Alfred Hitchcock - again

 

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)

Today's (4th April) Daily Telegraph has a major piece on Alfred Hitchcock's films - all 52 of them. Their Film Critic, Tim Robey, 'ranks' (why is everything 'ranked' these days? The newspapers has regular features on such 'rankings' - best small towns in Britain, best marmalade, best county churches etc.) Hitchcock's oeuvre, as it is the 50th anniversary since the release of his final film, The Family Plot. The paper introduces the selection - London-born Alfred Hitchcock is recognised as perhaps the finest film-maker this country has ever produced. Among the features he left behind are an extra-ordinary run of cast-iron classics, but also a clutch of little-remembered curios and - inevitably in a career that spanned 52 films in as many years - the odd flimsy fiasco that's best forgotten. Pleasingly, all his Silent Movies are included.

Back, on 29th February 2020, I wrote a Blog on my and a friend's Hitchcock Top Ten. I found it interesting to compare Robey's list with mine.

Robey's Top Ten:

1. Psycho (1960)    2. Vertigo (1958)   3. Notorious (1946)   4. Rear Window (1954)   5. Strangers on a Train (1951)   6. Sabotage (1936)   7. North by Northwest (1959)   8. The 39 Steps (1935)   9. The Lady Vanishes (1938)   10. The Lodger (1927) 

I found it interesting that there are four pre-war films, from his 'English' period; three between 1935 and 1938; and one silent movie, back in 1927.

My Top Ten: with Robey's numbering at the end.

1. Notorious (1946) - 3   2. North by Northwest (1959) - 7   3. Strangers on a Train (1951) - 5   4. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - -    5. Vertigo (1958) - 2   6. Rebecca (1940) - -   7 . Rear Window (1954) - 4   8. Dial 'M' for Murder (1954) - -   9. The 39 Steps (1935) - 8   10. Frenzy (1972) - -

I notice, for the first time, apart from the outliers  at No. 9 (1935) and No.10 (1972) my favourites are packed into the period 1940 to 1959.  As for a comparison between the two lists, Robey and I agree on six films being in the top ten. However, his No.1, Psycho, I had merely placed in the 'okay' bracket. 

As for the four of mine not in Robey's Top Ten - Shadow of a Doubt, which I had as high as No.4, came in at No.13; Rebecca, my No.6 was his No.15; Whilst my No.8 Dial 'M' for Murder only reached No.21; and Frenzy, my No.10, a lowly No.28. On the other hand, I did write in my Blog that I 'favoured' The Lodger (his No.10)

What of the 'duds'?

Robey listed the following in his bottom ten (from last upwards):

52. Topaz (1969)   51. Number Seventeen (1932)   50. Champagne (1928)   49. Torn Curtain (1966)  48. To Catch a Thief (1955)   47. Jamaica Inn (1939)   46. Under Capricorn (1949)   45. Waltzes from Vienna   44. Stage Fright (1950)   43. Mr and Mrs Smith (1941).

I can't comment on Waltzes from Vienna, having never watched it, and I can't really recall much about Number Seventeen or Champagne. I do agree with his thumbs down for the following four turkeys: Torn Curtain (boring and poor, wooden acting by Julie Andrews and Paul Newman - when wasn't the latter 'wooden'?); Jamaica Inn (the two ripe hams, Charles Laughton and Robert Newton, ruining Daphne du Maurier's story. No wonder she was reluctant to let Hitchcock loose on any more of her novels); Stage Fright - more bad casting by another 'wooden' actor, Richard Todd; and Mr and Mrs Smith - a failed attempt at a screwball comedy. I would like to add the film which would have been at the bottom of my list, but which climbed up to No. 39 with Robey - The Trouble with Harry (1955) - which he labels an acquired taste. Well, I certainly didn't acquire it - boring with a capital B.  I was slightly surprised to see To Catch a Thief, in such a lowly spot, as I found it quite a pleasant romantic caper.

A parting comment. If I could just take North by Northwest, Notorious and The 39 Steps and my DVD recorder to the desert island, I would be quite content. If The Trouble with Harry washed ashore, I would kick it into the ocean again.