The Lodger 1926
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Films of the 1920's
At Age 27 after three films (two of which are lost, the other, which was ”The Pleasure Garden”) Hitchcock Culminated his first seminal quintessential film ,it was raised in the schools or Berlin and Was hailed as the Greatest British Picture Ever Made at the time, Its A theme He would Return to many years later in Frenzy made outside the golden age of his successes in Hollywood.
It was Hitchcock first major Success and one of two films in the 20’s (the other was ”Blackmail”) that gave him an enormous reputation , It offers a possible explanation for”Jack the Ripper” and shows the beginning of many Hitchcock trademarks such as the Wrong Man on the run, fetishistic sexuality and murder, Death and Pleasure,
In the Dark Thick Fog, London is awash with fear and loathing over a serial sex murder known as “The Avenger” who targets Blond Woman in particular and leaves their warm corpse lying in the street ,He always strikes on a Tuesday, his Face is covered, and Leaves his calling card always tucked away in the victims pocket,
On a Tuesday night Daisy Bunting(June Tipp) a Model comes home to her little flat she shares with her family, her boyfriend(Malcolm Keen) the local chief of police is there boasting how he’s going to catch the”avenger killer while flipping a coin in the air, Suddenly the Gas meter switches off and while Daisys Father (Arthur Chesney) goes to insert another coin in , The house goes dark All of A sudden their is a knock on the Door and Mrs Bunting (Played beautifully by Marie Ault) Opens the Door to a pall faced Tall man with his face Covered (Ivor Novello) inquiring about the room for let upstairs,The Pale Antisocial Asexual Unnamed man begins his association with the family and starts More trouble than they can possibility imagine, especially when we seems to take Interest in Daisy who Just Happens to be Fair Haired.Suspicion Falls upon the odd Introvert and coincidence seems to follow fact as Tuesday Night Comes Around Again and another scream is heard in the Depths of the London Fog.
Fritz Langs film work work particularly “M” (a film about a child molester and Serial Murderer) made a profound impression on the Work of Hitchcock .It would be a strange coincidence that in his Last American Film Frtiz Lang Would Pay Homage to him in ”Beyond Reasonable Doubt”
This film has all the trademarks of the latter Hitchcock s films and is greatly enhanced by the great use of film montage of German Expressionist Films to which Hitchcock learned his trade and made a point of his style This Film has been Remade four times as recently as 2009 and the second even starred Novello himself however there’s is no comparison There are some who say Hitchcock was always a bit of a silent film director with his use of great lengthy scenes without dialogue, and if you watch this u can see why everything in the stories plot comes across clear as a bell its not a dodgy DW Griffith with too much montage to millions of Credit cards to Tell you whats happening, you can see exactly whats going on, you can tell when something horrible is going to happen to the sweet blond victim , and you are given that same ’suspend belief’ that’s in all the Great Hitchcock Films of his Golden Period .
Its a Silent film but as the voyer you can still see everything that goes on you are looking through a crack in the floor of a second story apartment at a ”Killer” Passing above your head waiting to strike,
Tags: Accusation, Hitchcock, Love Triangle, Murder, Mystery, Noir, Psychological Thriller, Serial Murderer
The Paradine Case 1947
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
‘Disclaimer’ Any relation to ‘Body of Evidence’ is purely coincidental…
Highly successful London barrister Anthony Keane (Gregory Peck)takes on the case of Italian Maddalena Paradine (Alida Valli) who is accused of poisoning her blind military hero husband. Keane Starts by defending her but becomes increasingly bewitched by her, threatening both his marriage and his career. As as details in the case come to light ,Madame Paradines Veil begins to slip for all but her Champion , Her Lawyer
We have at least two love triangles in this film, and they not as obvious as you may think.
This is the Final Collaboration between Hitchcock and meddlesome Producer David O Selznick Who Brought him to America and Helped Create his first major American Film Rebecca , After The contract Expired with Paradine Hitchcock gained Creative Freedom of shorts and went on to experiment with new styles of editing such as in ‘Rope” and “under Capricorn”Hitchcock also pioneers the use of multiple cameras with live action almost a forerunner to what Television would do in Studios some Years later
Paradine was Considered in the “lesser Category” of the Cannon of Hitchcock However it does showcase his technique and the Entered of Louis Jordan is till one of the most startling is Cinema History. Gregory peck Plays Another Lawer, whos sexual frustration begins upon meeting the Beautiful Mrs Paradine Joan Tetzel Plays an Interesting role of the sudo lesbian Daughter of A Solicitor who dosnt wont the Market woman to hang as she ”hates breaking pretty things” louis Jordan Plays the Anti social Woman Hating Vallet of the Murded Mr Paradine Ann Todd aka Mrs David Lean as the Long Suffering ‘Good Wife’ Perhaps the Suspended Belief that Gregory Peck would Sacrifice everything for a Woman he had not even kissed seems a little slim, However as a Vehicle Created for the Mystique of Greta Garbo (who was offered the role first ) it may be been slightly more believable She Turned it Down after another film role Famously saying “No Mommies No Murderesses” ,Alida Velli Stills holds the attention of the Audience as the Mysterious Manipulative Passive Aggressive Madame Paradine , if you ever wondered what ‘Rececca’ may have been like in the flesh and why she seems to capture the hearts of Woman and Men give Mrs Paradine a look.
As well as a resemble to Mrs Paradine Gorgeous Music of Franz Waxman which dominated the film of Rebecca Suffocated the Paradine case in wonder and Mystery
Its is to be appreciated for the things which Hitchcock alone brings to the film even in the little scenes that make this a very engaging film to watch
Tags: Accusation, Bi, Femme Fatale, Franz Waxman, Hitchcock, Infidelity, Love Triangle, Movies Garbo Rejected, Mysterious Death, Trial
Notorious 1946
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
The Keys to the Kingdom….
