It would be an easy matter to look up, of course. But it's certainly irrelevant. I think Caine is one of those guys who makes the profession of film actor an honorable calling.
Adrian,
Hitch never winning an Oscar is probably the Academy's worst screw-up ever, though snubbing Welles and Kubrick is right up there too.
What amazes me about Hitchcock was how he was able to make so many great movies. Almost year after year. Most good directors, if they're lucky, only make a few great movies throughout their career.
Notorious might be my favorite of his, though I do enjoy all of your faves immensely too. Honorable mention goes to Rope, which falls just outside the 51 to 61 era.
Seana,
I think Caine won Supporting Actor for The Cider House Rules. Great actor. I think my favorite role of his is Peachy in The Man Who Would Be King.
Adrian:
Nothing to add here, except that Frenzy is also well worth a screening anytime. For my money right up there with the best, but lacking Stewart or Grant, of course.
I imagine I could do some kind of segue here (like a reference to Wainright's "Music Is A Mother To Me," below, but I will just veer right off-topic and offer my Mother's Day Mix, days late (and many dollars) behind.
For any anti-sentimentalists and skeptics who scan this, be informed that my playlists are 100% foolproof and guaranteed to satisfy anyone with ears. It doesn't matter what you think you like or don't. So, as always, get 'em, stack 'em up, and listen in the order prescribed. Pleasure and edification automatically follow.
Oh, and yes, I am aware that there are two versions of Amazing Grace on this list. They are about as different as Man-O-War and Mr. Ed. You could get through life without the Aaron Neville version, though I wouldn't want to, but the Fred McDowell version, sung with the ladies of the local church choir, is about as perfect as music gets. If you download anything on this list, get that one. Oddly, this is the tun that jumped into my brain when Michael gets up at the end of The Dead Yard. No sense to it. Just one of those abstractions.
1. "Mother Love," by Martin Simpson
2. "Amazing Grace," by Aaron Neville
3. "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot," by Buffy Sainte-Marie
4. "Mother," by Shelby Lynne
5. "Mother's Children Have a Hard Time," by Blind Willie Johnson
6. "I Didn't Know My Mother Had a Son Like Me," by Buddy Guy
7. "Movies Are A Mother To Me," Louden Wainwright III
8. "Up Against The Wall, Redneck Mother," by Cracker
9. "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child," by Jimmy Scott
10. "My Mother Is Mine," by Liz Phair
11. "Scream," by A Mother's Anger
12. "That Was Your Mother," by Paul Simon
13. "Mother Bowed," by The Pilgrim Travelers
14. "Mother Hubbard's Blues," by Ray Wylie Hubbard
15. "Mothers Of The Night," by Moby
16. "Sisters Of Mercy," by Leonard Cohen
17. "If You Tolerate This, Your Children Will Be Next," by Manic Street Preachers
18. "Calling My Children Home," by Emmylou Harris
19. "Little Wheel Spin and Spin," by Buffy Sainte-Marie
20. "Amazing Grace," by Mississippi Fred McDowell
Brian
Rope's another great one, much imitated. Welles gets a lot of credit for his long takes in Touch of Evil but what about those takes in Rope?
Here's an almost related story. I was once in the office of a powerful woman in the publishing business. We were idly chatting and she mentioned that the day before her friend's house had been broken into, but the burglar had left behind his sunglasses and the cops were dusting them for prints. "You should have them check to see if they're prescription, I think that's how they caught Leopold and Loeb," I said. "Who?" she asked. She had never heard of Leopold and Loeb. I tried to explain by talking about Rope and Alfred Hitchcock and she hadn't heard of Rope either. She had heard of Hitchcock but she "had only seen the TV show."
Patrick
Segues are always welcome. Except the vehicles. Wait arent they called Segways? And they're welcome too when they're driven by GOB from Arrested Development.
Nice list as usual.
Good dig out from Graceland there.
And BTW here's another segue but also a link didn't one of the Manics jump off the Severn Bridge, a bridge modelled on the Golden Gate which Kim Novak decided not to jump off near the start of Vertigo?
I never thought of it as 'rooting" for Anthony Perkins, but, now that I think about it, those few seconds where it's conceivable the car might not sink is one of the great, "Oh shit" moments in movie history.
Your story about the publishing person who didnt know Hitchcock except from TV reminds me of a story Robert B. Parker told at a signing I attended. He and his agent had pitched a Western he'd written to some young woman movie executive. She listened, then said, "That all sounds pretty good, but who's this Wyatt Earp guy?"
