Just watched Family Plot from the Masterpiece Collection. Great movie.
Didn't like that scene where William Devane removes the lint from the police officer's jacket. Also didn't like that he did that after Hitch told him not to. What an idiot!
How do YOU know that Hitch told him not to remove the lint??? I presume it might have been from the «additional goodies» which might be included in the Masterpiece Collection, is that it??? My own opinion is that, regardless of what Hitch wanted or didn't, that lint removal added a debonaire and «innocently careless touch» to the Devane character. Besides, if good ole uncle Hitch didn't want Devane to remove that bloody lint, surely being still the great Hitch he was still at 76, he could have reshot the scene while adamantly («Adamsonly»?) ordering Devane to comply to his directives.
sharePicking the lint off was dumb, and I could see why Hitch didn't want it.
If you're an actor just starting out, and a legendary director tells you not to do something, and then you do it anyway... you gotta be an idiot!!!
Devane says on the DVD documentary that the first time they did that scene Hitchcock indeed told him not to pick off the lint: "It's unclear." Hitchcock was big on clarity in scenes.
However, says Devane, Hitchcock later chose to re-shoot the scene because he wanted different crystal plates on the jewelry store shelf in the background (even on his last movie, Hitchocck could be surprisingly detailed.) On this re-shoot, Devane plucked the lint. Hitchcock evidently forgot he didn't like that the first time.
The policeman off whom Devane picks the lint, incidentally, was a personal friend of Devane's who was working with Devane at the time, at night, in a local Los Angeles theater production. Devane got him hired for "Family Plot," so this was "two buddies joking around."
I think its not bad, actually. Adamson is being condescending to the police, its a nicely arrogant touch.
Devane just sounds so arrogant when he tells this story.
Why listen to the director?
This must be a typical reason for Hitch not liking method actors.
I've always liked William Devane and I feel he never achieved the degree of stardom he deserved. he was excellent in Knots Landing as well as pretty much every movie role I've ever seen him in.
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I'm surprise that William Devane defied Hitchcock in the reshoot of that scene. It seemed such a silly little detail that wasn't necessary. I don't know if Hitchcock relented to Devane's insistence. The reshoot was done quite a few weeks later I believe.
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