Ranking Hitchcock
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- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.Secretary Janet Leigh absconds with $40 thousand in cash and drives to meet her lover. She ends up at the Bates Motel on a rainy night. Clerk Anthony Perkins offers her food, conversation and a room. His elderly mother lives in a Victorian mansion behind the hotel, and we hear them arguing about Leigh before she is brutally murdered by a shadowy figure while taking a shower. Leigh's sister and boyfriend show up a few days later looking for her, as does a private detective looking for the cash. Perkins, supposedly covering up for his mother, murders the detective when he gets too close to the truth, which turns out to be more shocking than anyone imagined. After the frenetic North by Northwest, Hitchcock returned to darker themes in this, his most notorious, and disturbing, film. It was shot in black and white and with a low budget using the crew from his TV show, giving this a more personal, grittier feel. Bernard Herrmann's tense score ratchets up the intensity even more.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.Ad executive Cary Grant is mistaken for a government spy and kidnapped. They attempt to murder him by forcing him to drink a bottle of alcohol and putting him behind the wheel of a car, but he manages to steer the car to safety. He goes to the UN to find the man who tried to have him killed, but someone else answers to that name and is assassinated before he can get more information. Accused of the crime, Grant goes on the run to prove his innocence. He meets pretty Eva Saint Marie on a train and they spend the night together. However, she turns out to be working with the kidnappers and sends him on a wild goose chase to the middle of nowhere. He survives another attempt on his life, this time by crop duster plane, in perhaps Hitchcock's best known scene. He soon discovers Eva's real identity and confronts her at an art auction, where once again he uses his wits to escape. However, when she turns out to be a secret agent working undercover he tries to convince her to leave with him. She refuses and plans to leave with the killer, but when her cover is blown Grant must save her life in a spectacular ending taking place on Mount Rushmore. Perhaps the ultimate Hitchcock film, with multiple false identities, a perfect hero in Grant and incredible but still somehow plausible plot twists. Hitchcock manages it all with a steady hand and perfect pacing.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.San Francisco police detective Jimmy Stewart retires after his fear of heights results in the death of a fellow officer. He is soon coaxed out of it by an old friend who wants him to follow his wife, whom he believes is in danger. Stewart observes her mysteriously sitting in a museum staring at a painting, visiting a grave and staying in an old hotel (only to disappear). They meet when he fishes her out of the bay after an apparent suicide attempt, and they fall in love. She describes a vivid nightmare, which Stewart recognizes as a local historical place and drives here there. Instead, she jumps from a bell tower, apparently succeeding in committing suicide this time. Stewart reacts badly and is sent to an asylum. After a year he is released, but roams the streets looking for his love. He spots a woman with a remarkable resemblance and follows her to her apartment, where he talks his way inside and convinces her to have dinner. He manipulates her into changing her appearance to look even more like the dead woman. However, when the transformation is complete, he learns the truth about her and tragedy seems to repeat itself. Hitchcock's most celebrated film is actually a fairly straightforward murder plot that the audience is in on the entire time. Stewart is the only one who doesn't get it, and we watch him suffer needlessly for it, but perhaps that was Hitchcock's intention. It all glides along like a dream.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.Photographer Jimmy Stewart, recovering from a broken leg, spends his time looking out his back window into the courtyard of his expansive New York City apartment complex. It is a sweltering summer, and his neighbors leave their windows open, some sleeping on the fire escape, letting him take in their private lives. One night during a thunderstorm he thinks he hears one of them commit murder. He drifts off to sleep, only to awaken the next morning with the neighbor acting suspiciously. He sends his girlfriend Grace Kelly and his nurse out to dig up the flower garden where he thinks the body is buried. They find nothing, but Grace climbs into the apartment, only to be cornered by the alleged murderer. The last second arrival of the police saves her, but his identity is tipped off. In an unbelievably tense scene that follows, the wheelchair bound Stewart is confronted in the dark by the murderer. A rather poor special effect occurs at the worst possible time, almost spoiling the whole thing. One of Hitchcock's most celebrated films occurs on a giant indoor set built on a Paramount sound stage. It's a warning about the dangers of voyeurism, spiced up with Hitchcock's unique black humor.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRod TaylorTippi HedrenJessica TandyA wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.Socialite Tippi Hedren gets pranked by lawyer Rod Taylor in a San Francisco bird shop, where intentionally mistakes her for a sales girl. Intrigued by his flirtation, she plans to secretly drive to his country house and deliver a birthday present to his younger sister. She is attacked by a lone gull while crossing the bay, and soon the picturesque coastal California town is beset by increasingly violent bird attacks. She takes shelter with Rod and his family, who board up the house to keep out the animals. Hitchcock's most overt horror film, with a psychological underpinning that, unlike Psycho, is not fully explained. Could it be that the birds are a result of his mother's fear of abandonment when Rod brings home Tippi as his new girlfriend? They attack not only Tippi, but his former lover as well, not to mention his younger sister, potentially leaving Rod all for herself. The attacks end when she comforts Tippi after her brutal attack. Hitchcock offers no real explanation, leaving a somewhat hollow feeling after nearly two hours of non-stop terror.