the Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

This is the one. The post I’ve been leading to. When I started my “the Directors” column in 2009, I knew that covering the great Alfred Hitchcock was a necessity, no matter how long it took. I’ve been chipping away at Hitch’s filmography for a good long while, and below is what I (finally) have to report. I do hope you enjoy my thoughts on every film by the Master of Suspense, and feel free to share your favorite Hitch films as well!

The Pleasure Garden (1925)

The main takeaway from The Pleasure Garden is its musical score, which is some of the most obnoxious music I can recall hearing in a film. The film itself tells a somewhat whimsical tale of unrequited love, set mostly in and around a showgirl theater. And while there are bold aspects of The Pleasure Garden that I appreciated (a drowning scene is particularly brave for the time period), there’s really no pressing reason to see this film, other than because it was Hitchcock’s first. D+

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

Hitchcock always considered The Lodger to be the first “Alfred Hitchcock” film. And it’s easy to see why. The film, clearly taking notes from popular German Expression films of the era, is notable for its use of shadows, unique angles, and exciting parallel action. The movie is a wrong-man-on-the-run thriller in which a creepy lodger (a superb Ivor Novello) is suspected by his landlord of being a serial killer. The film’s closing sequence, in which a lynch mob chases the lodger on the dark and foggy streets of England, represents some of Hitchcock’s finest early work. B

Downhill (1927)

After being thrown out of boarding school for a theft he didn’t commit, Roddy returns home and is tossed out by his ashamed father. Roddy soon gains and loses a large sum of money, becomes a gigolo in Paris and continues to spiral downhill for the remainder of the film. The copy of Downhill I watched was a completely silent version – no dialogue, no sound effects, no musical score. This made for a rather laborious watch, which doesn’t bode well for a film clocking in at 73 minutes. Still, Hitchcock’s early flair is on display here. He does some very interesting things with crossfades, reverse angles and stark shadows. But like many of Hitchcock’s silent films, I can only recommend Downhill to Hitchcock completists. C-

Easy Virtue (1928)

In the midst of a woman denying the sexual advances of a painter, the woman’s drunk husband catches them and immediately files for divorce on grounds of adultery. Once the divorce is final, the woman flees to France to escape being branded as a woman of “easy virtue” from those who know her. She meets a man, falls in love, but the man’s family is suspicious of her past. Easy Virtue is only a decent film, but Hitchcock’s insistence on telling a raw, unflattering love story should not be overlooked. B-

The Ring (1927)

The Ring is about two boxers vying for the love of one woman. There’s really nothing to note about the film except the epic boxing fight it concludes with. The fight could be my favorite scene of Hitchcock’s early career. The romantic entanglement of the bout is obvious (whoever wins gets the girl), but no less endearing. And Hitch’s skill of capturing a pound-for-pound boxing match is a thrill to watch. B-

The Farmer’s Wife (1928)

A lonely farmer named Samuel Sweetland (whatta name) is distraught when his wife dies and his only daughter marries and leaves home. He soon enlists the help of one of his servants to find him a new wife. The Farmer’s Wife has a sweet premise, but it isn’t a very interesting thematic experience. Still, if you can last for its full 97 minutes, the ending is perfectly well earned. C

Champagne (1928)

In Champagne, a spoiled rich brat uses her daddy’s fortune from his champagne business to fuel her lavish lifestyle. Her father, having lost his patience for his daughter, pretends to lose his entire net worth, just to teach his daughter a lesson. Love and loyalty come into play, as does a mysterious man who seems to be following the girl. While it’s refreshing to see such light Hitchcock, Champagne is ultimately far too slight. Another film for Hitchcock completists only. D

The Manxman (1929)

The Manxman is a love triangle film that Hitch himself hated. He once told François Truffaut that “the only point of interest about that movie is that it was my last silent one.” Interestingly, the film was shot almost entirely on the island of Polperro, which marks one of Hitchcock’s rare departures from the security of a studio lot. C-

Blackmail (1929)

