Thursday Movie Picks #40: Halloween Edition: Alfred Hitchcock Movies

Before I went the route I did this week, I thought about choosing Vertigo, but it didn’t seem horror-y enough. Still a good film, I had it on my Blind Spot last year. And I love Psycho.

Both your picks are wonderful films although not in my personal top 10 and choosing Hitchcock is a great way to cure the problem of having not seen three of his films. I didn’t love the film but it had some good pieces.

Hitchcock is my favorite director so I strongly support your desire to seek out more of his filmography. I’ll offer up my picks for the week, two are more obscure films but Saboteur is my favorite of all his films. The other Notorious is justly famous and you can’t do much better than Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in the lead. My bonus is there simply to show that even a great artist can miss sometimes.

Saboteur (1942)-During WWII an airplane factory is sabotaged. Barry Kane, falsely accused of the crime, goes on the run in pursuit of the real culprit and encounters various memorable characters along the way including the expected Hitchcock blonde in the appealing form of Priscilla Lane. Enjoyable chase drama is highlighted by its famous Statue of Liberty finale.

Lifeboat (1944)-A small group of passengers from a torpedoed ship struggle for survival in Hitchcock’s fascinating microcosm of society in the contained space of a lifeboat. Excellent performances across the board but most of all a great showcase role for Tallulah Bankhead.

Notorious (1946)-Alicia Huberman, played by Ingrid Bergman, has become embittered upon finding out that her father is a traitor. After his conviction she is recruited by Devlin (Cary Grant) to infiltrate a suspected spy ring in South America lead by an acquaintance of hers Alex Sebastian, played by Claude Rains. Once she manages that a deadly game of cat and mouse commences as the tension mounts. One of Hitchcock’s best with amazing work by the entire cast.

Nobody’s perfect pick-Topaz (1969)-An intriguing premise: An intelligence agent becomes involved in Cold War politics while trying to expose espionage that lead up to the Cuban Missile Crisis and attempting to dismantle a Russian spy ring. Add in a solid if not extraordinary cast and Hitchcock in the director’s chair and this should have been an engrossing entertainment. What it is however may be Hitch’s worst film, certainly his dullest, it just plods along. If they insist on remaking one of the Master’s films this would be the place to start. A good idea somehow gone terribly wrong.