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.Hitchcock's first American film is a lushly photographed story of a young girl falling in love with a wealthy, older man, only to find herself struggling to emerge from the shadows of his former wife. They meet in Paris, and after a whirlwind romance get married and move back to England. They move into Manderley, a huge English mansion on the sea. The building becomes another character in the story, alive and breathing, echoing the memories of another unseen character, the dead wife whose initials are on everything, like fingerprints. Poor old Joan Fontaine is overwhelmed by it all, but especially by a psychotic maid played to perfection by Judith Anderson. The two have a battle of wills more formidable than a heavyweight boxing match. We slowly learn of the past, of the first wife, how she lived, her friends, how she died. The final stretch devolves into a mystery film, with a trial, some detective work, and a rather melodramatic ending.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?Government agent Cary Grant convinces Ingrid Bergman to travel to Brazil in order to infiltrate a ring of Nazis. They fall in love while waiting for the assignment, only to have their relationship fall apart when she must fake a romance with Claude Rains, one of the Nazis. She even goes as far as marrying him, all the while Grant feigning disinterest. She eventually discovers that the group is hiding uranium ore in wine bottles in the basement, leading Grant to the stash during a fateful evening gala. However, Rains finds out and together with his mother tries to slowly poison her. One of Hitchcock's most mature mid period works, with Grant and Bergman's complex relationship front and center. The casting is perfect, from the leads all the way down to the supporting characters.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPriscilla LaneRobert CummingsOtto KrugerA young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.Everyman Robert Cummings gets a glimpse of the man who set a fire at the airplane factory where he works. Accused of the crime himself, he is forced to prove his innocence. He goes to the address he saw on an envelope the man dropped: a ranch in the desert. The wealthy ranch owner at first declines any knowledge, but reveals his real identity as ringleader and calls the police. Cummings escapes and follows another clue to a ghost town in the desert where he finds a cell of saboteurs planning to blow up the Boulder Dam. He foils the plan, then escapes to a nearby cabin in the woods where he is taken care of by a kindly blind man. His daughter recognizes Cummings as a wanted man, but he kidnaps her before she can turn him in. After awhile she starts to believe his story and helps him prove his innocence. They end up at a swanky party in New York City where they confront the leaders of the gang. However, they each get kidnapped, escape, and chase the original saboteur to the Statue of Liberty. One of the best Hitchcock films from the 1940s. The plot twists, however implausible, make perfect sense while watching the film. The symbolism can get a bit heavy handed, but in the hands of Hitchcock at least it is fun and exciting.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTallulah BankheadJohn HodiakWalter SlezakSeveral survivors of a torpedoed merchant ship in World War II find themselves in the same lifeboat with one of the crew members of the U-boat that sank their ship.The survivors of the sinking of a merchant marine ship by a German U-boat gather in a lone lifeboat occupied by reporter Tallulah Bankhead. Among the survivors is the captain of the German boat. Some of them want him thrown overboard, but Bankhead talks them out of it. They also have to deal with a hysterical woman and her dead baby, providing some rather morbid moments. Another one gets gangrene and has to has his leg amputated. They lose their limited supply of food and water during a storm. As they become more desperate and lose hope, the German takes over and seems to be stronger than the rest. When they discover his secret stash of food, water and a compass, they kill him in a rage. Just when it looks like they will be rescued by a German supply ship, it gets attacked. Unusual, claustrophobic setting provides a challenge for Hitchcock, but he is more than able to meet it as the action never stops. Bankhead is a revelation as the reporter. However, Canada Lee seems like an afterthought as a black servant.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartJohn DallFarley GrangerTwo men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.Two college men decide to murder a classmate as an intellectual exercise. The strangle him in their New York penthouse and then stuff the body in a chest. For further amusement, they hold a dinner party shortly after with the victim's father, aunt and girlfriend among the attendees. However, it is the arrival of Jimmy Stewart that gets them the most excited. He is their former housemaster and instilled in them the philosophy of Nietzsche, from which they drew their inspiration. However, the two men struggle to keep it together, particularly the younger who drinks too much. Stewart begins to suspect something is wrong and eventually pieces together what happened. The film itself is also something of an intellectual exercise, as Hitchcock utilizes a series of long takes to make it appear it takes place in real time. It is partially successful, although the cuts between scenes where the camera artificially zooms in for a close up of a couch or coat, is distracting. Nonetheless, this is another dazzling Hitchcock entry, his first in color and first with Stewart.