MovieChat Forums > Saboteur (1942) Discussion > Suggestive scene in Statue of Liberty ?

Suggestive scene in Statue of Liberty ?

posted 18 years ago by viaggio1
7 replies | jump to latest

Did Hitchcock try (and succeed) in getting
something sexually suggestive past the
censors in the Statue of Liberty scene ?

First off, on the ferry over to Lady Liberty,
Norman Lloyd's character, when looking across
at Priscilla Lane, is looking DOWNWARDS ---
although she is offscreen, one can only guess
that the winds are revealing Priscilla's legs
to his gaze. This sets up a premise that he
may find her desirable.

Later on, in the statue, in order to forestall
Lloyd's departure, Lane asks him to "wait around,"
saying that she is lonely, while she rubs a rolled-up
sheet of paper between her hands. I can only
imagine Hitchcock "innocently" counseling her
to reveal her nervousness by rubbing the paper ---
in order to get her to (unknowingly) do something
suggestive, which would entice Lloyd to wait around.

I don't know...

Am I reading too much into these scenes ?

Or is it likely that Hitchcock, with his
puckish nature, would have tried to circumvent
the standards of the Hays Code at the time ?

[–] Vampenguin 18 years ago

Hitch did stuff like this constantly...sometimes more subtly than others. To Catch a Thief (though not my favourite Hitchcock film) has got to be one of my favourite examples.

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Death is but a door, time is but a window...I will be back.

[–] viaggio1 18 years ago

Any scenes in particular ?

My only recollection is one of
fireworks going off while Cary Grant
and Grace Kelly are alone together.

Do you know of any good books or
articles that talk about Hitch's
attempts to push conventional
limits on the big screen ?

Thanks !

[–] Vampenguin 18 years ago

Yep, thats the scene I was I refering to. The fireworks are the most obvious, but the dialogue is filled with innuendo in that scene, too.

North by Northwest has some nice symbolism with the train going through a tunnel ;-)

...and no, I really dont know of any books on the subject. Perhaps if you asked on the Hitchcock forum someone could point one out to you?

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Death is but a door, time is but a window...I will be back.

[–] viaggio1 18 years ago

Thanks for the tip, Vampenguin !

[–] osusue-1 17 years ago

vampenguin -- i recall the train going through the tunnel in a VERY early hitchcock movie (and one of my favorites!!) the 39 Steps! but it wasn't in the same context as North by northwest. in 39 steps, the maid cleaning up Robert Hannay's room is screaming just as the train whistle blows and enters the tunnel.. the screen goes from her to the train.

[–] stwfan19-1 18 years ago

In Vertigo, the moment that Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak first kiss, a huge wave behind them crashes on the rocks. Another perfect example

Who the fu_ck are the Knutsens?

[–] joebananas 12 years ago

And the Statue of Liberty itself is, of course, a huge erection. :-D