Alfred hitchcock presents burglar proof4/30/2024 Smith,” Hitchcock’s second pure comedy (and a screwball one at that), is not the inspiration for the Doug Liman film of the same name. Hitchcock Cameo: Reading a newspaper at the 12:44 mark. “Foreign Correspondent” hasn’t been as well remembered as some, but those who seek it out will discover a fun and highly entertaining picture awaiting them. The film races from one suspenseful set piece to the next, culminating in the oceanic crash of a giant airship in the Atlantic, and Hitchcock executes each with a stylish efficiency. However, as winning as they are, they stand no chance against perpetual scene-stealer George Sanders as Euro sidekick Scott Ffolliot (his last name is one of the better running gags). McCrea, as the slick New York reporter investigating the kidnap of a Dutch diplomat, is as charming as any leading man of his time, and Laraine Day as his love interest is both steely and sweet in this role. Hitch is a master of subjective perspective and point of view, deftly manipulating how the audience sees information in order to keep them guessing. But what it does so well, and where other films of this kind often fail, is in maintaining the perfect tone of fun and seriousness while still racing along on the relentless steam engine of a plot. It’s a profound moment that works well to ground this juicy reporter-turned-spy film, filled with every thrill, chill and exciting moment an audience could want. Made in 1940 just prior to the London Blitz, Hitchcock visited his home after the shoot wrapped, and upon hearing the rumors of the German plan to bomb London, commissioned legendary screenwriter Ben Hecht to pen the stirring radio speech delivered by Joel McCrea as American reporter Johnny Jones that serves as the epilogue to the film, imploring the U.S. This World War II flick bridges his earlier, more-light hearted fare with his suspense-driven and serious Hollywood films that are the better known of his work. Hitchcock Cameo: Two hours and six minutes in, walking past the phone booth.Īs a patriotic pro-war spy romp through Western Europe, “ Foreign Correspondent” feels a little out of place in Hitch’s ouevre. While it drove control freak Hitchcock mad in his own right, the film’s masterfully sinister and shadowy tone earned the picture a total eleven Oscar nominations. production, the heavy hand of notorious meddler David O. de Winter’s descent into near madness because of the maltreatment of the staff is expertly pitched. Featuring ominous and creepy overtones, while “Rebecca” is a noir-thriller, it is at it’s core, a great drama (minus the police procedural section that bogs it down slightly) and Mrs. Danvers even suggests that the new bride should commit suicide and the slimey Jack ( George Sanders), Rebecca’s cousin, goads Danvers in her persecution of the new Mrs. And a full-fold conspiracy seems to be afoot. Exacerbating issues is Maxim, clearly still troubled from his deceased wife’s death and then his disappearance from the household on business, leaving the staff to mistreat the new Mrs. de Winter (the titular Rebecca) and view this new girl as an interloper (her old bedroom is even preserved as a shrine). Having died under mysterious circumstances, the staff appears to have a strong loyalty to the former Mrs. Danvers ( Judith Anderson), who is particularly unpleasant and borderline sadistic. de Winter gets the cold, cold shoulder from the staff and servants who can’t seem to accept her, especially the head housekeeper, Mrs. Maxim whisks her off to Manderlay, his large country estate in Cornwall, and all seems well, but the new Mrs. Starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier, “Rebecca” centers on an unnamed and naive heroine (Fontaine), who by chance, meets the aristocratic widower Maximilian de Winter (Olivier) in Monte Carlo and the two quickly fall in love. Read on below.īased on the novel by Daphne du Maurier (she wrote the source material for “ The Birds” and “ Jamaica Inn”), Hitchcock’s “ Rebecca” is a textbook and classic psychological drama that would go on to win the Best Picture Oscar in 1941. With a new Blu-ray box-set in stores this week, we’ve been looking at the directors’ career, and after examining his early silent and British films yesterday, we finish off today with the Hollywood era, from “Rebecca” in 1940 to “ Family Plot” in 1976. But it’s the quality of many of the films of his Hollywood years that lingers long past any awards. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in 1968. This period, starting with 1940’s Best Picture-winning “Rebecca,” saw Hitchcock nominated for five Best Director Academy Awards, but the filmmaker never won, bar the Irving G. Tom Felton Failed ‘Hitchcock’ Audition with Anthony Hopkins: ‘I Didn’t Know What I Was Doing’
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