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRay MillandGrace KellyRobert CummingsA former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.Hitchcock's screen adaptation of Frederick Knott's play feels stagy: most of the story takes place in a cramped apartment. Ray Milland is a husband planning the perfect murder of his wife, after he discovers her affair with an American mystery writer. He blackmails a forgotten college friend into carrying out the actual murder, while he takes care of the miniscule details to throw off the police after the fact. When the murder goes wrong, he must think quickly to outwit a Scotland Yard inspector and frame his wife. A couple of things bothered me. First, the "old college buddy" was too fast to agree to his murder for hire scheme. Some background on his character would have made it more believable. And about that key... perhaps Londoners in the early 1950s carried around a bare key with no key chain, and the inspector notes at one point that "they all look alike", but it still seemed like too much of a coincidence, especially for such a crucial plot point. Of course, the fun in a film like this is looking for cracks in the story. The 3D makes use of objects in the foreground around the apartment for depth, and is put to excellent use during the murder scene, but really is just as good in 2D.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantGrace KellyJessie Royce LandisA retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.Reformed jewel thief Cary Grant is accused of a recent string of crimes on the French Riviera. He escapes the police, but in order to prove his innocence must catch the real burglar. He convinces insurance representative John Williams to provide him with a list of people who may be potential targets. He befriends an American woman and her beautiful young daughter Grace Kelly. However, she sees through his ruse and seduces him, only to find her mother's jewels stolen anyway. She halfheartedly agrees to help him find the real burglar, and they fall in love for real along the way. He stakes out a villa where he believes the burglar will show up, leading to an accidental death of someone else. Later, he and Grace attend a masked ball hoping to finally find the burglar, which they do in an exciting rooftop climax. Lusciously photographed against the sun drenched French Riviera by Robert Burks, the colors are at times astounding, . This is an immensely entertaining work by Hitchcock, deceptively complex, somewhat overshadowed by the more famous films which he made during this period.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsHenry FondaVera MilesAnthony QuayleIn 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.Henry Fonda is a musician and family man who is falsely accused of robbing local establishments at gunpoint. A couple of detectives pick him up in front of his house and subject him to questioning without a lawyer. Fonda naively obeys them, giving them plenty of circumstantial evidence. He is sent to the local prison and spends a harrowing night in jail. His wife gets bail money and they hire a friendly lawyer to represent him in the trial. They track down witnesses for an alibi, but are unable to come up with anything substantial. The trial date arrives and it looks bad for him, until a juror speaks out of turn and a mistrial is declared, starting the process all over again. It's all too much for Fonda's wife, who has a mental breakdown and is sent to an institution to recover. Eventually, the real robber is caught and Fonda is cleared, though it takes a bit longer for his wife. Hitchcock based this on a real story and shot it in and around the actual locations of New York City. Fonda is perfect as the innocent everyman and the first half of the film is terrific. Vera Miles mental breakdown, however, weighs down the second half, as does the anticlimactic trial.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJune TrippIvor NovelloMarie AultA landlady suspects that her new lodger is the madman killing women in London.The mysterious lodger living upstairs falls in love with the daughter of the house. Their developing romance gets in the way of a police detective who is also in love with her. Meanwhile, a serial killer is on the loose in the neighborhood, and her parents convince themselves, and eventually the police detective, that their lodger is the killer. He is arrested but escapes with the help of the girl, but are recognized and chased by a mob who are intent on killing him. Hitchcock's first real success and the film that put him on the map is a well-paced, entertaining thriller with many ingenious camera shots. Just watch the lodger pacing on the glass ceiling! The "wrong man" theme would pop up over and over again in his later films.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCarl BrissonLillian Hall-DavisIan HunterTwo boxers compete for the love of a woman.At a carnival sideshow, a man is enticed by a girl selling tickets to enter the ring against a famous boxer. To everyone's surprise he wins, but he turns out to be the world heavyweight champion. The girl turns out to be engaged to the boxer, but he pursues her anyway. As their romance heats up, the two fighters become increasingly agitated. Eventually, they meet each other in the ring in the climactic final fight. Hitchcock's mix of melodrama and sports has visual flair on par with The Lodger, his earlier silent success, and is just as good. His one and only original screenplay.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLeslie BanksEdna BestPeter LorreAn ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination.A British couple on vacation unwittingly get involved with an assassination plot. Their young daughter is kidnapped and brought back to London. Unwilling to ask the police for help, they search for the girl themselves, eventually finding her holed up in a strange church being used by the group of terrorists. The wife foils the assassination plot, and the police follow the shooter to the church where a shootout ensues. The lone survivor heads to the rooftop with the hostage, in a typical Hitchcock ending. Peter Lorre goes all out as the leader of the criminals.