The best Hitchcock ever?
This movie is probably the second best Hitch, can anyone tell me anything about
Frenzy?
Second best Hitchy? by no means.
my top 5:
1) The 39 Steps.
2) Vertigo.
3) Psycho.
4) The Lady Vanishes.
5) To Catch a Thief.
i have to admit that my top 5 changes daily. To Catch A Thief is in there because of the great way Grace Kelly performs and the amazing oneliners she and Cary Grant have.
I have now seen most of Hitch's films, and this ranks with I Confess and Stage Fright as one of my least favorite. In fact, I would rank this as the very worst, because while all three of these films have serious problems with cast, script, story and pacing, this one is also badly dated. [Note: I haven't seen Topaz or Torn Curtain.]
I couldn't believe such a flat and witless screenplay was written by Ernest Lehman. Most of the comedy consists of ending a scene with a "shocking" word like "b*tch" or "sh*t." I think this helps to explain why the film has dated so badly. And Hitch never takes the trouble to build up suspense. The light, "comic" scenes (seances, etc.) last forever, while the suspense scenes tend to be rushed and never develop any real tension -- Blanche's escape at the end being particularly slackly handled.
Torn curtain is dreadful. Torn curtain is easily his worst film I've yet seen. Family plot is fun enough but you probably wouldn't know it was directed by Hitchcock if you hadn't researched it. Their really isn't much hitch style.
My top 10 proably goes something like this:
1)rebecca
2)notorious
3)vertigo
4)psycho
5)spellbound
6)rope
7)foreign correspondent
8)strangers on a train
9)the man who knew too much
10)Marnie