With a climax at Mount Rushmore, Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest is easily one of the director’s best films of all time. In an alternate universe, advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) could have been portrayed by Jimmy Stewart. Film audiences should certainly be grateful that Grant got the part instead. It’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role to be honest. Grant’s manners are also perfect for the role, too. Where do we…
"North by Northwest: My Favorite Hitchcock Film"Tag: Alfred Hitchcock
The Oscar-nominated Foreign Correspondent was Alfred Hitchcock’s first large-scale international thriller to be released in theaters. The New York Morning Globe appoints Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) to serve as a foreign correspondent under the name Huntley Haverstock. On assignment to interview Universal Peace Party leader Stephen Fisher (Herbert Marshall), Jones encounters Dutch diplomat named Van Meer (Albert Bassermann). Meanwhile, he meets Fisher’s daughter, Carol (Laraine Day), at the party. When Van Meer is shot at…
"Foreign Correspondent: An International Thriller"
Even though Psycho isn’t as terrifying under today’s cinematic standards, the film stands out as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest achievements. There’s something to be said about the relationship between Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his mother. You could say that the son is too obsessed with his mother–which explains the film’s third act. This relationship isn’t too far away from another son and mother in 1949 gangster drama White Heat. It may be hard…
"Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock’s Greatest Film" John Billheimer takes a look at how filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was impacted by the Production Code Administration in Hitchcock and the Censors. It’s been nearly a year since University Press of Kentucky released this book in their Screen Classics series. If you have any interest in classic movies, you certainly can’t go wrong with these books. Anyway, this review is going online over a week after I finished reading my sixth quarantine book. The main…
"Hitchcock and the Censors by John Billheimer"
A selection for the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival, 78/52 profiles the iconic shower scene shown in Alfred Hitchock’s Pyscho. Written and directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, the documentary features a wide array of interviews mixed in with archival footage. A number of interview subjects were included including family members of Hitchcock, Janet Leigh, and Anthony Perkins. Oscar winning editors such as Walter Murch, Chris Ennis, and Bob Murawski were also among those interviewed. The…
"Fantasia: 78/52 profiles Pyscho’s Shower Scene"