Hitchcock Honorable Mentions: Suspicion

Written by: Nightmare Child


We're just taking a short break from the actual top ten list to focus on the films not featured on the blog already. Coming up with a Hitchcock top ten wasn't easy. I'm still kicking myself over the films that I didn't pick. It's like picking a favorite child really. Much like our last entry, this film also stars Cary Grant. This is arguably one of his best performances. SUSPICION is a romantic psychological thriller about a shy young English woman who begins to suspect her husband of trying to kill her. It's really a simple plot that doesn't need to be explained any further. It'll have you guessing all the way to the very end. Is Cary Grant's character a murderer? Or is it all just one big misunderstanding?

With great acting from both Grant and Joan Fontaine, SUSPICION will have you on the edge of your seat. There's one scene in the film that really stands from the rest. It's the scene where Johnnie (Grant) brings his wife a glass of milk to her while she's in bed. To make the imagery stand out, they actually placed a light bulb inside the glass to make it more stunning. You begin to wonder if he did something to the milk. Poison perhaps? You'll just have to watch the film for yourself if you haven't done so already.

CAMEO NOTE: Hitchcock actually has two cameos in this movie. Four minutes in you can see him walking a horse across the screen at the hunt meet. The second is about six minutes into the movie where he's tossing a white sheet of paper while the bus pulls up for Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim to leave the theater.

Our favorite Hitchcock Movies #4

Written by: Nightmare Child


Most of Hitchcock's thrillers deal with the same concept of a person who is at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's often a mistaken identity case. An innocent soul has to endure a series of horrifying events leading up to one giant conclusion. NORTH BY NORTHWEST is no different. Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, a man who is mistaken for a Mr. George Kaplan and kidnapped by Valerian and Licht. He is taken to the house of Lester Townsend on Long Island. There he is interrogated by a man he assumes to be Townsend, but who is really Phillip Vandamm. Thornhill repeatedly denies he is Kaplan, but Vandamm does not believe him. He orders his right-hand man Leonard (played marvelously by Martin Landau) to get rid of him. It's a cat and mouse chase across the country with Mr. Thornhill running to save his own life.


Filled with murders and unbelievable chase scenes (one in particular being the most iconic involving a crop dusting plane), NORTH BY NORTHWEST is the perfect film for thrill seekers and worldly travelers. It's a nice change of pace from Hitchcock's previous film VERTIGO. The plot of this film involves what Alfred Hitchcock calls a "MacGuffin", a physical object that everyone in the film is chasing but which has no deep relationship to the plot. This plot device seems to work almost every time. Much like Hitchcock's other film SABATEUR, the ending takes place on a historical landmark. This one being on top of Mount Rushmore.


This is easily one of Hitchcock's most intense and thrilling films. It's got so many twists and turns that it makes it hard for any human being to trust anyone. Anything can happen, and it's presented well. Grant makes this picture his own. Cary Grant worked with Hitchcock on three other different films: Suspicion, Notorious and To Catch a Thief. All of which are amazing films in their own right. Grant personified the prototype of the ideal man created by Hitchcock and the type of man he would have liked to be. Every man at one point wanted to be Cary Grant. Even he himself wanted to be Cary Grant. Hitchcock also stated that Grant was "the only actor he ever loved in his whole life". Who could blame him? After seeing this movie you can't help but love Cary Grant.

I'm sure for alot of people, this movie would be number one on their list. Sadly we're not finished yet. We still have three more films to cover plus some added honorable mentions. There are just way too many Hitchcocks films that have yet to be covered. If you don't have NORTH BY NORTHWEST in your collection already, I highly recommend the blu-ray. It has that nice high def polish that's just going to make you love the film even more.



CAMEO NOTE: At the very end of the opening credits, you can see Hitchcock missing his bus right after they show his name on screen.

Our favorite Hitchcock Movies #8

Written by: Nightmare Child

Much like the last film in our countdown (ROPE), this movie is notorious for its setting and atmosphere. LIFEBOAT is different from Hitchock's usual crime thriller. It's a war movie that follows a group of survivors who are stranded out at sea. During World War II a group of American and British citizens are stuck in a lifeboat after their ship and a U-boat sink each other in combat Survivors from the freighter torpedoed by a U-boat huddle together including columnist Constance Porter, the ship's engineer Kovac, radio operator Stanley Garrett, nurse Alice MacKenzie, millionaire Charles 'Ritt' Rittenouse, seaman Gus Smith, steward Joe, and Mrs. Higley, a hysterical English woman holding her dead baby. Though the inhabitants of the lifeboat come from vastly different backgrounds, they quickly set aside the social and economic differences that divide them in a united effort to survive.

