Final Round in Hitchcock Film Tourney now underway

Here we go with round 10 in the Hitchcock film tourney. Currently tied for 1st place are the two films North by Northwest and Rebecca.  This round will conclude on Sunday afternoon at 3pm.

Round 7 in Hitchcock Film Tourney now underway

Here we go with round 7 and the theme is sassy sidekicks. Polls will run through Sunday evening.

Hitchcock Film Tourney Round 5 now underway

Here we go with round 5 of the Alfred Hitchcock Film Tourney, focusing on the leading ladies. Polls will be open through Thursday evening 6 pm.

Round 4 of Hitchcock Film Tourney now underway

Here we go with round 4 of the Hitchcock Film Tourney. The theme this time is couples. Matches will run through Sunday evening at 6pm

Hitchcock Halloween Blogathon: Mr. and Mrs. Smith

For my contribution to the Backlots Hitchcock Halloween Blogathon I chose the only comedy Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, did, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring my all time favorite actress Carole Lombard. This is my favorite film of hers by the way. Screwball comedies are my favorite type of films and this one fits quite nicely into that category. Well a bit. While not a full blown screwball comedy, it is quite fun and often hilarious nonetheless. And it does feature a little suspense every now and then. Well not really but you can still enjoy this film as a departure from what Hitchcock normally does.

David looking worried at the film's beginning

The film is set in bustling New York and begins with a married couple of three years named David and Ann Smith (great pairing of Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard) who tend to bicker and have these huge arguments from time to time when they are not speaking to one another. Such is the case at the film's beginning as the pair have been sequestered in their lavish apartment home while their staff shuttles them food and drink. This latest misunderstanding has been going on for three days and David's office, a law firm where his pal Jeff (a solid Gene Raymond) keeps calling to see has a truce been made. As Jeff sends over some critical papers for David to sign, the pair finally makes up and end up having breakfast together.

Ann and David make up after this three day session

But Ann asks a question which prompts an answer from David that doesn't exactly make her happy. She asks David if he had it to do it all over again would he. And he puts in honestly and bluntly, no he would not. He would not marry her and would remain single. Remember this key moment as it will become the focal point for the rest of the film.

But not for long because over breakfast Ann asks that pivotal question

While at work, David receives a guest in the form of Mr. Deever (Charles Halton) from Ann's hometown of Idaho comes a calling saying that the Smith's, along with several other hundreds of couples are not technically married, through some municipal and state jurisdictional matter at the time. David takes the news quite nicely but when Mr. Deever stops by their home to share the same news with Ann and Ann's mother, it doesn't have the same effect.

At dinner David tries to get the cat to have some soup...

David calls up and tells Ann they are going to the restaurant where he proposed to her and Ann believes it's where he will pop the question again. But alas things don't go that way and Ann begins to squirm as the night draws to a close. Meanwhile David is having the time of his life. Back home for a little champagne Ann finally snaps and throws a tantrum asking if and when David was going to ever marry her again. David tries to explain that he was just waiting for the right moment and before you know he is spending the night at The Beefeater's Club, a luxurious hotel where men go who are having domestic troubles. It's there he meets the seen it all Chuck (played by the always wonderful Jack Carson), who is a frequent regular at the hotel.

Mr. Deever drops by to share some news...

David tries to woo back Ann over the course of the rest of the film but Ann is steadfast in holding her ground. Saying she doesn't want to remarry David and instead finds a job and actually starts dating Jeff, much to David's chagrin. In fact the date Ann and Jeff goes on leads to a hilarious seen after Jeff catches cold and Ann tries to nurse him back to health with some liquor. At first Jeff is good to go but then it hits him like a ton of bricks and Gene Raymond gives a masterful drunken little scene. 

The gorgeous Carole

For the first hour, this film is golden. It does start to sag during the final half hour just a bit as Ann and Jeff take a getaway vacation to Lake Placid, in which David follows. But it rebounds right back during the closing scenes to make this a wonderful film. Like I said it is my favorite of Carole, and that's saying something, considering her resume which includes To Be Or Not To Be, Twentieth Century and My Man Godfrey. It's just something about this premise of a couple who truly love each other despite all their fighting and bickering. It's classic Hollywood star power in Carole and Robert with solid supporting turns by a great cast. If you have never seen it, you have to check it out at least once. And it's great seeing Hitchcock do an all out comedy as most of his films always some humor and comedy in them. So you knew he was capable of doing a film like this. And he did it awesomely!

Carole does a lot of finger pointing in this movie..haha

The Lady Vanishes (1938) - My Favorite Hitchcock film

My favorite Hitchcock film of all time. It mixes comedy with suspense extremely well. Set in the Swiss Alps, a bunch of tourists meet at a village the night before boarding a train the next morning. A young girl named Iris (the excellent Margaret Lockwood) meets a young student named Gilbert (wonderful performance by Michael Redgrave). Of course they meet cute and can't stand each other. The next day on the train the lovable old Mrs. Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes and the chase is on to find her. You have to pay attention to the details in this one because things are not what they seem. An excellent film from Hollywood's golden past. One minute you're laughing, then you're on the edge of your seat. In my opinion, this is Hitch's best work. Just ahead of Shadow of a Doubt.

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Gilbert: Come on, sit down, take it easy. What's the trouble?
Iris Henderson: If you must know, something fell on my head.
Gilbert: When, infancy?

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Gilbert: Can I help?
Iris Henderson: Only by going away.
Gilbert: No, no, no, no. My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.

Thursday Thirteen - My 13 Favorite Movies

For this week's Thursday Thirteen, I decided to make a list of my 13 favorite movies.

1. HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) Without a doubt my favorite movie of all time, starring my favorite actor Cary Grant. I actually just wrote a review of this film last week, so you can check that out whenever you get time.

