# Alfred Hitchcock: A Series



## Shoegaze99 (Mar 3, 2006)

I don’t know how many Alfred Hitchcock fans we have out here, but I’d certainly hope more than a few. Hopefully this will be of interest to some of you.

Earlier in the year, I began a collaboration on a year-long project. Once a week, every week, my collaborator and I would watch an Alfred Hitchcock film, starting from the very beginning of his career with *The Lodger* (*The Pleasure Garden* is unavailable in the United States and *The Mountain Eagle* is lost to time) and working our way forward one film at a time until, in the last week of 2006, we watch his final film, *Family Plot*. (Two “extra” weeks of the year will be filled by Hitch-directed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.) Following each film, we’re writing up our impressions, taken in the context of his career and with an eye towards his gradual development as an artist. These are not necessarily first viewings for us; Jim has seen every Hitchcock film, and I had seen about 25 or 26 prior to starting this series. However, watching them in the context of his career has given us a fresh perspective on his art; they are like new experiences to us. Watching his talents develop has been great.

We have thus far watched through *The Skin Game*, though our writing is complete only through *Juno And The Paycock* (*Murder!* is set to be finished this weekend) and the write ups are available for reading only through his first sound film, *Blackmail*.

And so I introduce you guys to our series. If you like Hitch, read and enjoy. Your comments are certainly welcome. New installments of this series appear every Thursday at *DVDInMyPants.com*, so if you’re inclined to read along each week, that’s where you’ll find updates. We also invite people to watch along with us as we view all these films. In the HOLLA! links at the bottom of each feature, you’ll find discussion threads; in one or two of them, I point out some very cheap means of getting all his early films. We’re talking less than $40 U.S. for 19 films.

The images below are LINKS and can be clicked to reach the corresponding write up. (Hey, I HAD to use the graphics as links; the graphics guy did such a nice job, it’d be a shame if they weren’t seen.) Enjoy.

*Week 1 – The Lodger*




*Week 2 – The Ring*




*Week 3 - Champagne*


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## Shoegaze99 (Mar 3, 2006)

*Week 4 – Easy Virtue*




*Week 5 – The Farmer’s Wife*




*Week 6 – The Manxman*




*Week 7 - Blackmail*


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## Foxbat (Mar 3, 2006)

I haven't seen much of Hitchcock's early stuff but I'm a sucker for a good hitchcockian thriller. I think my favourite is probably Vertigo,  followed closely by The Birds (well, the presence of the beautiful Tippi Hedren probably influences my choice). And the one that Dali did the art work for (can't remember the title right now). In fact, anything that he did is worth a watch in my book.


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## Caretaker66 (Mar 3, 2006)

_Long live "Psycho"!---which was rated the scariest movie of it's time...Still a must-see classic. Hitchcock's work still lives..._


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## Shoegaze99 (Mar 3, 2006)

Foxbat said:
			
		

> And the one that Dali did the art work for (can't remember the title right now).


You're thinking of Spellbound, an excellent thriller with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. While I'm not sure it makes my top 10 Hitchcock's, it's a very good work with a lot to recommend, not the least of which are the superbly creative visuals. I can't wait to get to it again in the context of this year-long marathon.


> In fact, anything that he did is worth a watch in my book.


Just about, yeah. Of his silent films, even the ones that were only so/so had some nice cinematic touches that make them worthwhile. The only Hitchcock I have seen that wasn't worth my time (or yours) is Juno And The Paycock ... conveniently enough, slated to go live next Thursday as the next part of this series. It was darn near unwatchable.

Pretty much from his last few British films (The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, etc.) forward it's very, very difficult to go wrong with a Hitchcock film. Even his mediocre work is better than most and has something worth watching it for, and his very best work - Vertigo, Rear Window, Shadow Of A Doubt, North By Northwest, and many more - can be watched over and over again with your enjoyment only increasing with each viewing.


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## GOLLUM (Mar 3, 2006)

Pretty much seen all of the Hitchcock films including his earlier stuff. Pretty big fan of mystery/thriller movies although I don''t read the books.

I have a few favs including North By Northwest, Vertigo, The Birds and of course Psycho.


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## Shoegaze99 (Apr 6, 2006)

We've moved out of his silent film era, covered his early British talkies, and are about to launch into the height of his British period next week with the original *The Man Who Knew Too Much* and the week after with *The 39 Steps*.