Blackmail was Hitchcock’s first talkie, and of Hitch’s early films (that is, pre-The Man Who Wasn’t There), Blackmail is my favorite. For 1929, it’s a damn risqué film, using themes of infidelity, sexual assault, and, of course, blackmail to tell its tale. The plot is about a young woman who kills the man she’s about to have an affair with. The cop assigned to the case turns out to be her actual boyfriend, and round and round they go. B

Juno and the Paycock (1930)

The lives of a down-and-out Irish family change drastically when they inherit a great deal of money. They celebrate and spend like crazy, all before receiving a dime of the inheritance. And when it appears that the money may not actually come through, the family is sent into greater disarray than ever before. Juno and the Paycock has good intentions, but it’s ultimately lost among Hitch’s vast filmography. D+

Murder! (1930)

Murder! marks Hitch’s first great use of sound. Though at times, it feels like deafening sounds are included simply because they can be. But this is only a minor annoyance, as much of the sound used in Murder! is technically proficient. The film, about a juror who investigates if a woman he just deemed guilty of murder is indeed guilty, is totally decent early Hitchcock fare. B-

The Skin Game (1931)

Two families battle over local land. The Hornblowers are buying up land and kicking farmers out to make room for factories, while the Hillcrists want to keep the farming culture intact. Blackmail comes into play and deals are struck to keep vital information a secret. Perhaps best remembered for its central auction scene, The Skin Game moves at a brisk pace, but isn’t a film worthy of revisiting. C+

Mary (1931)

Mary is a German remake of Hitchcock’s Murder!, shot at the same time as that film, using the same exact sets. This German version is 25 minutes shorter than the original film, but it is a far inferior effort than Murder! To be fair, the only copy of Mary I’ve seen came with very poor English subtitles. But while I may not have understood every word, Mary’s use of sound is amateurish (at best) to Murder’s. D

Rich and Strange (1931)

Bored with their average lives, Fred and Emily are told that an uncle will give them an advance on their inheritance, so that they can enjoy life right now. They use the money to go on a cruise and explore the world. Conflict soon arises, everything from seasickness to gold digging princesses. Rich and Strange is the epitome of slight Hitchcock. There’s really no reason to give this one a go. D

Number Seventeen (1932)

Number Seventeen is a thriller about a handful of people – jewel thieves, detectives, innocent bystanders, nosy neighbors – who battle it out in a house for 65 minutes. The plot is overly complicated, the editing is needlessly frantic, and, above all, Number Seventeen isn’t half as interesting as it intends to be. The concluding train scene is a little fun, but overall, this is a failed early effort from Hitchcock. D

Waltzes from Vienna (1934)

A musical about Johann Strauss creating his famed “The Blue Danube” doesn’t sound like a bad idea for a film. And while it’s a thrill to watch the Strauss character attempt to create his masterpiece, the movie is tedious and dull, and its central love story is seriously lacking. There’s a reason Hitchcock considered Waltzes from Vienna the worst film he ever made. D

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

While competing in Olympic-type games in Sweden, a married couple meets a stranger and forms a quick bond. That evening, the wife witnesses the stranger’s assassination. He passes her information before dying, and, as a result, thugs kidnap the married couple’s daughter in order to ensure their silence. Peter Lorre is great as the head villain, but the movie is best known for the climatic shootout that ends the picture. It’s a thrilling sequence, arguably the best scene in a Hitchcock film up until that point. Very clear why this was one of Hitch’s most revered efforts in Britain. B+

The 39 Steps (1935)

Early in The 39 Steps, Richard Hanney (Robert Donat) invites a woman back to his apartment, where she informs him that she is a spy, and casually warns him of something called “the 39 steps.” The woman is murdered that night, and Hanney is the main suspect. He flees and travels across Europe in order to clear his name and discover the meaning of the 39 Steps.