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRobert DonatMadeleine CarrollLucie MannheimA man in London tries to help a counter-espionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring that is trying to steal top-secret information.Robert Donat gets caught up with spies and assassins at a London music hall. He is given a map by a dying woman which leads him to Scotland, pursued by police who want him for her murder. Train passenger Madeleine Carroll gets involved when Donat uses her to hide from the police. He also gets help from a friendly farmer's wife, though her husband's jealousy almost gets him caught. It all gets unraveled at the London Palladium. Another exciting Hitchcock yarn, although the formula of innocent victim forced to prove their innocence, and an overabundance of trains, is starting to wear thin.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSylvia SidneyOscar HomolkaDesmond TesterA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsNova PilbeamDerrick De MarneyPercy MarmontA man on the run from a murder charge enlists the help of a beautiful stranger who must put herself at risk for his cause.A down and out writer discovers the body of a woman on the beach, and is accused by the police of the murder. He manages to escape while entering the courthouse for his trial. He unwittingly involves the daughter of the police chief while on the run and trying to prove his innocence. Together they track down the man who stole his raincoat, the belt of which was used to commit the murder. The final scenes take place in a hotel ballroom in which the murderer is revealed to be a member of the band, all of whom perform in blackface. Somewhat overlooked early Hitchcock.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.Tourist Margaret Lockwood befriends middle aged May Whitty at a county inn. The next morning, she gets bumped on the head before boarding the train, waking up in a passenger compartment with her new friend and some strangers. After chatting a bit, Lockwood falls asleep, then wakes up to discover her friend missing. Unable to convince anyone else that she actually exists, much less look for her, she turns to musician Michael Redgrave, whom she had met, and disliked, at the inn. However, she gradually warms up to him as they search the train, discover clues and eventually unravel the mystery of her disappearance. Highly entertaining Hitchcock, if a bit contrived, with comedy relief from "Charters and Haldicott", who proved to be so popular that they would appear in several more films in the next decade.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.Hot shot newspaper reporter Joel McCrae is sent to London to interview a Dutch diplomat who recently negotiated a treaty to reduce the threat of war in Europe. The diplomat is later assassinated in Amsterdam before McCrae can interview him. He learns that the diplomat is not really dead but kidnapped, having been replaced by a double. He tries to get help from the police but they don't believe him, so he turns to a British diplomat and head of a newly formed "peace party". He happens to be the father of the girl McCrae is falling in love with, but is also involved with the kidnappers. He survives an attempt on his own life and connects the dots with the British diplomat. He decides to blackmail him for information, but it is foiled at the last minute. War is declared in Europe, forcing everyone to evacuate to America. The all end up on the same plane which is shelled by Germans and crashes into the Atlantic. Some survive, some do not. Overplotted Hitchcock has its moments, such as the windmill sequence outside of Amsterdam, but is marred by stereotypical disaster ending and misplaced patriotic appeal for the end credits.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.Socialite Joan Fontaine falls for playboy Cary Grant, eventually marrying. After a long and expensive honeymoon, she finds out he has no money or job. She talks him into working for a cousin in real estate. However, she finds out later that he was fired for embezzling money to pay a gambling debt, then lying about it. Her suspicion mounting, she finds out his best friend died mysteriously while they were together in Paris. She begins to fear for her own life when his lies continue and he asks a friend about poisons. It all comes to a head in a dramatic drive along a cliff. Hitchcock classic builds momentum like few films can, but ultimate explanation seems like a cop out. And indeed it was, as he was forced to change the ending to satisfy studio executives who did not want to mar Grant's image by making him a killer.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIngrid BergmanGregory PeckMichael ChekhovA psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.Gregory Peck is hired to replace the retiring director of a mental hospital. Soon after he begins to have a mental breakdown, triggered whenever he sees pairs of vertical lines in patterns. Pretty psychologist Ingrid Bergman helps him with his condition, discovering along the way that he is not the same man that was supposedly hired. He admits to having amnesia and believes he may have killed the man and stolen his identity. He leaves the hospital in the middle of the night but tells her where he is going. They meet up at his hotel then travel to stay with her former mentor. They analyze a dream he had for clues to his past. They are able to deduce where the murder had occurred and travel there, triggering more memories in Peck. They are almost able to prove it was an accident until a bullet is discovered in the body. Peck is convicted of murder, but the dream provides one more vital clue. Another massively entertaining Hitchcock yarn. However, I wasn't always convinced by the psychoanalytical babble, nor the over-reliance on the dream for clues to advance the plot. The final scene is an unconvincing special effect involving what looks like a giant fake hand!