2.Bringing Up Baby (1938) Another Grant film and another comedy classic. Co-starring the always great Katherine Hepburn and a leopard named Baby.

3. Star Trek (2009) The new updated Trek film is awesome. And it makes the list effortlessly. Can't wait for the second one.

4. The Empire Strikes Back (1980) My favorite of all the Star Wars films. I thought this was wonderfully done that had one hell of a cliff hanger.

5. The Thin Man (1934) Nick & Nora Charles first film and it's a doozy. Superbly acted by William Powell and Myrna Loy, this is the start of a wonderful series.

6. Aliens (1986) Superior sequel to the first Alien film, which is a classic in its own right. Sigourney Weaver owns this movie from the very start.

7. The Lady Vanishes (1938) My favorite Alfred Hitchcock film of all time. That statement alone speaks volumes about this entertaining little mystery/comedy.

8. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) Elizabeth Taylor just melts the screen in this riveting drama.

9. Arsenic & Old Lace (1944) The third Cary Grant film to make the list..are you sensing a pattern here? Wickedly fun black comedy.

10. The Big Sleep (1946) Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall work their magic in this excellent murder mystery.

11. Remember The Titans (2000) I love this movie. It's inspiring and entertaining as all get out. Terrific performance by Denzel Washington.

12. A Few Good Men (1992) The scene where Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson go at it is worth the price of admission alone.

13. Dead Again (1991) Great homage to the Hitchcock films of old, expertly directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring him, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, and a caustic Robin Williams.

A Movie A Day: Rear Window is one of Hitchcock's very best

I rank Rear Window as my number 2 all time Alfred Hitchcock film, just behind The Lady Vanishes and just ahead of Psycho. Window is a treat for the viewer with gorgeous cinematography and excellent camera work from Hitch. The story is simple enough: maverick photographer Jeff (played by the great Jimmy Stewart) is laid up in his New York apartment with a broken leg. He is being cared for by his very upscale girlfriend Lisa (the luminous Grace Kelly) and his nurse Stella (the always reliable Thelma Ritter). With little to do Jeff begins spying on his neighbors across the courtyard and what neighbors does he have. You have a highly limber blonde dancer; a troubled songwriter; a lonely woman who can't find a date; a busybody old lady; a couple with an energetic little dog; and last but not least the couple directly across from him with a very large man named Lars Thorwald (played by Raymond Burr-before Perry Mason) and his sickly wife. Well amidst all the goings on between Jeff and Lisa-she is ready to marry, he not so much and Stella's constant needling, Jeff notices strange things between Lars and his wife. Before you know it, the wife has gone and Jeff suspects foul play. It takes a little convincing to bring Lisa and Stella to his way of thinking but eventually they agree. The police, on the other hand are a different story. So the trio decide they need proof and with Jeff hobbled with a cast on his broken leg, Lisa and Stella decide to do the leg work (no pun intended). What follows is a game of suspense taken up to the highest level. Rear Window is a near perfect film with fabulous performances. Stewart is solid as always as is Ritter, who gets to say most of the film's best lines including "Nobody ever invented a polite word for a killin' yet". And Burr makes an effectively creepy bad man. But it's Grace Kelly who makes the movie for me. She just lights up the room whenever she comes in and the banter she trades with Stewart is pure bliss. I believe this to be Ms. Kelly's best film performance ever. Yes even better than her Academy Award winning role in The Country Girl. She never hits a wrong note as Lisa, and is a true joy to watch. Rear Window is one of the best films ever made and one of the best from ol Hitch.
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Halfway through my Hitchcock marathon....

Well I say halfway but I still have several more to watch. I own several of his films on DVD but it's been awhile since I have watched them. Today was an exceptional day. I started with North By Northwest..couldn't ask for a better lead off film. Cary Grant was at his best and North had so many iconic images, the best being Cary chased by the crop duster. Throw in the gorgeous Eva Marie Saint who just oozed sexual energy through the camera lens, and this is one of Hitch's best films. I followed that up with Cary Grant again in To Catch A Thief. This time his co-star was the equally beautiful Grace Kelly and plus you had the gorgeous French Riviera scenery to look at. It was very cool seeing Cary race across rooftops in the middle of the night, eluding the police, and romancing Grace. He was very convincing as John Robie, The Cat...jewel thief extraordinaire. Grace Kelly was good too but she doesn't show up until half an hour into the film. But she leads me to the third Hitch movie I saw today..Rear Window, which is one of my personal favorites. James Stewart gives a terrific performance as Jeff, the photographer, who is laid up with a broken leg, who is convinced his neighbor (the burly Raymond Burr..pre-Perry Mason) is a killer. Grace plays Jeff's long suffering girlfriend Lisa and she positively lights up the screen with her performance. Personally I believe this to be her best work ever on film. Add Thelma Ritter as Jeff's nurse to round out the cast. I may go into more detail later on for each of these films, especially Rear Window. But since I have several more Hitchcock movies to go I may just wait. I still have Dial 'M' For Murder, The Lady Vanishes, Vertigo, The Birds, and Psycho to watch. An excellent few days of movie watching bar none.

It's Halloween Week with some Hitchcock and other treats...

I happen to have the good fortune of being off this week from my job so after I take care of my responsibilities, such as finally cleaning out our shed and doing yard work, I plan to have a mini festival of scary movies this week. The timing couldn't have been better since Halloween is Saturday. I have been watching horror movies this month anyway but now I can really let loose. I plan to start with the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, because I own several of his films on DVD. They are Psycho, Vertigo, The Lady Vanishes, To Catch A Thief, The Birds, and Rear Window. All classics. I also plan to watch 1982's The Thing, the original Halloween, Alien, Jaws, The Exorcist, and maybe a few others. This is a great time of the year to be a movie lover.