The dialogue is great, Donat is terrific and at 86 minutes, the movie cruises by. Story wise, The 39 Steps is pure Hitchcock, but his technical flourishes are all over this thing as well. Dutch angles, inventive insert shots – it’s a damn solid film. Essential Hitch. A-

Secret Agent (1936)

British captain, Edgar Brodie, comes home from WWI to discover that he is assumed dead in the press. To capitalize on this, Brodie is asked to execute a top secret mission and kill a German agent. Brodie arrives in Switzerland with a new identity and a fake wife (Madeleine Carroll) to help him complete the task. Secret Agent is best worth remembering for its chemistry between Carroll and Robert Young, a flirtatious gentleman also involved in the scheme. They have a rat-a-tat-tat rapport that is incredibly enjoyable. B

Sabotage (1936)

You’ve likely heard Hitchcock’s famous description of thrill vs. suspense. Scenario one: imagine a scene where two men sit in an office and talk. After five minutes, the office explodes. That’s thrilling. Scenario two: Imagine the same scene, but in the middle of the conversation, we cut to a shot of a bomb under the desk. For the rest of the scene, the audience is fearful of what may happen. That’s suspense.

Sabotage contains a key moment that plays out scenario two wonderfully. As a young kid unwillingly transports a bomb on a packed bus, we sit and watch in horror, expecting the worst. It’s a signature suspense moment of Hitch’s career. (Also, fans of Inglourious Basterds may appreciate the Sabotage reference found within Quentin Tarantino’s film.) B+

Young and Innocent (1937)

Robert notices the dead body of a young woman on a beach, and because he flees the scene (to get help), Robert is soon implicated in the murder. While not without its spirited moments, Young and Innocent has a cookie-cutter plot that fits a number of Hitch’s lesser films. Then the final scene comes. In that scene, one long, unbroken tracking shot occurs in which we start on a second floor landing, and make our way down to a close-up that finally reveals who the killer is. It’s a joy to watch now, and in 1937, it must have been astonishing. The film: C, that shot: A+

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Much of The Lady Vanishes is set on a large commuter train. A young woman named Iris befriends the older Miss Froy; they talk and have tea together before retiring for the evening. When Iris wakes up the next day, Miss Froy is nowhere to be found. Moreover, no one on the train remembers seeing, meeting, or talking to Miss Froy. This is an interesting premise for a movie, one we’ve seen copied since. But in going back to the source, it’s clear that Hitch has a lot of fun with the concept. The main problem is that once the mystery of the missing Miss Froy subsides, the film is weighed down with too much subplot. Essentially, the first half of the movie is far more interesting than the second. Still, it’s easy to see why this is one of Hitchcock’s most admired early films. B

Jamaica Inn (1939)

A group of thieves force ships to wreck, and then kill everyone and steal everything on board. Matters are complicated when it’s revealed that a local justice for peace (Charles Laughton, in full hammed-up mode) is the man who secretly leads the gang. Jamaica Inn is a phony thriller that hopes its double and triple crosses are enough to keep us interested. Sadly, it’s one of the most boring films Hitchcock ever made. D

Rebecca (1940)

Shortly after a kind and innocent unnamed woman (Joan Fontaine) meets the rich and foreboding Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), the two get married and start a life together at Maxim’s large English estate. But as our heroine soon learns, there is a latent danger lurking all around her. Maxim’s recently deceased first wife, Rebecca, died under suspicious circumstances, which still greatly affects Maxim, and his cold-as-ice housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson). What sets Rebecca apart is its honest depiction of emotional torment. Fontaine is surrounded by dark and dangerous people, but she can’t find the means to escape. Rebecca is classic Hitch, and even today, Fontaine’s Oscar loss for Best Actress is baffling. A-

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

A brazen American reporter is sent to Europe to cover WWII. Within minutes of arriving, he becomes involved in a complex web of spies and lies, traitors and crooks. He quickly falls for the bad guy’s daughter and tries his best to save himself and his woman from the mess he’s entangled himself in.

