Shadow Of A Doubt

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

In Shadow Of A Doubt, Joseph Cotten plays Uncle Charlie, a man running away from something, who ends up in the mid west, somewhere, with his extended family, including his niece, who is named after him (and played by Teresa Wright). When his namesake niece, Charlie, begins to discover information about her Uncle, things that reveal a very dark and dangerous side, Uncle Charlie begins to become a menace to the young girl, only confirming her suspicions.

I was a little worried about this one, because it just didn't seem very solid, but it turned out to be pretty good. Joseph Cotten is great as a man who has slid into evil. His menace is palpable, and Teresa Wright's concern for her own life seems authentic. She's scared, there's no doubt. The supporting cast is here and there, but Charlie's parent's and little sister do a good enough job.

North By Northwest

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Cary Grant returns to Hitchcock's universe as Roger Thornhill in North By Northwest. When Thornhill is caught up in a case of mistaken identity, his life is threatened, and he's forced into being a pawn for both sides of a game he never asked to play. Working against him is a man named Vandamm (James Mason), who is convinced that Thornhill is an operative, sent to spy on him. Thornhill ends up traveling from New York City to Mount Rushmore, with various stops along the way (and an assassination attempts), trying to solve the mystery of George Kaplan, the agent that Vandamm thinks Thornhill is.

There's zero you can complain about with North By Northwest, which feels like one of Hitchcock's best realized films. His scope runs across America, and he knows how to use major locals between the east coast and South Dakota to their maximum effect. The film is gorgeous, in all of its Technicolor-ish style, and Grant never ceases to be the man that, at least the male audience, wants to be. Mason is devilish, but real, and Eva Marie Saint plays the cool double cross VERY well. You never really know what side she's on.

To Catch A Thief

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

It's funny, because I remember seeing this on DVD a few years ago, and I went back and read my review of it, and I said something to the effect that it was a very "competent" film. Seeing it on the big screen (or, perhaps, it was the years distance) definitely changed my mind on this one. I think it's now one of my favorite Hitchcock's, along with Psycho.

To Catch A Thief s the story of a retired cat burglar, John Robie (Cary Grant), who must solve a rash of burglaries done in his old style in order to clear his name. No one believes him, but help comes in the way of Frances Stevens (Grace Kelly), a bored socialite who falls in love with Robie, and her mother Jessie (Jessica Royce Landis).

The acting, such as it is for the period is fantastic, and Kelly is the real stand out here. Every time I see her on screen, I'm reminded of what a travesty it was that her career was ended early. She seems so natural, she's almost weightless on screen. Hitchcock captures the French Riviera with flair, opulence, and rich cinematic tones. This truly is, I think, one of his best.

Suspicion

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

A charming young man, John Aysgarth (Cary Grant), woo's a young woman, Lina (Joan Fontaine) into marrying him. She soon finds out, though, that he isn't the person she thought he was, and she might be in grave danger.

Suspicion... I feel like a tool for saying this, but I just didn't like it. It was long. It really didn't feel like Lina was in danger, and it always felt like she could pretty much leave at any time, so... Call me a spoil sport, but I never bought into the idea that Cary Grant would ever play a cold blooded murderer, either. It just never felt like there were any real stakes, and, without giving anything away, it just felt like the whole thing was resolved at the snap of a finger, which was incredibly frustrating. You sit through almost two hours of Hitchcock building all of this up, and then one quick thing happens, and everything is cool again. No way... No dice.

Rebecca

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

How do you live up to a legacy of perfection? That is the question that forms the entire narrative thread for Hitchcock's Rebecca. One of his most universally revered films, and, probably, one of my least favorite of his "popular canon". Joan Fontaine plays a young common girl who meets a rich socialite, Max de Winter (Laurence Olivier), and marries him, only to find that his dead wife was the object of everyone's affection, primarily for her ability to be perfect at everything she did. How will the new Mrs. de Winter handle it? Will she buckle under the pressure? or set a different standard by which the deWinter house operates?

I've never particularly liked this film. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that this is one of the very few Hitchcock films that feels like anyone else could have made it. All of his films have his stamp all over them. When you see one, there's little denying it's a Hitchcock. Not so with Rebecca. The film is, at worst, mediocre, which is still more than you can say for a lot of films, but given that it is from a master, and especially during the period where he was TRULY establishing himself as such, here in America, you would think he would have found some way to do more than plop out a fairly pedestrian seeming adaptation. The theme is great, but the way he tackles it never suggests any real innovation or concern as to establishing how this picture fits into the broader scheme of Hitchcock.

