MovieChat Forums > Family Plot (1976) Discussion > Let's Remake 'Family Plot'

Let's Remake 'Family Plot'

posted 20 years ago by ecarle
25 replies | jump to latest

Classic Hitchcock movies like "Psycho" and "Rear Window" were remade -- and never should have been. Hopefully, they'll leave the classic "North by Northwest" and "Vertigo" alone.

There's more to be said for perhaps remaking Hitchcock's "misfires" like "Torn Curtain" and "Topaz," but those were dull Cold War tales which would be dated today.

I'd vote for a remake of "Family Plot." The tale was fanciful fun, but not as good as it could have been because:

1. Hitchcock was very old and ill when he made it, unable to do a lot of the work of making the movie with proper attention to detail.

2. Universal gave Hitch a small budget.

3. Big stars (Pacino, Dunaway, Reynolds) refused to play the four leading roles.

4. The many car interior scenes were marred by terrible process work.

5. The story moved too slowly in the beginning because Hitchcock didn't tighten the dialogue and let scenes run on too long.

Still, "Family Plot" is a lot of fun even with those weaknesses, with some great little Hitchcock set-pieces (the church kidnapping, the runaway car, the cemetary criss-cross pursuit, the garage door opener scene.)

With proper improvements, a "better" "Family Plot" could be made to properly honor the movie Hitchcock would have made had he been younger, in better health, with a better budget.

And how about some good modern stars to play the four leads?:

Bruce Dern = Kevin Costner
Barbara Harris = Susan Sarandon
William Devane = Kevin Spacey
Karen Black = Julia Roberts

Or who would you cast?

[–] CarPort1 15 years ago

I agree, this is the one to "remake." However, I think it should be a fresh interpretation of the book, The Rainbird Pattern, not an overt remake. It should be set in England, like the book, for a couple reasons: (1) to further differentiate it from the Hitchcock film, (2) to add gravitas to the kidnapping of the archbishop (a much higher position in the UK than the US). They should also follow the dispensation of Blanche according to the book. If they cast a high-profile actress this would be a nod to Hitch in that they would be killing off a big star early in the film (a la Janet Leigh in Psycho).