North by Northwest (1959)

Again, looking at these old crime thrillers is like looking at an era of innocence, and some of the earliest iterations of mystery film mechanics. Hitchcock is emulated so much today that very little that we see in his movies seems original today.

A case of mistaken identity throws Carey Grant into a dangerous spy game. He is on the run from both foreign spies and American police and guided by the CIA. The film begins on the east coast and ends in the northern midwest in a few tense scenes.

Really fun to watch if only for costumes, manners of speech, and to see Alfred Hitchock's master use of the camera.

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Rear Window (1954)

This is a terrifically structured thriller.  L.B. is stranded in his third story courtyard facing apartment after breaking his legs on a photograph reporting job. After observing his neighbours for days, he suspects that a woman has been murdered and he believes he knows who the killer is. L.B.'s beautiful girlfriend is eager to prove how adventurous she is in order to convince him that she is worthy of marriage. Hitchcock locks us in the room as well as we peep into others windows.

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The Birds (1963)

Revenge of the Birds! With mostly subtle clues, Hitchcock reveals reasons for a massive assault on a coastal town by thousands of birds - could it be messing with their habitat and feeding sources or the centuries of caging them or the harvesting of their meat? We'll never know.

A rich hottie from San Francisco follows a flirting lawyer to a coastal town. While she's there, the seagulls, crows, swallows, etc. . . begin attacking people for no apparent reason. Some fatalities occur and a gas station blows up. It really is quite a natural disaster.

The mastery revealed in this film is all the background action that takes place as the foreground conversation takes place. This is especially apparent in the diner scene. We are fed some relevant information to get us on the right track and irrelevant information to throw us off. Though I wasn't terrified by the beaks and talons, I was fascinated by the undercurrent tensions and the character sketches.

Nearly everything in the film is left untied in the end. If there is anything that Hitchcock can do, it's get a rise out of his viewers. Certainly a classic.

Truth: We should never assume that nature can be tamed or fully understood. (and wear goggles)

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

Perhaps the least typical of all of Alfred Hitchcock's films, this one is an all out comedy.

The story revolves around a married couple who resolve their spats by locking themselves in the bedroom until they make amends. Suddenly, they find out that they are not legally married due to a technicality. When a spat arises, the wife decides that their usual technique of resolution can't be used and the husband spends the rest of the film trying to win back his wife through a series of rather hilarious episodes (particularly the restaurant scene).

For it's era, it was may have been a little risqué, but nowadays, we would let our primary school children watch it. There isn't an on screen kiss, nor an indecent act of adultery (or married physical love) hinted at.

There is a definite Hitchcock fingerprint on this film. The anxiety and suspense in the scenes are masterfully crafted.

Truth: It is the things that attract us most to the ones we love that drive us the craziest.

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Vertigo (1958)

He got me. I was sincerely fooled by the master story teller Hitchcock. As far as the rest of the movie, kind of pointless.

The opening sequence explains why detective "Scotty" experiences severe vertigo when looking down from great heights. He is then hired on for a private job to tail a woman who seems to be taken over by a spirit of a woman long dead. The story takes off from there at a snail's pace, we the audience get fed small clues along the way only to have the rug pulled out from under us as happens to the P.I.

I was surprised as how one vein in the story was so poorly wrapped up. There is great build up and tension and then there is nothing more.

The makeup job is quite commendable as it plays a key role in the plot. It's old time dramatic music and obvious film track driving, but these add to the charm of this old film. I really enjoy watching James Stewart through the movie as a truly tortured soul too.

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Dial M for Murder (1954)

I got a couple dozen Hitchcock films and this is the first of these that I'm reviewing here. I didn't realize that I had seen the remake The Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Viggo Mortensen a few years ago.

Based on a play, Hitchcock shot it like a play almost entirely inside a London apartment - and really like a TV set where you never see the back wall. The camera moves gently and intrusively in long takes through the room letting the characters conceal their deception. And deception is the name of this game. First the adulterous couple, then the scheming murderers, then the police as they try to trap the murderers.

We watch in suspense as plans are foiled and as minutes roll in real time. I've got to add that Grace Kelly is quite the looker, I can see why she became the princess of Monaco.

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