The Paradine Case (1947) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

The link below will take you directly to the product on Amazon. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link.

 

[Robert Harris]

This film has received a bad rap. Not prime Hitchcock, by a long shot, but still a gorgeously mounted Selznick production, and with more than enough touches to make it a pleasure.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This film has received a bad rap. Not prime Hitchcock, by a long shot, but still a gorgeously mounted Selznick production, and with more than enough touches to make it a pleasure.

I have to wonder if cutting the film twice contributed to that.

 

[Robert Harris]

I have to wonder if cutting the film twice contributed to that.

It didn't help.

 

[Dick]

I don't like the film, and am not quite a Hitchcock completist (don't need some of his silents, nor UNDER CAPRICORN, and I wouldn't own ROPE if it wasn't part of the box set). It's just too stagey and, frankly, boring for me. But, hey, any director who has given us films the quality of PSYCHO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE BIRDS, NOTORIOUS, etc. can't be faulted for having had a few misfires...and he had fewer than most.

 

[Robert Harris]

I don't like the film, and am not quite a Hitchcock completist (don't need some of his silents, nor UNDER CAPRICORN, and I wouldn't own ROPE if it wasn't part of the box set). It's just too stagey and, frankly, boring for me. But, hey, any director who has given us films the quality of PSYCHO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE BIRDS, NOTORIOUS, etc. can't be faulted for having had a few misfires...and he had fewer than most.

Like Dial "M," Rope is based upon a play, and both show their roots.

 

[Will Krupp]

It holds the distinction of being Gregory Peck's LEAST favorite of all the films he made. If I'm not mistaken he once suggested that he wouldn't shed a tear if all of the copies were burned.

I don't think it's a "bad" movie, per se, but it is way too talky and far too grand for its subject matter. That great cast alone should have added up to more than it does.

Selznick's obsessive interference drove Hitchcock straight up the wall and it shows.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Like Dial "M," Rope is based upon a play, and both show their roots.

Yep! I happen to like Rope, but to each his own. As to misfires that's in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Robert Crawford]

It holds the distinction of being Gregory Peck's LEAST favorite of all the films he made. If I'm not mistaken he once suggested that he wouldn't shed a tear if all of the copies were burned.

I don't think it's a "bad" movie, per se, but it is way too talky and far too grand for its subject matter. That great cast alone should have added up to more than it does.

Selznick's interference drove Hitchcock straight up the wall.

And led to film cuts that might have been detrimental to the final film.

 

[Will Krupp]

And led to film cuts that might have been detrimental to the final film.

Yes!!

I seem to remember reading he was testing out the long, unbroken takes that would later form the basis for ROPE and CAPRICORN in a scene between Peck and Claire Todd that followed them all through their townhouse after a dinner. Selznick didn't understand it so he ordered it cut to break the scene up into traditional takes.

What version are we seeing now, by the way? I know there was a long cut for the premiere dates and a short version for general release so I assume we have the original, longer, cut on DVD but is there other material Selznick cut before the final negative? I can't imagine Hitchcock would have wanted the movie any longer that it wound up, the pace is already glacial.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Yep! I happen to like Rope, but to each his own. As to misfires that's in the eye of the beholder.

While it's certainly not my favorite Hitchcock film, I do enjoy Rope. Just watching those incredibly long shots with no cuts makes the film fascinating to me.

As for The Paradine Case, it's not a favorite, either, but I do enjoy the cast and like revisiting the film every so often. I'll pick this one up once the price drops a little.

 

[Robert Crawford]

What version are we seeing now, by the way? I know there was a long cut for the premiere dates and a short version for general release so I assume we have the original, longer, cut on DVD but is there other material Selznick cut before the final negative? I can't imagine Hitchcock would have wanted the movie any longer that it wound up, the pace is already glacial.

It is the shortest version on DVD one that runs 114 minutes.

 

[Dick]

Like Dial "M," Rope is based upon a play, and both show their roots.

Yup, and I just find DIAL M a better film. Maybe this reflects my aversion to John Dall, who I found to be insufferable in SPARTACUS and in ROPE. He just puts me off. Just an actor/viewer negative chemistry thing, I guess. We all have those.

 

[Will Krupp]

It is the shortest version on DVD one that runs 114 minutes.

Oh wow, thanks! I have the MGM DVD and I don't know why I thought it was the complete version.

Maybe a longer cut would restore Ethel Barrymore's performance (honestly, why hire the great Ethel Barrymore only to have her do next to nothing?) LOL

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Am I remembering correctly that Anchor Bay had also done a release - and that the Anchor Bay release had retained a particular tinting in a certain scene?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Am I remembering correctly that Anchor Bay had also done a release - and that the Anchor Bay release had retained a particular tinting in a certain scene?

Perhaps you're thinking of Spellbound another Hitchcock film with Gregory Peck?

 

[Dave B Ferris]

Perhaps you're thinking of Spellbound another Hitchcock film with Gregory Peck?

Yes, could be.

 

[Bob Cashill]

From what I gather the film premiered at 131 minutes, but that version is lost.

 

[Robin9]

Yup, and I just find DIAL M a better film. Maybe this reflects my aversion to John Dall, who I found to be insufferable in SPARTACUS and in ROPE. He just puts me off. Just an actor/viewer negative chemistry thing, I guess. We all have those.

There are actors and actresses I can't bear so I do understand your position. That said however, the audience is not supposed to like the characters John Dall plays in those two films!

 

[bigshot]

While it's certainly not my favorite Hitchcock film, I do enjoy Rope. Just watching those incredibly long shots with no cuts makes the film fascinating to me.

There is one cutaway in Rope- an inserted shot of Stewart's reaction. But it's so smooth and natural and embedded in the context of the scene that no one notices it.