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THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORY

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Decade: Rating: List Type:

1913

8.3

North by Northwest (1959)

1959. CARY GRANT as Roger O. Thornhill, EVA MARIE SAINT (Eve Kendall), JAMES MASON (Phillip Vandamm), JESSIE ROYCE LANDIS (Clara Thornhill), MARTIN LANDAU (Leonard), DOREEN LANG (Maggie - Roger's secretary), LEO G. CARROLL (the Professor), EDWARD BINNS (Captain Junket), ADAM WILLIAMS (Valerian), ROBERT ELLENSTEIN (Licht), PHILIP OBER (Lester Townsend), NED GLASS (ticket seller at Grand Central Station), JEREMY SLATE (policeman at Grand Central Station), JOSEPHINE HUTCHINSON (Mrs Townsend), EDWARD PLATT (Victor Larabee), MALCOLM ATTERBURY (man boarding bus at Prairie Crossing), LES TREMAYNE (auctioneer), OLAN SOULE (assistant auctioneer), HELEN SPRING (bidder at auction), EUGENE JACKSON (security guard at auction), KEN LYNCH (Charley - Chicago policeman), PATRICK McVEY (Sergeant Flamm - Chicago policeman), TOM MARSHALL (Chicago police officer), SALLY FRASER (United Nations Receptionist), BERT STEVENS (man at United Nations Building), ALEXANDER LOCKWOOD (Judge Anson B. Flynn), NORA MARLOWE (Anna - housekeeper), FRANK MARLOWE (taxi driver), MAUDIE PRICKETT (Elsie - maid at Plaza Hotel), JAMES McCALLION (Plaza Hotel valet), HOWARD NEGLEY (conductor on train), JEFFREY SAYRE (man at Mount Rushmore cafeteria), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man who misses bus). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Here we have Hitchcock on extremely top form with mystery, suspense, romance, comedy and action all blended together in a fast moving thriller that keeps you involved from start to finish. This was Cary Grant's fourth film with Hitchcock and he gave a wonderful performance as advertising man Roger O. Thornhill being mistaken for a government spy! In fact James Stewart desperately wanted to play Roger Thornhill in this movie and kept pestering Hitchcock about the part. Hitchcock did not want to upset Stewart who had worked with him on four previous films but privately he thought that Stewart looked too old. Ironically, Stewart was four years younger than Grant! Then, when James Stewart was cast in "Anatomy of a Murder" this gave Hitchcock the opportunity to sign Grant - the actor he had really wanted all along!! Sophia Loren and Cyd Charisse were both considered for the female lead before it was given to Eva Marie Saint.
OUTSTANDING FILM!! 10/10.

classic movie buff's rating:

808

7.9

7.8

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

1943. JOSEPH COTTEN as Uncle Charlie, TERESA WRIGHT (young Charlie), MACDONALD CAREY (Jack Graham), HENRY TRAVERS (Joseph Newton), PATRICIA COLLINGE (Emma Newton), HUME CRONYN (Herbie Hawkins), WALLACE FORD (Fred Saunders), EDNA MAY WONACOTT (Ann Newton), CHARLES BATES (Roger Newton), IRVING BACON (Station Master), CLARENCE MUSE (Pullman porter), JANET SHAW (Louise), VIRGINIA BRISSAC (Mrs Phillips), EDWARD FIELDING (doctor on train), EARL S. DEWEY (Mr Norton - traffic cop), RUTH LEE (Mrs MacCurdy), JOHN McGUIRE (detective), BYRON SHORES (detective), EDWIN STANLEY (Mr Green - bank president), CONSTANCE PURDY (Mrs Martin - landlady), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man playing cards on train). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Classic black and white thriller from Hitchcock's early period in America. Is Joseph Cotten the kindly Uncle Charlie or a suave killer, wanted back East by the police for murdering rich widows and stealing their money and jewellery? His adoring niece (Teresa Wright) is at first taken in by his charm and charisma until her suspicions begin to raise serious doubts about him.

classic movie buff's rating:

493

7.2

7.1

The Trouble with Harry

1955. EDMUND GWENN as Captain Albert Wiles, JOHN FORSYTHE (Sam Marlowe), SHIRLEY MacLAINE (Jennifer Rogers), MILDRED NATWICK (Miss Ivy Gravely), JERRY MATHERS (Arnie Rogers), ROYAL DANO (Deputy Sheriff Calvin Wiggs), MILDRED DUNNOCK (Mrs Wiggs), DWIGHT MARFIELD (Dr Greenbow), PHILIP TRUEX (Harry Worp), BARRY MACOLLUM (tramp), PARKER FENNELLY (millionaire), LESLIE WOLFF (art critic), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man walking past Sam's outdoor paintings exhibition). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. John Forsythe, Shirley MacLaine and some others all think they are responsible when the body of a man is found in the woods near their Vermont, New England homes. This film was a departure for Hitchcock as it was more of an offbeat black comedy than the usual suspense thrillers we were used to getting from him. It was Edmund Gwenn's fourth film for Hitchcock. Shirley MacLaine was wonderful in her film debut.