Notorious 1946 is a film Directed By Alfred Hitchcock
Following the conviction of her German father for treason against the U.S., socialite Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman “Casablanca”)becomes a party girl. After a boozie night out she is approached by a undercover government agent T.R. Devlin(Cary Grant”North by Northwest”) who asks her to spy on a group of her father’s Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Janeiro. A romance develops between Alicia and Devlin, but after finding out the lengths Alicia will need to go through and the previous relationship between herself and the man they are trying to track (Claude Rains’ Casablanca) , Devlin cools off , this drives Alicia to the Very heart of Evil being prepared by the breakaway Nazi group and Her life hangs in the balance without anyone to help her.. Its got the humor and the man woman society incapability , with a great heightened suspence especially when Ingrids Veil Starts to slip, watch out also for Leopoldine Konstantin who plays Claude Rains Vindictive dominating mother, perhaps even a vision of what ‘Mrs Bates’ Could have been like when Alive.
This Film is always famous for “That Crain shot” which is one of the most remarkable zooms without editing or special effects in Cinema History.
check it out dont get caught!
Tags: Cary Grant, Espionage, Hitchcock, Ingrid Bergman, Love Triangle, Mystery, South America, Spy
Rebecca 1940
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Hitchcocks first American Film flooded with Lesbian Subtext and Gothic Noir Still Based of a Daphne du Maurier ,Novel, the troubled by the death of his first wife Rebecca,(Laurence Olivier r) falls in love with a shy introvert (Joan Fontaine “Suspicion” ). They get married, but the second Mrs. de Winter discovers that Rebecca still has a strong hold on everyone in the house, particularly on Mrs. Denvers, the housekeeper, who begins driving the young wife to madness.
rebecca Is Never seen in this film not even in a but she takes up a great chunk of it , who is this Bisexual human soul cannibal who still casts shadows on all who have lived around her and do you need to kill the living to destroy the dead?
Tags: Based off Novel, Bi, Daphne du Maurier, Franz Waxman, Gothic, Hitchcock, Mansion, Mysterious Death, Mystery, Of Lesbian Interest
Under Capricorn 1949
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1940's
Under Capricorn is a bit of a space oddity , Directed By Alfred Hitchcock, set in Australia in the earl 1800’s and Beloved by the French Critcs,Hitchcock fnished the decade the same as he did with the last , with a arty experiment, “Jamaica Inn ‘ this Like Rope has a series of unedited shots and is More of a psycho-Drama , Think Rebecca Downunder
but unlike rebecca the only thing that holds it is Ingrid and the many secret devils she deals with through drink and forgetfullness , its shot in colour and looks great,
dosnt really show any signs of be “hitchcokian’ till the last part of the film, Hitchcock only went down the period drama three times, ‘Waltzes from Vienna ‘ wich he only did for the money lets face it, “Jamaica Inn” has its moments but not many and ‘Under Capricorn’
its not widely seen so give it a go…
Tags: Australia, Hitchcock, Ingrid Bergman, Madness, Psychological Thriller, Self Sacrifice
Marnie 1964
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
This is said to have killed the career for Hitchcock,
buts its the best of his Physco- Dramas film and one of the most experimental The beautiful Marnie Edgar (Tipi Hedron)is a first class bookkeeper and the apple of her employers’ eyes. She Also happens also to be a Grand larcenist, compulsive thief who Steals hundreds of thousands of Dollars, under man pseudonyms and guises , She steals not because she is poor or greedy but for no apparent reason at all. After a failed attempt to steal from the charismatic predatory Mark Rutland (Sean Connery ‘Fresh from Dr No) He takes her and Sexually Blackmails her into marring him.
Thinking he can Unravel Her Sexual and Social Problems by wedding her and Bedding her only causes more chaos and erratic behavior , its only out of a true love for her and Freudian psychology does he uncover the mysteries of her past that contribute to her penchant for taking other people’s money and her Sexual frigidity
The Last Collaboration Between Hitchcock and many people who had worked with him before, this is know to many as the last great Seminal Hitchcock Film, After the Trauma of working with Hitchcock on ”The Birds” Tippi decided not to go for round three although to this day has stated it is her favorite of the two films she did with Hitchcock because of the Complex Characterization of Marnie, One of the most Complex female Characters of the 1960’s If not ever!
Hitchcock Also Parted Company with his Favorite Writer Over a Argument about a scene involving Rape as well as some of his film editors and DOP’s, But the greatest loss was the End of the Era of Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann the Great Film Composer who gave Vertigo its Uninterrupted Anxiety,North by Northwest its Drive and Psycho its Stabbing, Herrmann Parted Company with Hitchcock over what he thought was an indicate score and the need to generate a”Hit Tune” From the Music,
Although a Song called ”Marnie” was composed for Nat king Cole to sing, it didn’t fare well at all, even less than the film itself
The Interesting thing of course after more than 40 years
this was the last film that featured the ”Hitchcock Blond”
At the Time Marnie was Criticized by people for seeming too fake with its painted backdrops and studio shots ,as most films were now being done on location, But these in later years has been Argued as some of Hitchcocks quintessential traits in order for is films to truly have his signature
What ever you may think of Marnie its is Just as important as all the Other Greats in the Cannon of Hitchcock and The Last great Film of a Magnificent Director .
You Will See Red
Tags: Freudian, Frigidity, Hitchcock, Psychological Thriller, Thief, Twist