Foreign Correspondent may not have as Hitchcockian a vibe as Rebecca (which won Best Picture over Foreign Correspondent in 1940), but it’s one of the most fun films of Hitch’s early work. And its closing plane crash sequence is exceptional. If nothing else, Hitch really knew how to end a film. B+

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Mrs. Smith asks Mr. Smith if he could go do it all over again, would he actually marry her. He cautiously replies no, saying that a man changes when he gets married, and he would prefer to be single. In the next scene we realize that due to a minor technicality, Mr. and Mrs. Smith actually aren’t legally married. Mrs. Smith anxiously waits for her husband to ask her to officially marry, but when he doesn’t, she throws him out. While not without it’s fun moments (a trip to the fair turns into an amusing disaster), this is slight Hitchcock at best. It’s tedious, overly long (a bad sign, considering its 95-minute run time), and obvious as to where it’s going. C

Suspicion (1941)

Lina (Joan Fontaine) is a young woman from a wealthy family who meets a mischievous playboy named Johnnie (Cary Grant). Though Lina’s father doesn’t approve, Lina and Johnnie quickly marry, and she soon discovers that Johnnie is not the man he said he was. He’s a degenerate gambler with no job and plenty of debt. On top of all that, Lina suspects that Johnnie could be trying to kill her in an attempt to cash in on her life insurance policy. Suspicion won Fontaine the Oscar (which many considered the Academy trying to save face for her Rebecca snub), but nothing saves the film from its lame conclusion. Suspicion is certainly worth it, but its finale keeps it out of Hitch’s finest work. B-

Saboteur (1942)

Saboteur begins with an aircraft hangar going up in flames. A good old boy named Barry Kane is accused of starting the fire, which claimed the life of his friend. Knowing that a strange blonde man named Fry is the actual culprit of the fire, Kane runs from authorities and chases Fry across the country. His journey takes him from Los Angeles to New York, through the desert to the top of the Statue of Liberty. He meets strangers along the way (some kind, others cruel), falls into and out of police custody; it’s a classic man-on-the-run Hitchcock thriller. And the closing sequence, set atop Lady Liberty herself, is one of the best sequences of Hitch’s career. B+

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Charlie (Teresa Wright) suspects that her visiting uncle, also named Charlie (Joseph Cotten), is a serial killer hiding from the police. And once Uncle Charlie gets wind of his niece’s suspicions, the already excellent Shadow of a Doubt takes on a new dynamic of Did He or Didn’t He. The film is best remembered for its two excellent lead performances, as both Wright and Cotten have arguably never been better. The film’s best scene is its exciting conclusion on a high speed train. Because Cotten inhabits the creepy uncle role to such great effect, you fear that Uncle Charlie is capable of the worst during that sequence. And the film’s bold denouement is cynical in that perfect Hitchcock way. A

Lifeboat (1944)

After a battle between an allied ship and a German U-boat, a handful of allied civilians manage to get aboard a lifeboat. Shortly after, they rescue a survivor from the U-boat and argue about what to do with him. The entirety of Lifeboat takes place on the small boat itself, which is the most impressive aspect of the film. I give Hitchcock credit for limiting his narrative to such an enclosed space, but the film’s 96 minute running time is a real patience tester. B-

Spellbound (1945)

An emotionally cold doctor (Ingrid Bergman) is delighted when a young doctor (Gregory Peck) begins working at her hospital. The two form a tender romance, all while Peck’s strange behavior makes it clear that he isn’t who he says he is. Peck flees the institution, but Bergman soon finds him, only to discover he’s suffering from amnesia.

While Spellbound is considered by many to be near-classic Hitchcock, several scenes take too long to arrive at their point, resulting in a film that’s far longer than it needs to be. Though the Salvador Dalí-designed scene where Peck is psychoanalyzed is a real trip. It single-handedly makes the film worth it. B-

Notorious (1946)

Notorious is Alfred Hitchcock’s first true, uncontested masterpiece. Government agent T. R. Devlin (Cary Grant) enlists Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the American daughter of a convicted Nazi spy, to infiltrate a Nazi group located in Rio de Janeiro. Alicia’s main assignment is to get close to Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains), an old friend of her father. Before matters are fully underway, Devlin and Alicia fall in love, which makes Alicia’s assignment that much more difficult.