The Lady Vanishes

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

In The Lady Vanishes, Iris (Margaret Lockwood) plays a young, privileged woman on a railroad trip home to marry her fiancee. The night before she leaves, she meets a nice, older woman, Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), and a carefree troublemaker named Gilbert (Michael Redgrave). Before boarding the train, a large object is accidentally dropped on her head, causing her lingering pain. Miss Froy sits with her on the train, and makes her feel comfortable enough to take a nap. When she wakes up, though, Miss Froy is gone, and no one seems to remember her ever being there in the first place. She has to enlist the help of Gilbert to help find Miss Froy, if, in fact, she exists at all.

Hitchcock really put a lot into this. It is equal parts comedy, suspense, and mystery. Because it is so many things at once, it can sometimes seem a little lop sided, but you notice it rarely. Everything in The Lady Vanishes is top notch, as is expected from a Hitchcock film, by this point in his career.

Secret Agent

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Set during World War 1, Secret Agent is the story of two English spies (John Gielgud and Madeleine Carroll) who are sent to Switzerland to track down and assassinate a German spy, with the help of another spy, a man known as "The General" (played by Peter Lorre). When the two English spies fall in love with each other, they begin to wonder if they have what it takes to carry out their mission.

Secret Agents is pretty taut. It doesn't feel like anything is wasted here, and I think that's what I like about it. It's a complex story, but Hitch keeps it as simple as he possibly can. Does love conquer all? and does it come before or after duty to country? and, when it comes to taking another persons life, how sure do you have to be that it's the right person before you pull that trigger?

A lot of interesting questions here.

The 39 Steps

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Robert Donat is Hannay, a Canadian visiting England, who decides to attend a show. When a riot breaks out at this show (along with gun shots), Hannay finds himself in the company of a mysterious woman who reveals that she is a spy, and some folks are after her. They take refuge in Hannay's apartment, but the next morning, he wakes to find the woman dead, and the evidence pointing to him. He takes off across the Queen's country to unravel the mystery this woman was trying to solve, and try to prove he didn't kill her.

Films of this era are always a toss up for me, but, for the most part I enjoyed The 39 Steps. It did feel a little slow, at times, but I tend to chalk that up to the filmmaking of the time. I wish I had more to say. It was good, but it was kind of "One and Done" for me.

Vertigo

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Vertigo is a mind jangling story of the supernatural. Or, perhaps, it's simply a story of the tricks a man's mind can play on him. Or, maybe, both? Jimmy Stewart teams up with Hitch one more time to play a retired police detective who is hired by an old friend to follow his wife around to see if she's going insane, or if the ghostly presence of a long dead relative has come back to possess her.

Vertigo is notable for a lot of things, namely some of the GORGEOUS shots of San Francisco, the color pallet used, the infamous stair case shot (accomplished by the camera operator pulling the camera up, while the zoom lens was simultaneously zoomed out), and, of course, Kim Novak as the drop dead gorgeous object of Stewart's affection. The film never misses a beat. Whereas I've felt like some of Hitch's films are oddly paced, Vertigo does not fit in that category. By this time, he has gotten past what I would call his "front load" phase, and now gotten into more balanced pictures. Vertigo is definitely on the must see list.

The Man Who Knew Too Much

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

A remake of one of his own, earlier, films, Alfred Hitchcock's Jimmy Stewart/Doris Day helmer The Man Who Knew Too Much is the inspired and calculated story of an average family on vacation, who, like many of Hitchcock's "average" characters, gets caught up in some kind of web of murder and intrigue. When Stewart and Day, as Mr. and Mrs. McKenna have information on an assassination attempt passed on to them by a dying man, their boy is kidnapped and ransomed for their silence. It's up to the McKenna's to try and get him back, and stop the assassination.

I think Jimmy Stewart was one of Hitch's greatest leading men. Even though he had a lot of that "Aww... Shucks" demeanor to him, he was believable in almost any role Hitch put him in, and he tried many. The story and acting are top notch, as always, though the use of Que Sera Sera got on my nerves (even though it would go on to be a hit, following its introduction in this film). There's really nothing to complain about, this film is part of Hitch's golden years.

Strangers On A Train

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Strangers On A Train is one of Hitchcock's best psychological thrillers. Farley Granger stars as Guy Haines, a tennis star, who meets the mysterious Bruno Antony (played by Robert Walker) on a train. Guy is in the midst of a love triangle, which Bruno knows about through tabloid magazines, and Bruno tries to entice Guy into a plot in which he will kill Guy's wife, if Guy kills Bruno's father. They both get what they want, the people in their lives that are holding them back are out of the picture. Guy, thinking it all a joke, laughs it off, and tells Bruno he's in, not realizing that Bruno goes through with his part of the plan. Now Guy must either kill Bruno's father, or go to jail for the murder of his wife.

