Good evening... Hitchcock was no stranger to filming plays. His first one was the limp Juno And the Paycock, a depressing affair that was only made bearable by Sara Allgood. Almost a quarter of a century later, Hitch was feeling a little stagnant, so he decided to film another play, Dial M For Murder. Although it bears a … Continue reading Hitch Films Another Play
Shamedown #10: The Pleasure Garden
Happy Halloween! We're already in the double-digits with these Shamedowns, all...can you believe it? The year is going by FAST. As usual, if anyone is just joining us and wants to know what the heck a Shamedown is, CinemaShame's 2023 Call To Shame can be found here. My previous 2023 Shamedowns can be found here. … Continue reading Shamedown #10: The Pleasure Garden
Where’s Miss Froy?
Back to Britannia... In 1938 Alfred Hitchcock was really hitting his stride as a filmmaker, and The Lady Vanishes is a great example of his unique talent for presentation coming together. It was his next-to-last British film before moving to America and the next stage of his career. The movie starts in Bandrika, a fictional European country … Continue reading Where’s Miss Froy?
Hitch Films A Play
Good evening... Ever heard of Juno and the Paycock? Any Irish people reading this probably have, but the rest of us, not so much. I hadn't, either, although I've owned the movie for a couple of decades or so. That's what I get for buying a Hitchcock collection sight unseen from the bargain bin at Wal-Mart, … Continue reading Hitch Films A Play
Five Reasons To See “Vertigo”
Hello, Miss Kim... Vertigo is, of course, one of Alfred Hitchcock's iconic films. It's got James Stewart. It's got a blonde. Two, actually, because it also features the wonderful Barbara Bel Geddes as the loyal but passed-over Midge. It's got twists. It's got turns. It's got a gorgeous score by Bernard Herrmann. It's based on a … Continue reading Five Reasons To See “Vertigo”
Six Things You Might Not Know About “Psycho”
What in the world can that be? We all know 1960's Psycho is Alfred Hitchcock's most infamous movie. Even those who haven't seen the film feel like they have because that shower scene has been parodied and referenced ad nauseum over the past sixty years. Here's a famous example (one of several just in Simpsons … Continue reading Six Things You Might Not Know About “Psycho”
Is That You, Hitch?
Good evening (again)... Hitchcock had a long time to develop his trademark style. Before the taut mysteries and thrillers we all know and love, he accumulated a sizeable and assorted filmography. One of these was his 1928 British film, Champagne. It's so unlike what we think of as traditional Hitch that if anyone misses the opening … Continue reading Is That You, Hitch?
Bird Is the Word
Here we go... One of Alfred Hitchcock's most infamous films is the 1963 chiller, The Birds. Following the strafing of a seaside town by angry, murderous birds, it's commonly attributed to Daphne du Maurier's novella of the same name. However, there's much more as to how the film came to be. Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), … Continue reading Bird Is the Word
Step In Time
Hitch is back once more, people. Hitchcock's early period has always intrigued me. It was before he went to Hollywood, before he had big studio money behind him, and while he was still finding his footing as a filmmaker. One of his later newbie films is 1935's The 39 Steps. Our story begins at a theater, … Continue reading Step In Time
The Man We Knew When
I don't know what it is with some directors that they like to remake their own films. Cecil B. DeMille remade The Ten Commandments, for instance. Granted, one version was silent and one had sound, but they were still basically the same film. And of course, there's George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but they're more … Continue reading The Man We Knew When
Between Silence and Sound
Good evening... It's always fascinating to revisit the nascent stages of icons' careers, and Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most intriguing. Before we knew him as the director of Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, and other perennial classics of cinema history, Hitchcock was plugging away at making films in his native Britain, starting with silents and changing with … Continue reading Between Silence and Sound
Do You See What I See?
Good evening... (Well, it may not be evening when you read this, but you know how Hitchcock always said it on his TV show) Anyone who's familiar with the apartment life dynamic knows what happens when lots of people are literally living on top of each other: stories will accumulate. Lots of stories. Many of them can be … Continue reading Do You See What I See?
Taking Up Room 