The Alfred Hitchcock Discussion Thread

[titoli]

Jinkies, I'd note that your ratings of these movies seem wildly inconsistent. I remember you strongly sticking up for Topaz, more than a 6/10 would deserve, and you didn't like Frenzy last time we talked but are giving it an 8/10 here. Did you give those a rewatch and change your mind or what's going on?

And the Steps.

[Groggy]

Rating Torn Curtain ahead of Shadow of a Doubt makes him borderline certifiable, come to think of it...

[cigar joe]

I don't know how it's possible CJ, but we've seen the exact same films.

No mystery here, I used your post for a cut & past changed a few ratings and added Rope which I've seen. Problem with that?

[dave jenkins]

Rating Torn Curtain ahead of Shadow of a Doubt makes him borderline certifiable, come to think of it...

You know well my complete aversion to Shadow of a Doubt. Torn Curtain, at least, has one scene I like.

[Groggy]

Care to address the other question?

[dave jenkins]

I don't know what you're getting at exactly. I can believe I'm inconsistent, but not wildly so.

[Groggy]

You were bashing Frenzy in a previous conversation but here you give it an 8/10?

[dave jenkins]

Remind me of the conversation. Is it in a thread somewhere? Sorry, I just don't remember.

[Groggy]

I just remember you saying you liked the humor but not much else. And you said you thought Jon Finch was annoying.

[Groggy]

Here's a PM you sent me when we had our Hitchcock-related discussion a few months ago. Hope you don't mind my posting it here:

Thanks, Grogs, I read that and you did a very good job. Years ago I would have agreed with everything in it, but as I said earlier, I find Frenzy almost unwatchable now. I realize suddenly that it isn't just Finch's performance--something else is missing, a sense of transcendence, if you will. That sense is present in the best of Hitchcock, and even in some of his more middling exercises. When it's absent--as it is in Shadow a Doubt, The Trouble With Harry, and the film now under discussion--I find Hitchcock a chore to sit through. It isn't a problem often, though; usually the Hitchcock brand delivers on its reputation.

[dave jenkins]

Hmmm, I'd forgotten. Well, I guess I'll have to watch it again . . .

[Groggy]

Topaz was another one if not as egregious, but I remember you sticking up for it (and arguing at length with Titoli I think) but you only gave it a 6 on your list.

[dave jenkins]

Well, it has to swim amongst a lot of better Hitchcock films. Remember, unlike some, I actually use all the points on the spectrum. A "6" is a better-than-average film.

[Groggy]

Fair enough.

I might watch another Hitchcock today if I can get up the energy to walk to the library. Suspicion, Spellbound, Lifeboat, I Confess? We'll see.

[dave jenkins]

Fair enough.

I might watch another Hitchcock today if I can get up the energy to walk to the library. Suspicion, Spellbound, Lifeboat, I Confess? We'll see.

Except for the cop-out ending, I like Suspicion a lot. Cary Grant as an evil con man: now there's a concept I can go with!

Spellbound is silly, but Bergman is appealing, and the film has a great score ("Mr. Rozsa, meet the theramin"). Lifeboat is quite good, a nice dry run for such classics-in-confined-spaces as Rope and Rear Window. I confess I've never been able to sit through I Confess at one go, although I've watched all of its parts at different times. Have fun.