Seana
He's good isnt he? He also won for Hannah and Her Sisters - Woody's last really really funny film.
fav M Caine roles:
Zulu
The Ipcress File
The Italian Job
Get Carter
Sleuth
The Man Who Would Be King
Hannah and Her Sisters
and, er, least favourite later roles:
Jaws IV
Blame it on Rio
Dana
Thats pretty horrifying but I can well believe it. Memories are fading fast. Its a shame. To get into the Fianna you had to flawlessly recite 1000 lines of poetry while men in kilts threw spears at you.
Back to Hitch I like the fact that we're also kind of rooting for Bruno too at the fairground in Strangers on a Train.
Adrian Ah, yes...well, I don't think anybody has a clue what happened to Richie Edwards. His car was found under the Severn Bridge, but his body was not. Story I have is that he wanted a new life, took whatever he'd pieced together from the Manics' success, and chucked it for India or Malaysia. Don't you just love a mystery?
Adrian: Oh, and uno mas: I second that nomination of Rope. My personal favorite.
PKL
my playlists are 100% foolproof and guaranteed to satisfy anyone with ears. It doesn't matter what you think you like or don't. So, as always, get 'em, stack 'em up, and listen in the order prescribed. Pleasure and edification automatically follow.
:) :) :)
Eclectic as always, from Manic Street Preachers to Buffy St.Marie.
I would have added Cowboy Junkies' Musical Key from Lay It Down. Loved that song.
As a pop-culture nerd, I'll mention that Madeline Pryor was the name of the - is she or isn't she - reincarnation of Jean Grey in Claremont's X-Men and the Italian collective Wu Ming wrote a novel, 54 , starring Cary Grant just before the filming of To Catch a Thief.
Adrian,
What's the name, address, email, phone number of this person in the publishing industry? Just kidding.
Cool story. It's a shame she only knew Hitch through the TV show, which I heard was pretty decent.
And yeah, Rope is one "continuous" shot that everybody seems to forget about. I remember reading something about what an amazing job they did with the lighting in Rope to show the passage of ninety minutes in the apartment.
Oh, and one little encore, Adrian, which I know you will absolutely treasure. Someone in my universe sent me a link today for a You Tube video starring your favorite reciting a tribute poem to Elvis entitled American David. Oh, my. I know I have this personal boundary on criticism of anyone's art or attempt thereto, so wow is all I can say. Anyway, Adrian, if you have not had the pleasure, enjoy.
I tried to watch Rear Window one day but man, it's really slow going. Regrettably, I never finished it. But it seems to be on TCM all the time so I'm sure I'll strap myself down to a chair one of these days and watch the thing. Have you seen Derailed? Very modern Hitchcokian. It's got one of my favorite actors in it, Vincent Cassel, y'know, the only guy worthy enough of being married to the one and only Monica Bellucci.
Marco: I believe you are right about that CJs song...
fits right in.
Liam: One man's slow going is another's golden glowing.
Patrick
Lets hope he didnt kill himself. Jumping off bridges is a very stupid thing. I saw that pseudo exploitation documentary (I forget the name) about suicide from the Golden Gate and it's a very very unpleasant way to go, in most cases not instantaneous and yes you do drown but in your own blood from your smashed up internal organs.
Brian
Thats not the worst thing I've ever heard from people "in the biz" nope not by a long way.
Marco
That sounds very interesting. Good old Archie.
Liam
Give it time. Pour yourself a glass of your favorite beverage and let it wash over you like Grace Kelly's smile.
I liked Derailed. Nice twist. Didnt see it coming. A bit of a dodgy ending which didnt spoil it for me because the rest was good. I liked Aniston a lot, maybe the only time I've liked her in anything.
PKL,
Yeah, I'm definitely slow going and Adrian's definitely golden glowing. But, I guess maybe I'm glowing now too because school's out for summer and I have nothing on my agenda except for Fifty Grand.
Adrian,
It's a sunny day in Laramie so I'm going to backyard with a book called Fifty Grand. Ever heard of it? I'm stoked to be able to get back to it, and I'm looking forward to reviewing it on Amazon. I ever tell you did a review for DIWMB on Amazon? Two years ago, just before the release of Bloomsday I believe.
Liam: Adrian will definitely be glowing when he catches that 2 minute vid on You Tube of Bono reading his opus called American David. But it won't be golden...