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFarley GrangerRobert WalkerRuth RomanA psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.Tennis pro Farley Granger is approached by stranger Robert Walker on a train. The conversation quickly turns personal, and Walker proposes an "exchange of murders" that would benefit both of them. Granger laughs it off, but Walker soon fulfills his end of the bargain and begins to demand that Granger do the same. Fearful of the police, Granger successfully avoids him for awhile, but not after Walker manages to work his way into his family friendships. The battle of wills comes to a head on a memorable carousel ride! Outlandish plot, even for Hitchcock, but pure entertainment. The murder scene, filmed as a reflection in the victim's eyeglasses, is one of Hitchcock's signature moments, and probably helped earn cinematographer Robert Burks his first of four Oscar nominations, three of which were on Hitchcock films.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMontgomery CliftAnne BaxterKarl MaldenA priest, who comes under suspicion for murder, cannot clear his name without breaking the seal of the confessional.Montgomery Clift is a Catholic priest who hears the confession of a man who just committed murder. The man abuses the priest-penitent privilege and proceeds to frame Clift for the crime. A motive is supplied by Clifts's pre-priesthood relationship with Anne Baxter. After planting evidence, Clift is arrested, tried, but found innocent by a skeptical judge and jury. On the way out of the courthouse, the murderer's wife breaks down and let's out the truth. Clift and the police follow the killer for a final confrontation. Subdued, atypical Hitchcock, that nonetheless explores the familiar Hitchcockian themes of murder and the "wrong man". Clift is quietly intense as usual, but lacks chemistry with Baxter, and their backstory is just not that interesting. Beautiful location shooting around Quebec, Canada.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartDoris DayBrenda de BanzieAn American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.While vacationing in Morocco, all-American couple Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day are befriended by a French spy. After witnessing his murder in a crowded marketplace, their young son is kidnapped by an older English couple. They follow the clues to London where they hope to find the boy without the police. Along the way, they end up foiling an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister at Albert Hall in the film's most exciting sequence. It has just about everything you would expect from Hitchcock at this point in his career: incredible camerawork, a tight plot and well-developed characters. I only wish he had not reworked an earlier story, or had chosen someone other than Doris Day for the female lead.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJon FinchBarry FosterBarbara Leigh-HuntA serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.Serial killer Barry Foster rapes and then strangles his London victims. His friend is accused of the crimes based on circumstantial evidence, for which he is eventually convicted. He escapes a prison hospital and vows to get revenge on Foster, but a police investigator who has also deduced the real killer's identity manages to stop him. Somewhat a return to form for Hitchcock after a series of duds in the 60s. He revisits the familiar themes of murder and the "wrong man" which served him well in the past, spicing it up with language and nudity which was now allowed in the 70s. It feels a bit too voyeuristic at times, and his attempt to recreate a murder scene on par with Psycho fails miserably. However, a long scene in which foster attempts to retrieve evidence from a corpse in the back of a potato truck is classic Hitchcock.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsVirginia ValliCarmelita GeraghtyMiles ManderTwo couples' romances are fancifully intertwined.The story of two chorus girls and their intertwining love affairs. One helps the other get a job and even allows her to stay at her apartment. Later, the girl's fiance and a friend arrive for a visit, but she is busy flirting with a rich prince at theater. The two men hang out with her roommate, and one of them eventually convinces her to marry him. Both men are sent off to Africa for a job, but the lonely wife soon follows when she finds out her husband is sick. However, when she gets there she finds out he has a native lover and leaves him. The husband murders the native girl and, racked by guilt, almost kills her as well when he finds her by the bedside of the other man, who has fallen ill with fever. Entertaining if somewhat convoluted directorial debut of Hitchcock, incorporating many of the elements he would go on to explore in his long, illustrious career.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIvor NovelloBen WebsterNorman McKinnelBound by honor, a successful schoolboy takes the blame for his roommate's indiscretion, and it's all downhill from there.College pals spend an afternoon with a local bakery shop girl, who shows up later at the dean's office and accuses them of "inappropriate conduct". She falsely claims the father is the boy with the rich parents, who is promptly expelled and then disowned by his parents. He flees to France where he is taken advantage of by more women, including his new wife who runs through his large unexpected inheritance in no time. He ends up in a trance-like state on the docks of Marseilles, where he is helped on a ship by some friendly sailors and ends up back in England. Hitchcock's follow up to the very successful The Lodger once again features Ivor Novello in the lead role, who also wrote the screenplay. It is a cynical, misogynistic story, perhaps influenced by Novello's status as a gay matinee idol in the 1920s. Hitchcock further develops his visual style, with excellent use of shadows and montage effects.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraCarl BrissonMalcolm KeenA fisherman and a rising young lawyer, who grew up as brothers, fall in love with the same girl.Two childhood friends, a poor fisherman and an aspiring lawyer, fall in love with the same girl: the bartender at the local pub. She accepts a marriage proposal from the handsome fisherman, but her father refuses to consent. He travels to South Africa to make money in the mines, but while away his fiance falls in love with the lawyer. They receive a letter that he was killed in an accident, apparently giving them freedom to carry on, but he turns up alive a few months later. She won't admit to the affair and marries the fisherman, never revealing that she is pregnant by the other man! Later, her attempted suicide lands her in court, presided over by her lover on his first day as an important judge. Overblown melodrama aside, this is still one of the better Hitchcock silent films, with beautiful location shooting and fine acting.