Hitchcock had a thing for blondes, and he usually cast them in starring roles. You can go all the way back to The Lodger (1927), which opens with a screaming blonde and a nightclub marquee that says “Tonight: Golden Curls." From Ingrid Bergman to Grace Kelly, Hitch always cast blondes as female leads. When he was casting The Birds, he “discovered” Hedren and was grooming her to be the next big thing. Well, that didn’t work out so well. She’s mostly known for The Birds, but the follow up, Marnie, didn’t catapult her to stardom. That's part of the film’s problem. The rest? Continue reading ...
Hitchcock's other Cold War movie (I'm not countingNorth by Northwest, which uses the Cold War as a backdrop but isn't really about the Cold War) is much better than Topaz, but still a lesser Hitchcock film. As I've probably said before, despite the insistence of critic Robin Wood that the 60s films were Hitchcock's best, mostly they are disappointments with a good scene or two -- Hitchcock was believing his press and coasting. Though Hitchcock hated having the studio stick him with big movie stars like Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, they are part of what makes this film a hundred times better than Topaz. The film has a few cool shots, one great scene, and some other scenes that are okay. It's a watchable film, Hitchcock’s 50th film. Continue reading ...
Hitchcock’s 52nd film manages to combine many of his most popular elements into one story. We get the wrongly accused man on the run -- this time very similar to one of his other lost gems, Young and Innocent. We also get a Strangers on a Train story of guilt transferred. Plus we get a sexy, violent, shocking serial killer story like Psycho. Add a twist ending and you've got quintessential Hitchcock. Oh, and it's funny and clever, too. The screenplay was written by the brilliant Anthony Shaffer, writer of the original Sleuth, the original Wicker Man, and Somersby. This is the best Hitchcock film in the post-Psycho period. Continue reading ...
The worst of Hitchcock's two Cold War movies made in the mid-60s, Topaz was based on a big best-selling beach read by Leon Uris -- one of those "ripped from the headlines" things about the secret shenanigans behind the Cuban Missile Crisis, filled with as much intrigue between the sheets as behind the doors of the embassies ... and a cast of thousands. And the major problem is probably with the source material's scope. There is no lead character -- so most of the scenes are minor characters we haven't really gotten to know. Screenplay is by Sam Taylor who wrote Vertigo, and his skill set may not have been able to tame this all-over-the-place novel. The film just isn't very good. Continue reading ...
When Script asked me what my blog was going to be about, I first suggested an experimental thing that would just be a blank page...and I would catch up on my sleep. But they wanted something with actual writing. So, the Master of Suspense made 53 films and I have managed to see all of the existing films projected on the big screen at least once in my life. I love suspense films and thrillers and have had a handful actually produced, so it’s no surprise that I’ve always been a big fan of Hitchcock’s films. Difficult to work in the thriller genre without being influenced by Hitch -- he was the trailblazer for just about every filmmaker we have today. Hey, the first British sound movie was a Hitchcock film! He’s probably the most recognized film director in the world -- due to hosting duties on his TV show. And you can watch any Spielberg film and see some trace of Hitchcock, from the dolly-zoom in Jaws to that scene they never shot in North by Northwest at the auto assembly line that shows up in Minority Report. And 53 films means I can do a blog entry every week for a year! Continue reading...
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Hitchcock had a thing for blondes, and he usually cast them in starring roles. You can go all the way back to The Lodger (1927), which opens with a screaming blonde and a nightclub marquee that says “Tonight: Golden Curls." From Ingrid Bergman to Grace Kelly, Hitch always cast blondes as female leads. When he was casting The Birds, he “discovered” Hedren and was grooming her to be the next big thing. Well, that didn’t work out so well. She’s mostly known for The Birds, but the follow up, Marnie, didn’t catapult her to stardom. That's part of the film’s problem. The rest? 
Hitchcock's other Cold War movie (I'm not counting
The worst of Hitchcock's two Cold War movies made in the mid-60s, 
When 
Enter to win a copy of Blake Snyder's 