Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense (1 Viewer)

[Emcee]

Alfred Hitchcock was one of classic Hollywood's most prolific and identifiable directors. He set many trends and was the mastermind behind a host of classics, such as Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960).

I recently stumbled upon this video essay online, and it reignited my interest in Hitchcock.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks for posting this YouTube video. I watched the first 10 minutes so far and will finish it later. I was thinking this guy sounds familiar and realized the video is from Eyebrow Cinema. I had seen a few of his videos before and I thought he had an interesting thesis on On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It made me wonder who this guy is. It appears he’s a very young guy whose a film geek. I don’t know what qualifies him to do this as if he was a real film scholar, besides an interest to make videos about movies, but his thesis about that James Bond film had some interesting thinking I thought.

I had just done a complete Hitchcock film viewing project from the silent era to his last title about 3 1/2 years ago. So I’m interested in finishing the rest of this Eyebrow Cinema video to see what he says.

 

[Emcee]

It appears he’s a very young guy whose a film geek. I don’t know what qualifies him to do this as if he was a real film scholar, besides an interest to make videos about movies,

I've often toyed with the idea of doing online video essays myself, but I've never taken the time to actually do it. For one, I don't think I have the resources, much less the time to get it done.

 

[Keith Cobby]

Great film essay, thanks for the heads-up. It discusses the different periods of Hitch's career and focuses on his decline which for me begins with The Birds. The presenter seems to consider that Frenzy is the best of his final period, whereas I think it's his worst film (of his career). Personally, I prefer Topaz due to the cast and production values although the script is weak. Hitch has been my favourite director since watching The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes on television at an early age. North by Northwest is the apex of his career and my all time favourite film.

 

[Emcee]

The first Hitchcock movie that I saw was Psycho (1960). I bought the old VHS tape copy at the urging of my grandmother. When I got into classic films, I would spend hours talking with her about movies she remembered liking when she was younger. Psycho was always one she talked about, so I finally ordered it.

When I first watched it, I was thoroughly impressed. Of course, I was quite aware of the famous "shower scene" and the reveal at the end, but that didn't take away from the experience. Psycho provides a very engaging viewing experience; the acting, directing, and cinematography are all worthy of individual praise. The performances by Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh should be singled out.

Hitchcock wanted to make Psycho on a low-budget and do it in black-and-white while using the crew from his TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents. He wanted to prove that a quality director such as himself could make a good, quality motion picture on a shoe-string budget, therefore keeping up with the trend of the time of low-grade horror films cluttering theater screens.

Psycho set many trends, particularly within the horror genre.

It is a must-see for classic movie fans, whether or not one is a Hitchcock fan.

 

[Emcee]

One of my favorite Hitchcock tropes is his use of what has become known as the "volcanic blonde" or "ice blonde" in his films.

The most famous of his blondes would probably be Grace Kelly, a favorite of Hitchcock's, who starred in three of his films: Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), and To Catch a Thief (1955). Unlike such blonde screen images personified by Marilyn Monroe and Doris Day, Kelly embodied a sleek, glamorous, and upper-class image that made her the perfect partner for Hitchcock staples like Cary Grant and James Stewart.

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[Joe Wong]

My dad introduced me to Hitchcock films via Psycho and The Birds, but we watched several more as I was growing up that he hadn't seen. Rear Window is my favourite, for its simple setup, social satire, and excruciatingly suspenseful 2nd half, North By Northwest a classic hero-on-the-run adventure, Vertigo an unusually complex psychological thriller, and Dial M for Murder a compelling murder mystery. I also love the humour he injected into films like The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, and The Trouble with Harry. Not to mention the sly wink-wink with his cameo appearances.

I still need to watch Shadow of a Doubt, which is apparently Hitch's personal favourite. Will get to it one day!

 

[TravisR]

I still need to watch Shadow of a Doubt, which is apparently Hitch's personal favourite. Will get to it one day!

That one's a winner.

 

[Cineman]

Alfred Hitchcock was one of classic Hollywood's most prolific and identifiable directors. He set many trends and was the mastermind behind a host of classics, such as Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960).

I recently stumbled upon this video essay online, and it reignited my interest in Hitchcock.

"Written and Edited by Daniel Simpson"

Thanks for that link. I really enjoyed it.

To my knowledge, I had not heard of nor seen anything else by Daniel Simpson. But I found myself largely agreeing with his take on Hitchcock's work, with a few minor quibbles barely worth mentioning.

In this he articulated what I had felt, sitting in the theater watching all but one Hitchcock movie on its initial release going back to the late 1950s, catching up with most of the rest in revival theater screenings over the years and, of course, on television and subsequent home video versions.

For whatever reason, the only Hitchcock movie I did not see in a theater on its initial release since The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) was my now favorite movie of all, Vertigo (1958). Lol. I have no idea how or why I missed seeing that one in the theater in 1958. It just didn't show up on my radar.

My first viewing of Vertigo was on its first (and last for several years?) television presentation in, I think, the early 1970s, complete with chopped off edges to fit the roughly square-shaped tv screen, middling video resolution, tinny mono sound and a 2-3 minute commercial break every 10-15 minutes.

I was enthralled, mesmerized and haunted by it for days, kept it in mind for years afterwards, made pilgrimages to the UCLA film archives every year for a while to view it on a reel on a private monitor with earphones when it was not available to be seen anywhere else. And now I am lucky to be able to watch that and so many more great Hitchcock movies whenever I want in top quality picture and sound on large screen home theater systems. Nice.