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraJohn LongdenSara AllgoodAfter killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing.Pretty Anny Ondra has a fight with her boyfriend in a restaurant and leaves with another man. She accepts his invitation to visit his loft, and ends up killing him in self defense. Her boyfriend happens to be one of the investigating detectives, and he quickly figures out that she did it. A petty thief who happened to be nearby also figures it out, and proceeds to blackmail them. Hitchcock's first sound film, and England's, is the first to really have that Hitchcock touch. We get a long chase scene that ends up on a rooftop, a murderess racked with guilt and many unexpected plot twists. However, some of the scenes go on far too long, particularly early in the film, as Hitchcock seems enamored by the novelty of sound. Still, it's a big step forward from his silent films.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsHerbert MarshallNorah BaringPhyllis KonstamA juror in a murder trial, after voting to convict, has second thoughts and begins to investigate on his own before the execution.A young actress is sentenced to death for a murder she did not commit. One of the jurors, who regrets his part in her conviction, sets out to prove her innocence. With the help of a stage manager and his wife, the amateur sleuths soon hone in on a cross dressing actor as the main suspect. In one of the more tense scenes, they lure him to an audition for a fake play in which his murder is re-enacted. Later, he commits suicide in a crowded circus. A bit talky and unfocused, but still entertaining with the usual Hitchcock flourishes.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsEdmund GwennJill EsmondC.V. FranceAn old traditional family and a modern family battle over land in a small English village and almost destroy each other.An affluent British family's rural home is threatened by a land-grabbing neighbor who wants to build factories. In a tense auction, the neighbor wins the much sought after land by underhanded means. The other family resorts to blackmail to get it back. The ugly side of class warfare is exposed by Hitchcock in this grim story. Edmund Gwenn is memorable as the relentless capitalist with no soul.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJohn GielgudMadeleine CarrollRobert YoungAfter three British Agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.A British officer is inducted into spy duty at the end of WWI. He is sent to Germany along with assassin Peter Lorre where they are to track down and kill a spy. Upon arrival, he meets his "wife" Madeleine Carroll, another spy who joined up for the thrill of it. She is being aggressively pursued by American playboy Robert Young. They follow a clue to a mountain climber and kill him, but it turns out he was not the spy. Carroll wants to give up and leaves with Young, but when he turns out to be the real spy her life is threatened. It all ends in a typical early Hitchcock train derailment and crash. Fun for awhile, but too similar to other early Hitchcock films to really stand out.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMaureen O'HaraRobert NewtonCharles LaughtonIn Cornwall, 1819, a young woman discovers she's living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit.Young orphan Maureen O'Hara, in her first major role, travels to a remote inn to live with a cousin. The locals avoid it and so she turns to wealthy neighbor Charles Laughton for the last part of the journey. The crude inhabitants of the inn are thieves and murderers who prey on shipwrecked survivors and loot their cargo. Laughton turns out to be the mastermind, and when an undercover law officer is exposed he uses O'Hara to escape detection. She soon finds herself kidnapped and on the way to France, until Laughton himself is exposed to the gang. Overplotted Hitchcock is also somewhat underrated, with a vivid atmosphere and a couple of violent, bloodthirsty scenes. Laughton threatens to overwhelm everything, but O'Hara's manages to keep him somewhat in check.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTeresa WrightJoseph CottenMacdonald CareyA teenage girl, overjoyed when her favorite uncle comes to visit the family in their quiet California town, slowly begins to suspect that he is in fact the "Merry Widow" killer sought by the authorities.Naive teenager Teresa Wright has her life turned upside down by the arrival of an uncle. At first hoping to bring excitement to her bored life in suburban California, it soon turns to horror when she suspects he is the "Merry Widow Murderer" sought by the police back east for murdering older women. After the uncle is apparently exonerated, her knowledge of the truth becomes a threat and he plots to do away with her. Their final confrontation on a train is classic Hitchcock. However, I found Teresa Wright's character annoying and was kind of rooting for the uncle, played to cold blooded perfection by Joseph Cotten.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsGregory PeckAnn ToddCharles LaughtonA happily married London barrister falls in love with the accused poisoner he is defending.Gregory Peck is hired to defend exotic beauty Alida Valli, accused of poisoning her wealthy husband. He falls in love with her, jeopardizing not only the case but his marriage. His wife realizes what has happened but encourages him to stay on the case. Peck tries to pin the murder on the servant with little evidence, but instead it drives the servant to commit suicide. The real murderer is revealed in court in dramatic fashion. Talky but still fascinating Hitchcock courtroom drama.