Grant and Bergman present one of the finest romances in cinema history (their infamous two and a half minute non-kiss kiss is one for the ages), while Claude Rains inhabits one of the best and sleaziest villains Hitchcock ever captured. Simply writing about this film makes me want to stop everything and watch it again. I so love unveiling its mystery and being taken by its charm. A+

The Paradine Case (1947)

Maddalena Anna Paradine, is accused of killing her blind husband, and it’s up to her attorney, Anthony Keane, to clear her in court. The first half of the film deals with Keane’s investigation on Paradine. Did she kill her lover, or is she an innocent pawn? When the court case takes over, the film becomes far less interesting, exploiting every court room cliché there is. Ultimately, The Paradine Case would’ve been better off discovering the truths of the crime in the field, as opposed to a court room. C+

Rope (1948)

Rope is set in a high rise Manhattan apartment and appears to take place in just a few long takes. In truth, the film contains 10 cuts, most of which are hidden. Many critics have taken Rope to task for being style over substance, which is true to a degree. When Rope begins, two young yuppie assholes murder their classmate for the hell of it, hide the body in a large chest, then throw a dinner party. Again, the manner in which the film was achieved is more impressive than the actual film itself, but Rope is still fun to pick apart, both in story and execution. B+

Under Capricorn (1949)

Under Capricorn has the makings of a great Hitchcock film – love triangle, guilt, murder, addiction, deception – but holy hell is it boring. Hitch was still obviously interested in long takes (as he achieved masterfully in Rope), but here they mostly fall flat. One of the least Alfred Hitchcock films Alfred Hitchcock made. D+

Stage Fright (1950)

Stage Fright is worth seeking out for a delicious Marlene Dietrich performance, and its closing narrative twist. But that’s slim praise at best, as Dietrich’s villainess isn’t nearly as ruthless as she could be, and the twist pales in comparison to others found in Hitchcock’s work. The film is about a famed actress who murders her husband, her lover who cleans it up, and an innocent girl who is caught in the middle. Dietrich makes the film worth it, even if Stage Fright remains lost among Hitch’s vast filmography. C

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Two men meet on a train and strike up a conversation. Guy (Farley Granger) is eager to divorce his wife so he can marry the woman he loves. Bruno (Robert Walker) wants to kill his father because Bruno is, well, batshit crazy. Bruno pitches an idea: he’ll kill Guy’s wife, and Guy will kill Bruno’s father. Their motives will be impossible to track, and they’ll both easily get away with their crimes. Guy freaks out and bails, but Bruno refuses to go away. Strangers on a Train is an ace Hitchcock thriller with two excellent lead performances. And its exciting conclusion (set on a carousel) remains one of Hitch’s best set pieces. A

I Confess (1953)

In a robbery gone wrong, Otto Keller accidentally kills a corrupt lawyer, Villette. Otto quickly confesses his sin to his priest, Father Logan (Montgomery Clift). Logan refuses to divulge any information about the case, and subsequently becomes the police’s main suspect. Putting my favorite all-time actor, Montgomery Clift, in a Hitchcock film seemed like a genius idea. Sadly, Hitchcock loathed the Method acting style, and had difficulty working with performers like Clift who practiced it. I Confess is good enough, but this collaboration could’ve been explored to better results. B-

Dial M for Murder (1954)

Early in Dial M for Murder, a husband (Ray Milland) blackmails a former classmate into killing his adulterous wife (Grace Kelly). The husband spends a lot of time explaining how the murderer should enter the apartment, how he should kill the wife, how he should leave, etc. After the murder is botched and the wife ends up killing the murderer in self-defense, everyone in the film (except the husband) attempts to figure out how and why this crime went down.

The entire movie falls on Milland’s shoulders. He spends most of the picture listening to people try to uncover his plot, and it’s up to him to sell us on the suspense of the situation. Because we know why he wanted his wife dead, the only mystery left in the film is if the husband will get away with it. I like Dial M for Murder well and good, but I’ve always felt it could arrive at its conclusion a little sooner. After all, Hitchcock’s films do have a tendency to over explain themselves. B+

Rear Window (1954)

No matter how many times I revisit Rear Window, its effect is never lessened. Set almost entirely inside a Greenwich Village apartment, Rear Window wisely never leaves the claustrophobic perspective of its hero, Jeff Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart). We’re stuck there with him. So when he suspects that his neighbor, Lars Thorwald, may have killed his own wife, it’s as if we’re discovering the crime with him. It’s a great marriage of film and audience participation – we understand Jeff’s obsession with Thorwald because we’re living it out too. Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock at his absolute best. Certainly one of the finest suspense thrillers ever made. A+