But I do miss the incomparable movie-going pleasure of watching those Hitchcock greats in a packed theater full of strangers, most of whom were seeing this one or that one for the first time as Hitchcock fashioned his movies to be seen, experienced and enjoyed.

 

[Emcee]

The Trouble with Harry.

This movie always feels like an outlier from Hitchcock's peak, or it might just be me. Granted, I haven't seen the movie itself, but only heard and read about it.

 

[Emcee]

Vera Miles in wardrobe tests for Vertigo in 1957. As you know, Hitchcock had groomed Miles for the female lead in the film, but once she got pregnant, she had to back out. Hitchcock never forgave her for getting pregnant, and later gave her the role of the sister in Psycho (1960), a "thankless role for a thankless girl".

 

[Wayne_j]

When I watched the Trouble With Harry on the 2nd Hitchcock 4K set I got a definite sense that I saw it before when I was a child on TV. I did enjoy the movie, but it is definitely an outlier on Hitch's resume.

 

[Nelson Au]

I finished watching that eyebrow cinema video on Hitchcock’s films. I’d have not thought to compare Vertigo to Marnie before and he's right in that the man is trying to change the woman to something else. And that is a constant of Hitchcock’s career. But I never felt that was the main aspect of Marnie.

i have the new 4K set with Marnie, so I’ll revisit that soon.

I’ve only seen The Trouble with Harry once when I did my Hitchcock viewing project. I didn’t like it. i did not hate it, but it just did not work for me.

There is one aspect during that period of Marnie and the last period of Hitchcock’s career, and this is probably just me, i’ve noticed that watching a film like Topaz and Family Plot and the earlier Trouble with Harry is that the stars in those films to me are contemporary. I associate those actors to later Projects they’ve done too. So Forsythe to me is a modern actor. As are Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. For some reason, Sean Connery doesn’t feel like that to me, but he definitely falls in that category. And some of the actors like John Vernon just make me think of TV actor. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Perhaps its from discovering his early films, with actors in their prime from an earlier period are to me what is a big part of what is great about the classic Hitchcock films.

 

[Matt Hough]

Vera Miles in wardrobe tests for Vertigo in 1957. As you know, Hitchcock had groomed Miles for the female lead in the film, but once she got pregnant, she had to back out. Hitchcock never forgave her for getting pregnant, and later gave her the role of the sister in Psycho (1960), a "thankless role for a thankless girl".

View attachment 163488 View attachment 163487

He had her under exclusive contract during that period and used her a lot on his television series, thoroughly sabotaging the starring film career he had planned for her.

 

[Cineman]

He had her under exclusive contract during that period and used her a lot on his television series, thoroughly sabotaging the starring film career he had planned for her.

I wonder if Vera Miles as Judy emerging from the bathroom as the resurrected Madeleine, coming back into Scottie's world would have been as overwhelming, as powerful as what Kim Novak brought to it. I don't know. I am glad Kim Novak was there for that.

I do think a less, what, dynamic type of woman in that role, slighter in presence, softer and more vulnerable seeming would have made her abandonment by Elster a bit more believable and her ultimate fate in the bell tower even sadder. Perhaps Vera Miles would have engendered more of a sense of protection for her than Kim Novak did.

 

[Suzanne.S]

I don’t know what qualifies him to do this as if he was a real film scholar, besides an interest to make videos about movies, but his thesis about that James Bond film had some interesting thinking I thought.

What qualifications should he have? In my experience, film fans and enthusiasts often have considerably more knowledge than the so called "experts". I, myself was quite surprised at how little some of my film professors actually knew about some of the films they were teaching. I didn't finish my degree, but I can certainly hold my own in a film discussion with experts and authors on the subject.

I felt that his thesis and presentation were good and the video was interesting. Thanks for sharing it!

 

[Keith Cobby]

I used to rate Vertigo more highly than now. This might be due to so many repeat viewings of the big reveal or just falling out of love with Kim Novak over the years. It is however the most beautifully filmed of Hitch's movies and the 4k is exquisite.

 

[Nelson Au]

What qualifications should he have? In my experience, film fans and enthusiasts often have considerably more knowledge than the so called "experts". I, myself was quite surprised at how little some of my film professors actually knew about some of the films they were teaching. I didn't finish my degree, but I can certainly hold my own in a film discussion with experts and authors on the subject.

I felt that his thesis and presentation were good and the video was interesting. Thanks for sharing it!

Suzanne, after I made that post, I did think afterwards, that comment about qualifications might be misinterpreted.

The first I ever saw of Eyebrow Cinema’s YouTube videos was his thesis about On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I commented about it on the Bond threads. His thesis I thought was very good and it has a point of view I’d never seen before. I thought it was very insightful. It made me wonder who he was and what his background is. From what I can tell, he seems to be a very young guy who really likes to watch movies and that’s all I know. So it impressed me that he appears to have seen far more movies then I’ve seen when I was in my 20’s. Thinking about this, someone of his generation has the advantage of so many movies available to consume on DVD, blu-ray and streaming. So he was probably able to see a lot of films. Maybe his parents has an extensive collection he was exposed to and could pull from as he was growing up.

And his videos are very well prepared and presented. I appreciate its not made as click-bait and does not use hyperbole to get attention. He comes off a lot more educated about films then anyone should at that age! And that was meant as a compliment.

 

[Suzanne.S]

Suzanne, after I made that post, I did think afterwards, that comment about qualifications might be misinterpreted.
...
And his videos are very well prepared and presented. I appreciate its not made as click-bait and does not use hyperbole to get attention. He comes off a lot more educated about films then anyone should at that age! And that was meant as a compliment.

I was hoping that and I'm glad that was the case. I may also be a little touchy about the subject.