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIngrid BergmanJoseph CottenMichael WildingA young gentleman goes to Australia where he reunites with his now married childhood sweetheart, only to find out she has become an alcoholic and harbors dark secrets.The new governor of Sydney, Australia, and his second cousin adapt to life among the ex-convicts around them. The cousin soon finds himself making a deal with shady landowner Joseph Cotten. At a visit to his remote bungalow, he discovers he was childhood friends with Cotten's wife, Ingrid Bergman, but that she is struggling with an alcohol addiction. The truth turns out to be far more sinister, as she is actually being poisoned by the housemaid who is in love with Cotten. Her relationship with her husband also has a dark history. All of this is revealed in a somewhat understated way, especially by Hitchcock standards, giving it more of a melodramatic flavor. Nonetheless, it does deal with the usual Hitchcock themes of murder and a guilty conscience, and has a colorful period feel for 19th century Australia. As with his previous color film Rope, it utilizes long, unbroken takes, but they are much less intrusive this time around, and the transitions are difficult to spot.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMarlene DietrichJane WymanRichard ToddA struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.Actress Jane Wyman is approached by her friend Michael Todd to hide him from authorities when his lover's husband is murdered. In an important flashback, he tells her how he went to the scene of the crime to retrieve a dress, since the one worn by his lover, Marlene Dietrich, was bloody. Since Wyman is in love with him, she believes him and takes him to her father's remote house to hide. Her father, however, finds cracks in his story, as does an investigating detective. Wyman finds herself falling for the detective while doubting Todd. All clues point to Dietrich, and the truth comes out in typical Hitchcock style in a large, empty theater. Less Hitchcock, to my eyes, with Dietrich chewing up the scenery and Wyman unsympathetic.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJohn ForsytheShirley MacLaineEdmund GwennHarry's dead and, while no one really minds, everyone feels responsible. After Harry's body is found in the woods, several locals must determine not only how and why he was killed but what to do with the body.An elderly and rotund Edmund Gwenn discovers a body while hunting in the woods near his Vermont home. He believes he accidentally shot him and tries to hide the body. Several characters pass by preventing him from doing so, including the dead man's wife, Shirley MacLaine, a local artist, John Forsythe and a widow out for a stroll, Mildred Natwick. The two women have reason to believe they may have killed the man, while the artist gets involved when he falls in love with MacLaine. The body is buried and unearthed numerous times over the course of the day, but is finally examined by a local doctor played with comedic perfection by Dwight Marfield, who steals every scene. More a romantic comedy than mystery, which is not Hitchcock's strength, and Forsythe is annoying as the artist.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFrederick StaffordDany RobinJohn VernonA French Intelligence Agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.A Russian defector gives cryptic clues to American intelligence about missiles placed in Cuba. They turn to French spy Frederick Stafford to deal with the Cuban revolutionaries. He starts in New York City, where he bribes someone to get evidence documenting an agreement between Cuba and Russia. Next, he travels to Cuba where he uses local resistance members to get photographic evidence of the missiles. Back in Paris, he discovers the French intelligence has been compromised by Russians and devises a plan to expose them. Complicated Hitchcock spy drama has a few good scenes, but is too convoluted, and a bit dated.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsKaren BlackBruce DernBarbara HarrisA phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/actor boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.Fake psychic Barbara Harris is offered $10 thousand dollars by a client to find a child given up for adoption years ago. She enlists her boyfriend taxi driver Bruce Dern to track him down. He soon discovers a plot by jeweler William Devane and his girlfriend Karen Black involving a fake death, switched identities and kidnapping. The cast is game, but Hitchcock goes out with a whimper, and maybe a smile, with his last film.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIsabel JeansFranklin DyallEric Bransby WilliamsA recently divorced woman hides her scandalous past from her new husband and his family.A woman married to a drunken brute poses for an artist. Her husband walks in at an inopportune time, leading to attempted murder, suicide and divorce. At the ensuing trial, the wife is disgraced by the biased judge and jury. She leaves for France where she meets a wealthy playboy. They soon get married and return to England to live in his large estate with his family. She is confronted by his mother, who convinces her husband that their marriage was a mistake. Eventually her former divorce comes up, and she relents to the pressure. Convoluted story starts out with a trial and flashback, then gets more melodramatic as it goes along. Only poor prints exist, so perhaps we are not getting the whole story, but this is rather forgettable early Hitchcock.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSara AllgoodEdward ChapmanBarry FitzgeraldDuring the Irish Civil War in 1922, a family earns a big inheritance. They start leading a rich life, forgetting what the most important values are.An unemployed, alcoholic boat captain suddenly inherits a fortune from a long lost relative. He and his wife spend it on luxuries, only to find out that they won't get the money after all. Creditors show up en masse and rumors swirl. Their daughter is pregnant by the will's executor, who disappears when he realizes the mistake which he made. Her former boyfriend at first claims to still love her, until he finds out her condition. The family is torn apart by the scandal. Another overly melodramatic early Hitchcock offering, with some religious overtones towards the end.