classic movie buff's rating:

1122

Strangers on a Train (1951)

1951. FARLEY GRANGER as Guy Haines, ROBERT WALKER (Bruno Anthony), RUTH ROMAN (Anne Morton), LEO G. CARROLL (Senator Morton), PATRICIA HITCHCOCK (Barbara Morton), LAURA ELLIOT (Miriam Joyce Haines), NORMA VARDEN (Mrs Cunningham), MARION LORNE (Mrs Anthony), JONATHAN HALE (Mr Anthony), HOWARD ST JOHN (Police Captain Turley), ROBERT GIST (Leslie Hennessy), BROOKS BENEDICT (tennis umpire), AL BRIDGE (tennis judge), JACK CUSHINGHAM (Fred Reynolds), TOMMY FARRELL (Miriam's boyfriend), EDWARD CLARK (Miriam's boss), LAURA TREADWELL (Mrs Anderson), JOEL ALLEN (policeman), ROY ENGEL (policeman), JOHN DAHEIM (detective), MIKE LALLY (detective), SAM FLINT (train passenger requesting light), HARRY HINES (man under merry-go-round), AL HILL (carnival game proprietor), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man boarding train carrying a double bass). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Mentally unstable Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) meets tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) on a train. Bruno knows that Guy desperately wants a divorce but his wife is proving difficult. He then dreams up a crazy scheme in which they could exchange murders! He would kill Guy's wife if Guy would kill Bruno's hated father. Guy considers it just to be a silly joke but Bruno is deadly serious and soon drags Guy into his murder plot. William Holden had been Hitchcock's first choice to play Guy Haines but was unavailable so he had to settle for Farley Granger instead. This was Robert Walker's final film as he died shortly after it was completed.

classic movie buff's rating:

2751

8.5

Rear Window (1954)

1954. JAMES STEWART as L. B. Jefferies, GRACE KELLY (Lisa Carol Fremont), RAYMOND BURR (Lars Thorwald), THELMA RITTER (Stella), WENDELL COREY (Det. Lt. Thomas J. Doyle), GEORGINE DARCY (Miss Torso), JUDITH EVELYN (Miss Lonelyheart), ROSS BAGDASARIAN (songwriter), KATHRYN GRANT (girl at songwriter's party), IRENE WINSTON (Mrs Anna Thorwald), ANTHONY WARDE (detective), FRED GRAHAM (detective), EDDIE PARKER (detective), LEN HENDRY (policeman), MIKE MAHONEY (policeman), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man winding clock in songwriter's apartment). Another exceptional masterpiece from Alfred Hitchcock. The entire action of this stylish thriller amazingly takes place on just one set. James Stewart is L.B. Jefferies, a photographer, confined to his apartment with a broken leg. To while away the time he watches his neighbours through binoculars and his telephoto lens and becomes convinced that one of them has murdered his wife. Grace Kelly as Lisa Carol Fremont is his high society girlfriend who is sceptical at first but later comes round to believing him.

classic movie buff's rating:

4207

8.3

8.5

Psycho (1960)

1960. ANTHONY PERKINS as Norman Bates, JANET LEIGH (Marion Crane), VERA MILES (Lila Crane), MARTIN BALSAM (Milton Arbogast), JOHN GAVIN (Sam Loomis), JOHN McINTIRE (Sheriff Al Chambers), SIMON OAKLAND (Dr. Fred Richmond), PATRICIA HITCHCOCK (Caroline), VAUGHN TAYLOR (George Lowery), FRANK ALBERTSON (Tom Cassidy), MORT MILLS (Highway Patrol officer), LAUREN TUTTLE (Eliza Chambers), JOHN ANDERSON (California Charlie), HELEN WALLACE (hardware store customer), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man in cowboy hat). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. This was Hitchcock's biggest commercial success and one of my favourites since I first saw the premiere at the Plaza Cinema in London back in 1960. I have visited the set at Universal Studios many times and had pictures taken on the "Psycho" house steps and in the Bates Motel set. The film was remade in colour in 1998 but did not have the impact of the original black and white Hitchcock version.

classic movie buff's rating:

751

7.5

7.6

The 39 Steps

1935. ROBERT DONAT as Richard Hannay, MADELEINE CARROLL (Pamela), GODFREY TEARLE (Professor Jordan), HELEN HAYE (Mrs Louisa Jordan), LUCIE MANNHEIM (Miss Annabella Smith), PEGGY ASHCROFT (Margaret - the crofter's wife), JOHN LAURIE (John - the crofter), FRANK CELLIER (Sheriff Watson), WYLIE WATSON (Mr Memory), PAT HAGATE (M.C. at music hall), MILES MALLESON (theatre manager), GUS McNAUGHTON (commercial traveller on Flying Scotsman), JERRY VERNO (commercial traveller on Flying Scotsman), IVOR BARNARD (political meeting chairman), JAMES KNIGHT (detective), FREDERICK PIPER (the milkman), ALFRED HITCHCOCK (man throwing litter near music hall). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is enjoying a night out at the theatre in London when he meets a mysterious woman (Lucie Mannheim) who involves him with spies, espionage and murder. He ends up in Scotland handcuffed to a beautiful blonde (Madeleine Carroll) he met on the train. She helps him to prove his innocence (reluctantly at first thinking he is a criminal) but then she starts to believe him. This is a classic Hitchcock story of the innocent man on the run from both villains and the police which was a favourite theme of his that he would return to several times. The film was remade in colour in 1959 and again in 1978 but the original in black and white will take some beating.

classic movie buff's rating:

Voters of this movie list - View all

ALFRED HITCHCOCK was born in Leytonstone, London, England on August 13th 1899. He died on April 29th 1980.