Patrick
You know I appreciate your sentiment about not dissing someone's else art, but Jesus Christ that guy is a major tool. A billionaire hypocrite self important, lying asshole. Its not even the poem, its the bloody arrogance.
The sad thing is 100 years from now when we're all dust and utterly forgotten Bono's going to be studied as somehow the exemplar of our era.
Liam
I remember that and I appreciate it. I generally check the Amazon reviews once a week or so. There was a two star review of Dead Yard that got my goat last week, he said something like "I really loved this book but they gave me two disc 7's and no disc 9, so thats why I'm giving it two stars."
I mean what can you do in the face of that?
what a douchebag reviewer. get a clue.
Adrian: Well the poem is certainly a reflection of the poet. I love this non-review with comments behind the highlights....HERE
I don't know how receiving the wrong discs as anything to do with validity of your story. That's pretty bad. Just go buy the freaking book and read it instead of hearing 3/4 of it on audio and giving it a bad review. Sucks, man.
Anyway, I'm just now starting chapter 8 in Fitty. Paul Youkilis. Hmmm. Any relation to Kevin? Stevie Wonder could see you're a Red Sox fan. Nice, very nice.
Loving it so far, for sure.
HB
I wouldnt go far but it doesnt seem fair that he takes out his issues with amazon on me.
Patrick
Ugh, I dont know, man, I was listening to the radio today and someone was talking about Bono and Bob Dylan comparing BD unfavourably with B. Thems the kind of comments that cause car accidents.
Liam
Manny Ramirez - now that's a douchebag.
Adrian:
That's amazing.
Well, you know, somehow I don't think Bob fears getting cut by Bono in either the integrity or songwriting competition.
Dylan has turned in a pretty damn good first volume in his memoir series, and I think it compares very well with Bono's prodigious NYT output. Not to mention lots and lots of great songs that people have been listening to for the last fifty years.
However, this does once again demonstrate that just because they let you express your opinion in the media doesn't mean you really know anything about anything.
I wasn't that big a fan of Michael Caine back in his prime--he seemed to get by a lot on looks and charm and a certain gangsterish persona that appeals to a lot of people but not to me. Although even back then, The Wrong Box was a big favorite with my family.
But he's really grown on me in recent years, and I do a bit of retroactive revision, because I realize that he has always been a working actor who took the craft seriously. Some roles just came easy to him. Or he made them appear easy.
My favorites would be:
The Quiet American
Last Orders
The Statement
and of course Is Anybody There?
And as to Hitchcock, it's pretty interesting that Grace Kelly had such a hard time with the fellas in Hitchcock's movies. Maybe that's why he never got an Oscar. Some of his storylines--ie, the ones with Grace Kelly--were just too unbelievable to be rewarded.
Patrick
Whenever we meet up remind me to tell you the tragic story of the signed copy of Dylan's memoirs that I was forced to return because it was sent to me by mistake. Like a complete fool I returned it.
Seana
You gotta be kidding me? Have you seen Get Carter, The Ipcress File, The Italian Job - that aint sleeze baby that's cool.
No, I said I wasn't. I didn't like the Rat Pack either. I appreciate the early Caine better now. I still think that as he got older, it became easier to see him as a gifted actor, rather than just a personification of cool.
Here's one that I haven't seen and hadn't heard of till I looked up his credits--Michael Caine playing Alan Brent in Kidnapped!
Adrian:
Don't you just hate it when you are presented with one of those moments where honesty just has to win out over larceny? Even if it kills you?
But, hey, you always will have one of those "one that got away" stories here. And a signed first edition Dylan memoir is a somewhat bigger fish than most!
Patrick
No, in fact it was one of the stupidest moves I ever made in my life. Maybe the stupidest. There's a time for honesty and a time to say "I'm sorry I dont know what you're talking about" especially when its with the publishers who wont bring DIWMB back into print despite repeated requests.
Seana
have you seen Sleuth - its really very nice work from the two lads.
I liked Alfie too.
I saw Sleuth long enough ago that it would be as if new, but I did enjoy it. I never saw Alfie for some reason, though I did see the Jude Law remake, which should have been good but wasn't particularly.
As for the Dylan book, you probably saved yourself all kinds of karmic cycles of rebirth with that right action. Wish I had a Dylan book that I could give to its rightful owner because I have some work ahead otherwise if I judge rightly.
rear window's got to be my fave too... fell in love with it during a bbc series of jimmy stewart classics in the 90s... love it! x
Anna Marie
If RW could be improved I'd like to know how. It might be the perfect film.
Post a Comment