Explaining the plot further would just ruin the whole thing, so I'll just leave it at that. Basically you're stuck watching these people trying to survive out at sea. Just the thought of being stranded out in the ocean is scary. Trying being in the middle of war while it's happening. These elements together create paranoia, and that's just one of the reasons why we love this movie. What makes LIFEBOAT stand apart is its character development and dialog. LIFEBOAT runs at a pretty good pace and at 91 minutes total it doesn't ever seem to drag. The story comes from John Steinbeck, the author of such stories as "The Grapes of Wrath" and "Of Mice and Men."

Trying to fit a group of actors in one place can be a challange, and it's remarkable that Hitchcock was able to get it down. For such a small frame Hitchcock managed somehow to fit a good number of characters on screen at the same time. If you haven't had the oppertunity to see LIFEBOAT yet, then I suggest adding it to your Netflix cue right away. Especially if you're a fan of the movie ROPE. The film is so good that it received Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Best Original Motion Picture Story and Best Black and White Cinematography. Some critics see this as an unsubtle wartime propaganda piece; I call it a great achievement in cinema. LIFEBOAT's portrayal of a German character (was perceived as a positive fashion) caused considerable controversy at the time of its release. Looking back at it now, I don't think that's entirely true. Go see this movie!



CAMEO NOTE: How can Hitchcock make an appearance in LIFEBOAT without having to play a character on screen? That's easy, just read the newspaper. 25 minutes into the film Hitchcock's body is seen in the "before" and "after" newspaper ad for "Reduco Obesity Slayer".

Our favorite Hitchcock Movies #9

Written by: Nightmare Child


ROPE is an interesting movie to watch. Especially when you watch it with a group of friends. Right after the opening credits the audience is treated to a quick and simple murder. Needless to say, the suspense builds up from the start. You can't help but wonder: What else is going to happen? What does the rest of the movie have in store for me? It's brilliance. Pure, long brilliance. In ROPE we follow Branden and Philip. The couple have just murdered their former classmate David, and hid his body inside of an antique wooden chest. After the so called "perfect murder", Branden and Philip host a dinner in the very same room where David was killed. The guests are unaware that David has gone missing, and begin to question his disappearance. Little do they know David is close by, but he is no longer the life of the party (pardon the pun).

What makes ROPE stand out from Hitchcock's other films is that the entire thing takes place in one setting (much like the next film in our countdown). For about 80 minutes you're stuck inside of Branden and Philips apartment. The only time you get to see outside is during the opening credits. For the rest of the picture you're inside the apartment with a view of Manhattan blaring outside the windows. The premise is strange yet satisfying. Branden and Phil throw a party while theirs a dead body in their wooden chest; which is proudly displayed in the living room with the dinner guests eating off of it. The only person in the party who begins to suspect Branden and Phil is Rupert Cadell, the prep-school housemaster and publisher played brilliantly by James Stewart. Stewart's facial expressions alone are great, and for some reason he's the only one who can see throught Phil and Branden's lies. The suspense in ROPE builds you up until the very end, and that's why we love this movie with a passion. It's very subtle, but Hitchcock still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat.

ROPE is notorious for its long and extended cuts. There are literally hundreds of cuts in movies where the camera switches from time to time depending on the scene. In ROPE the camera doesn't cut out for long periods of time. In total there's only ten cuts in the film. Each extending for about 5-10 minutes. The longest segment runs about ten minutes and seven seconds. Each part is cleverly edited with blackout shots - continuously panning from actor to actor. Most segments end by panning against or tracking into an object (a man’s jacket blocking the entire screen, for example). In this way, Hitchcock effectively masked almost all the cuts in the film. It's an experimental piece of art that begs to be seen. Be sure to add ROPE to your Netflix cue if you haven't seen it already. It's such a great film.



CAMEO NOTE: Hitchcock has not one but two cameos in this picture. One is in bodily form walking along a street. The other is his trademark silhouette which can be seen on a red neon sign advertising "Reduco" in the view from the apartment window. The neon sign is the little hard to see, so look very carefully!

Hitchcock's PSYCHO turns 50 next month!

We're so excited and we just can't hide it. Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO will be turning fifty next month. There's only one way to celebrate (other then watching the movie for the millionth time); a top ten list! We'll be counting down our favorite Alfred Hitchcock films for your enjoyment. Will such favorites as THE BIRDS, VERTIGO and NORTH BY NORTHWEST make the list? In Hitchcock's signature style, we're going to leave it as a mystery for now. Be here early when the posting is announced, because you won't be let in once it's started.