HIS REAL NAME: ALFRED JOSEPH HITCHCOCK

HIS SIX FAVOURITE FILMS:

1: "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943)
2: "Strangers on a Train" (1951)
3: "The Trouble with Harry" (1955)
4: "North by Northwest" (1959)
5: "Rear Window" (1954)
6: "Psycho" (1960)
(verified in a personal letter he sent to me in 1966).

MY FAVOURITE ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILM IS:

"The 39 Steps" (1935)

FAVOURITE ACTORS HE WORKED WITH INCLUDE:

Raymond Burr, Macdonald Carey, Montgomery Clift, Sean Connery, Joseph Cotten, Robert Cummings, Robert Donat, Henry Fonda, John Forsythe, Farley Granger, Cary Grant, Edmund Gwenn, John Hodiak, Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, Joel McCrea, Karl Malden, James Mason, Ray Milland, Paul Newman, Gregory Peck, Anthony Perkins, Claude Rains, George Sanders, Alistair Sim, James Stewart, Rod Taylor, Robert Walker and Michael Wilding.
(All the above actors have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock films).

FAVOURITE ACTRESSES HE WORKED WITH INCLUDE:

Julie Andrews, Tallulah Bankhead, Anne Baxter, Ingrid Bergman, Madeleine Carroll, Doris Day, Laraine Day, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Fontaine, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Shirley MacLaine, Anna Massey, Margaret Lockwood, Vera Miles, Kim Novak, Maureen O'Hara, Ruth Roman, Eva Marie Saint and Jane Wyman.
(All the above actresses have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock films).

HITCHCOCK'S FAVOURITE SUPPORTING ACTORS AND ACTRESSES INCLUDE:

John Williams ("Dial M for Murder")
Doreen Lang ("The Wrong Man")
Jessie Royce Landis ("North by Northwest")
Leo G. Carroll ("Suspicion")
Charles McGraw ("The Birds")
Dame May Whitty ("The Lady Vanishes")
Martin Balsam ("Psycho")
Patricia Hitchcock ("Stage Fright")
Norman Lloyd ("Saboteur")
Barbara Leigh-Hunt ("Frenzy")
Norma Varden ("Strangers on a Train")
Martin Landau ("North by Northwest")
Nigel Bruce ("Rebecca")
Tom Helmore ("Vertigo")
William Bendix ("Lifeboat")
Hume Cronyn ("Shadow of a Doubt")

RECOMMENDED BOOKS ABOUT ALFRED HITCHCOCK:

"IT'S ONLY A MOVIE" by Charlotte Chandler
"THE A-Z OF HITCHCOCK" by Howard Maxford
"THE FILMS OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK" by Neil Sinyard
"ALFRED HITCHCOCK - THE COMPLETE FILMS" by Paul Duncan
"ALFRED HITCHCOCK - THE HOLLYWOOD YEARS" by Joel W. Finler
"ALFRED HITCHCOCK - THE DEFINITIVE FILMOGRAPHY" by Jane E. Sloan

MY FAVOURITE LINES FROM ALFRED HITCHCOCK FILMS INCLUDE:

Jessie Royce Landis: "You gentlemen aren't really trying to kill my son, are you?". ("North by Northwest").
Anthony Perkins: "A boy's best friend is his mother". ("Psycho").
Robert Donat: "There are twenty million women in this island and I've got to be chained to you". ("The 39 Steps").
John Williams: "They talk about flat footed policemen. May the saints preserve us from the gifted amateur". ("Dial M for Murder").
Robert Walker: "Two fellows meet accidentally ... each one has someone that they'd like to get rid of, and they swap murders". ("Strangers on a Train").
Mildred Natwick: "What seems to be the trouble, Captain?". ("The Trouble with Harry").
Margaret Lockwood: "I've no regrets. I've been everywhere and done everything. I've eaten caviar at Cannes, sausage rolls at the dogs. I've played baccarat at Biarritz, and darts with the rural dean. What is there left for me but marriage?". ("The Lady Vanishes").
Grace Kelly: "So this is where you live. Oh, mother will love it up here". ("To Catch a Thief").
John McIntire: "Well, if the woman up there is Mrs Bates - who's that woman buried out in Greenlawn Cemetery?". ("Psycho").
Malcolm Atterbury: "That's funny ... that plane's dustin' crops where there ain't no crops". ("North by Northwest").