To Catch a Thief (1955)

An infamous (but now retired) jewel thief, John Robie (Cary Grant,) is accused of several thefts at the French Riviera. To prove his innocence, he elects to find the new thief himself, befriending a wealthy jewel owner (Jessie Royce Landis) and her daughter (Grace Kelly) in the process. To Catch a Thief is a cheeky cat and mouse flick that may, at times, be a little too cute for its own good. But Robert Burks’ gorgeous, Oscar-winning cinematography is a Technicolor wonder. The look of this film makes you want to travel to the French Riviera immediately. B-

The Trouble with Harry (1955)

The Trouble with Harry is a pitch black comedy about a group of townspeople (including a baby-faced Shirley MacLaine) who discover a dead body and debate what to do with it. No one knows who killed poor old Harry Worp, but each person thinks they inadvertently had something to do with it. The humor of the film’s first half is the highlight of the movie. In one scene, two characters talk at great length about which direction Harry’s grave should face. One argues it’d be nice if it faced west, so “Harry can watch the setting sun.” That’s Hitch’s humor at its best, which is sorely lost once a cranky detective starts to investigate Harry’s disappearance later in the film. B

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Here’s a bigger, longer, more polished remake of Hitchcock’s own film from 1934. And while the plot is more or less the same, this version is too bloated for me to fully get on board with. The original film breezes by, occupying its 75 minutes with intense drama and a final, thrillingly-earned gun fight. Watching this remake, it feels like its struggling to fill its two hour running time. Although the remake was a much more successful film, thanks to Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day’s starring roles, my heart will always be with the original. B-

The Wrong Man (1956)

Henry Fonda (in one of his best roles) stars as a caring but poor musician wrongfully accused of committing a robbery. The accusation quickly threatens to ruin his life and the life of his family, namely his unstable wife. This is one of Hitchcock’s only films that is based on a true story (as the director informs the audience in the beginning of the film), and it’s also one of his best. I hadn’t seen The Wrong Man before researching this post, but I loved everything about it. It deserves to be ranked among Hitch’s finest work. A

Vertigo (1958)

You have to watch Vertigo a few times to even begin to get it. That lack of audience indulgence, of refusing to hold our hands and explain things, was so rare for an American film made in the ‘50s. Because of this, Vertigo was a critical and financial failure upon its release. But all great films take time to bloom, and its recent Sight & Sound ranking as the best film ever made has ushered in a whole new audience. The film is a mystery wrapped in a puzzle, featuring career-best work from Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, and many might argue, Hitchcock himself. I’ll leave that for you to discover. A+

North by Northwest (1959)

Revisiting the wrong-man-on-the-run motif explored in much of his work, North by Northwest follows a man as he travels across America to clear his name of crimes he didn’t commit. After he’s mistaken for a government agent, Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant), is kidnapped and framed for murder. In his search for justice, Thornhill travels from New York to Chicago, from a dangerous crossroads near Indianapolis to the fatal peaks of Mount Rushmore. The extravagant set pieces in North by Northwest are what make the film one of Hitchcock’s most celebrated works. And James Mason and Martin Landua play some of Hitch’s all-time best goons. But it’s the playful ending of the film that I’m most fond of. Jump cut editing at its best. A-

Psycho (1960)

Psycho is one of my top 10 films of all time. I’ve seen this movie dozens upon dozens of times, and its appeal has never diminished. I love falling under the confused spell of Anthony Perkins’ Norman Bates, a performance so legendary that simply typing out the character’s name makes me want to put the film on immediately. Psycho is so confident in its story, so audacious in its execution, so lastingly good, that words fail to do it justice. For me, Psycho will always be the Alfred Hitchcock film. A+

The Birds (1963)

One of Hitch’s most uncompromisingly vicious films, The Birds is a monster horror film classic. One thing that makes this movie so lastingly compelling is that we never know why the birds terrorize Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) and the small northern California town she’s visiting. Much like Rear Window, The Birds puts us in the main characters’ shoes; we’re trying to figure out the mystery along with them, only this time, there really is no reasonable explanation. Hedren is great in the lead role, though knowing what she went through to deliver her performance is pretty damn upsetting. A-