Expertly constructed, Strangers On A Train is one Hitchcock film that is not to be missed. You can tell Hitchcock went all out on designing great shots to have, including one that takes place in the reflection of a pair of glasses. With large set pieces, including a major tennis match and a carnival, and a pretty amazing performance by Walker as a psychotic in sheeps clothing, the film is a classic. 

Blackmail and Murder! Double Feature

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Most average American's don't realize the fact that Alfred Hitchcock's career began in the silent cinema in England. The Belcourt showed two of his early sound films, Blackmail and Murder!. Both are fairly simple stories, Blackmail is about a woman who accidentally murders a man who is trying to take advantage of her. She runs from the scene, but not without a panhandler seeing her. She thinks she may have gotten away with it, with the help of her Scotland Yard detective boyfriend, but soon enough, the panhandler reappears, and he wants compensation to keep his mouth shut. Murder! feels like it may have been a partial inspiration for Twelve Angry Men. A woman is found murdered, most likely by the hand of her dazed and confused roommate. Even though he caves to the pressure, and votes her guilty, one of the members of the jury believes her to be innocent, and sets out on a quest to prove it.

I'm not a huge fan of pre-war filmmaking. I know that's sacrilege, but the era these are from is especially awful because, with the advent of sound technology, filmmakers literally had to redefine the way they made films. Everything seems clunky about them - the dialogue, the acting, the way that they're edited together. Both of them have good moments, but, as a whole, are a little difficult to watch.

Rear Window

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Rear Window is kind of amazing in that it almost pre-supposes things like reality TV. The whole premise of the movie is based on how much people are fascinated with other people's "normal" lives. Jimmy Stewart plays LB Jefferies, a photographer who has been injured and laid up in his apartment. He spends all of his time in a wheelchair, watching the lives of his neighbors, through their windows. One day, though, he thinks that he might have witnessed one of the neighbors, a man by the name of Thorwald (played by Raymond Burr) murder their wife.

Hitchcock does an amazing job at giving you the run around here. Most of the time, you're not quite sure whether Thorwald did it or not. Every time Jefferies seems to come up with some bit of evidence against him, there's evidence that say's he didn't do it. The more obsessed Jefferies becomes, the cloudier things get. I think it's an interesting comment, too, that he gets his girlfriend and nurse involved in the spying. They are both hesitant, at first, but eventually fall into the paranoia, much like a show like Honey Boo-Boo will start off with a few watchers, and balloon based on how many crazy and stupid things that little girl and her family can cram into an episode.

Rope

NOTE: This post is a review of a Hitchcock film that was seen projected on 35mm at the Belcourt Theater in Nashville, TN, as part of their Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense Series. These movies were not watched on DVD, but in a theater, projected on film.

Rope is one of my favorite Hitchcock films. I had seen it years and years ago on DVD, but had always wanted to see it on the big screen. Rope is the story of two post college grads, Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger), upper crust society types, who decide to try and commit the perfect murder by killing a "lesser" friend of theirs, right before a party in which his parents and girlfriend are some of the guests. They stuff his body into a large trunk that sits in the very living room they are entertaining their guests in. But the two can't seem to keep it together. Between Brandon's "it's written all over my face" non-gloating, and Phillip's paranoia, they tip off one of the party guests, Rupert (played by Jimmy Stewart) that something is wrong.

Rope was based on a stage play, and, I would imagine, is even more suspenseful in that arena. However, Hitchcock does a pretty amazing job at mining every bit of suspense and awkwardness that he can from the film. Often times thought of as one of Hitch's lesser films because of it's "single take" set up, the lack of cuts actually helps to keep the feel of watching a live play.

DVD - To Catch A Thief

Hitchcock is pretty reliable, and To Catch a Thief keeps the status quo. The film stars Cary Grant as John Robie aka The Cat, a retired master thief. When someone on the French Riviera begins stealing high dollar jewels using The Cat's old M.O., Robie has to come out of retirement in order to clear his name. Along the way, he meets the gorgeous and single Frances Stevens (played by the gorgeous Grace Kelly), and begins romancing her as a way to keep his cover while investigating the robberies.

The story for Thief is pretty basic, but enjoyable, and Grant and Kelly, as always, pull off great performances. Hitchcock does an amazing job at photographing the French Riviera for the exterior scenes, and making sure that all of the sound stage stuff matches with the look and feel. Although Thief is not one of his more well known films, overshadowed by his thrillers from the same era, it's still a reliably enjoyable piece of work.