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsHenry KendallJoan BarryPercy MarmontBelieving that an unexpected inheritance will bring them happiness, a married couple instead finds their relationship strained to the breaking point.A bored suburban couple receive an unexpected inheritance and use it to quit their jobs and travel the world. Unfortunately, he suffers from debilitating seasickness which keeps him in bed, while his wife uses the time to flirt with a handsome bachelor. Not to be outdone, when he finally gets his sea legs the husband picks up a flirty "princess". The two couples see little of each other until the princess disappears with a load of money. They reunite with barely enough money to book a trip home. However, the ship is involved in a collision, trapping them in their room, apparently doomed to drown together. They survive and are rescued the next day, eventually ending up back in their same old suburban routine. Entertaining if somewhat preposterous early Hitchcock, a sort of suburban fantasy.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLeon M. LionAnne GreyJohn StuartA gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery, but a detective is on their trail.A man claiming to be a detective walks into an empty mansion and finds a dead body on the stairs and another man wandering the halls. A woman falls through the roof and claims the dead man is her father. The dead body disappears. More people show up at the house. It turns out to be the meeting place of a gang of thieves who are looking for a stolen necklace. When they find out the man is a detective, the flee to a nearby train yard, hop on a train and knock out the conductor. Unfortunately, they don't know how to stop it and it crashes into a ferry. Crazy, fast paced film where nobody who is who they seem, and nothing makes very much sense.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsEdmund GwennEsmond KnightJessie MatthewsThe story of Johann Strauss the elder and younger.Johann Strauss, Jr, plays second fiddle in his famous father's orchestra. He falls in love with a cafe worker, who convinces him to forget about music and learn to become a baker. Meanwhile, and older society woman pays him to set to music some of her lyrics, leading to the composition of the famous "Blue Danube". He becomes a sensation overnight, much to the chagrin of his father and girlfriend. However, he eventually wins them over at a big concert. Tame Hitchcock musical drama, with little to none of the director's touches.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCarole LombardRobert MontgomeryGene RaymondA couple who have been married for three years are shocked to learn that their marriage is not legally valid.Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard are a married couple going through some bumps after three years. After a mishap leaves them legally single again, they decide to test each other's resolve. She gets a job and accepts a date from her lawyer, while he feigns disinterest and tries to cook up a way to reconcile. They all end up together at a ski resort where the opportunity to do that presents itself. Silly, breezy Hitchcock that seems like a complete waste of his time. The two lead character's juvenile antics are tiresome. I kind of hoped they would not get back together to spare us all the pain.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTippi HedrenSean ConneryMartin GabelMark marries Marnie although she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems, and tries to help her confront and resolve them.Habitual thief Tippi Hedren hops from job to job by changing her appearance and identity. However, she is recognized during an interview for her next one by the owner of the company, Sean Connery, who hires her anyway out of curiosity. After stealing a kiss from her in his office during a thunderstorm, she steals money from the safe. He confronts her about it, then blackmails her into marriage. On their honeymoon on a cruise ship she refuses to let him touch her, so he eventually rapes her, causing her to try to commit suicide. She survives and the repentant Connery tries to help her sort out her psychological issues. He brings her to her mother where a childhood incident explains everything. Morbidly melodramatic Hitchcock is perhaps his worst film. Connery is stiff and Tippi uncomfortable, even Bernard Herrmann's score fails to liven it up.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPaul NewmanJulie AndrewsLila KedrovaAn American scientist publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin before planning an escape back to the West.Scientist Paul Newman defects to East Germany, much to the chagrin of his fiance and assistant Julie Andrews. She secretly follows him there and he eventually tells her that it is all a ruse to learn secrets of the German missile program. He coaxes a formula out of a mathematician, then turns to an underground network to help them escape. A couple of good scenes, including a fight with a guard, but otherwise lackluster Hitchcock production. The leads are miscast and lack chemistry.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsBetty BalfourJean BradinFerdinand von AltenA spoiled heiress defies her father by running off to marry her lover. However, Daddy has a few tricks up his sleeve.Socialite Betty Balfour lands her private plane in the ocean to visit her boyfriend on an ocean liner. This upsets her father, who concocts a plan to teach her a lesson by pretending to lose the family fortune. She takes a menial job in an upscale French restaurant, pursued by her on-again, off-again boyfriend, meddling father and a mysterious man who claims to want to marry her. It all gets sorted out in the end. Hitchcock's attempt to blend comedy and melodrama just doesn't work. It has one "trick shot" through a champagne glass, but otherwise would be hard to identify as a Hitchcock film.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJameson ThomasLillian Hall-DavisGordon HarkerAfter his daughter weds, a middle-aged widower with a profitable farm decides to remarry, but finds choosing a suitable mate a problematic process.Widowed farmer sets out on a quest to find a new wife. He makes a list of local eligible girls and visits each one. Despite obvious incompatibilities, he quickly proposes to each one, who just as quickly turn him down. Eventually he realizes his devoted housekeeper is the girl for him. Dreadful attempt at "rural comedy" from Hitchcock, based on a popular play of the time.