Marnie (1964)

Marnie is the most fucked up Alfred Hitchcock movie that no one talks about (well, actually, it’s second to Frenzy, but still). I’ve written about Marnie a lot on this blog, always keeping plot details as sparse as possible, while encouraging everyone to check it out. The film is about an unsettled young woman (a career-best Tippi Hedren) who is racked with too many fears and phobias to count. But why? Marnie explores that question, while introducing a new suitor for its title character, played with terrifying menace by Sean Connery. This film deserves to be discussed a lot more among Hitchcock’s body of work. A-

Torn Curtain (1966)

An American rocket scientist (Paul Newman) travels to East Berlin, where it is revealed that he’s defecting to Germany. His fiancée (Julie Andrews) is none too pleased by this, but she soon learns he’s actually not a defector, but just pretending to be one in order to get German secrets for the American government. Torn Curtain has a lot going for it – great stars, interesting premise – but it’s dense, monotonous, and its two stars have an alarming lack of chemistry.

However, halfway through the movie, a grueling, four-minute long murder takes place that is one of the most intense deaths Hitchcock ever captured. Hitch intended to show how difficult it could be to actually kill someone, and he succeeded. Not to sound morbid, but it’s by far the best scene in the film. Unfortunately, that’s where the movie peaks, and it spends another 70 minutes slowly winding down. D+

Topaz (1969)

Topaz is a meandering mess, ranking among Hitch’s most failed efforts. The movie is about a Russian officer who deflects to the United States. Through the deflection, the Russian reveals that a secret French group (known as Topaz) is giving NATO secrets to the Russians. Hitchcock clearly tried to use the nuclear threat of the Cold War and the appeal of James Bond to make Topaz a success, but ultimately, this film is a disappointment, and a bloated one at that. D

Frenzy (1972)

Frenzy, Hitchcock’s first British film since Stage Fright in 1950, is the most violent film Hitch ever made. This flick doesn’t pull any punches; it’s a hard-R that many never knew Hitchcock had in him. The film’s plot concerns itself with a serial killer who rapes women and strangles them to death with neckties. Hitchcock shoots many of the murders up close and personal (while thankfully not showing the sexual assaults) and the result is truly shocking. Although never grotesque, the film’s violence crosses a line that seems to energize Hitchcock. It’s as if he wanted to capture something this severe for decades, but was only now allowed to. A

Family Plot (1976)

A fake psychic and her boyfriend try to locate the absent nephew of one of their older, more gullible clients. The client knows her nephew was up for adoption years ago, but wants to find him and appoint him as heir to her fortune. Little does she know that her nephew makes a living kidnapping people and holding them hostage for diamonds. Family Plot is a dark comedy, but a feeble one at best. It’s great to see the cast at play (no one chews scenery quite like William Deuvane), and the car “chase” is a lot of fun. It’s a slight film, but at 75 years old and 53 movies under his belt, Hitch was allowed to go out any way he saw fit. B-

In Summation

Masterful

Shadow of a Doubt 

Notorious 

Rear Window 

Vertigo 

Psycho 

Frenzy 

Great

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

The 39 Steps 

Rebecca 

Foreign Correspondent 

Saboteur 

Rope 

Strangers on a Train 

Dial M for Murder

The Wrong Man

North by Northwest 

The Birds

Marnie

Good

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog 

Easy Virtue 

The Ring 

Blackmail

Murder! 

Secret Agent 

Sabotage 

The Lady Vanishes

Suspicion 

Lifeboat

Spellbound 

I Confess

To Catch a Thief 

The Trouble with Harry 

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Family Plot

Eh

The Pleasure Garden 

Downhill 

The Farmer’s Wife 

Champagne 

The Manxman 

Juno and the Paycock 

The Skin Game 

Young and Innocent 

Mr. & Mrs. Smith 

The Paradine Case 

Under Capricorn 

Stage Fright

Torn Curtain

Just Plain Bad

Mary

Rich and Strange

Number Seventeen 

Waltzes from Vienna 

Jamaica Inn 

Topaz