Here are the latest installments of the series - as befpre these graphics are also links:

*Week 8 – Juno And The Paycock*




*Week 9 – Murder!*




*Week 10 – The Skin Game*




*Week 11 – Rich And Strange*




And this week's installment:

*Week 12 – Number Seventeen*


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## Tea is my copilot (Apr 6, 2006)

I really liked the "Rear window".

This thread made me remember some really interesting things.


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## littlemissattitude (Apr 7, 2006)

_Rear Window_ is great.  So is _The Trouble With Harry_, especially if you like a bit of comedy with your mystery.


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## Syn (Apr 7, 2006)

Caretaker66 said:
			
		

> _Long live "Psycho"!---which was rated the scariest movie of it's time...Still a must-see classic. Hitchcock's work still lives..._


 
touche! 

i am a HUGE fan of mr hitchcock.  he inspires me to create films at CIT that have an edge and are different.  I love the way he plays with the audiences head by using mind tricks etc.

some of my fav films are:

Psycho
Number Seventeen
Rear Window
and The Birds

I take my hat off to Sir Alfred Hitchcock!


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## Shoegaze99 (Jun 5, 2006)

Whew! It's been a while. Time has been scarce lately, and I'm only just recovering.

We remain hard at work on tackling the work of Alfred Hitchcock, though. We got into his stretch of really great British work, and have since moved into his America period (unpublished essays on Foreign Correspondent and Mr. & Mrs. Smith are already complete).

Here are the next few British period writeups - comments are welcome, both here and in the discussion threads linked at the bottom of each:

*Week 13 - The Man Who Knew Too Much*



*Week 14 - The 13 Steps*



*Week 15 - Secret Agent*



*Week 16 - Sabotage*



Enjoy!


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## Shoegaze99 (Jun 5, 2006)

Syn said:
			
		

> some of my fav films are:
> 
> Psycho
> Rear Window
> and The Birds


I really look forward to getting to these, as they're among my favorites as well. It almost breaks my heart to know that I can't watch them until the end of the year! (For this series, we're sticking very firmly to watching these films in order.)

I _really_ look forward to seeing North By Northwest again. I've watched it many times, but now, after seeing so many films that are similar in a row - The 39 Steps, Young And Innocent, Saboteur, etc. - it will be interesting to compare them.


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## j d worthington (Jun 5, 2006)

Interesting that someone else here would do this. I began it a little over a year ago and got through the early Gaumont pictures -- then my life went to pieces for about a year; so much for that. I hope to get back to this sometime soon; it'd be fun to talk this over with someone else when I do.


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## Shoegaze99 (Sep 3, 2006)

Can you believe we're still going? We didn't give up! Here's the latest!


*Week 16 - Sabotage*



*Week 17 – Young And Innocent*



*Week 18 – The Lady Vanishes*



*Week 19 – Jamaica Inn*



*Week 20 - Rebecca*


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## Shoegaze99 (Sep 3, 2006)

But wait, there's more!

*Week 21 - Foreign Correspondent*



*Week 22 - Mr. & Mrs. Smith*



*Week 23 - Suspicion*



*Week 24 - Saboteur*



*Week 25 - Shadow Of A Doubt*


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## Shoegaze99 (Sep 3, 2006)

*Week 26 -Lifeboat*



*Week 27 - Spellbound*



*Week 28 - Notorious*



*Week 29 - The Paradine Case*


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## Shoegaze99 (Sep 3, 2006)

*Week 30 - Rope*



*Week 31 - Under Capricorn*




*Week 32 - Stage Fright*


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## Shoegaze99 (Dec 5, 2008)

Hi folks. Anyone who was reading this obviously knows we pulled the series offline quite some time ago. Thanks for reading while it was online.

We never did stop work on the project, however, as the web version was really just the first draft of a manuscript we were going to start pitching.

Well, we pitched, they bought, and the book is set for release in April.







It's not yet available for preorder, though Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and others will email folks when it's available.

Thanks to everyone here who was reading along when we first started this project. It helped us keep going. We're very proud of the results.


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## iansales (Dec 5, 2008)

I'd be interested in that.


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## Shoegaze99 (Dec 15, 2008)

I ordered the new box set from MGM, which has remastered versions of a few early Hitchcocks with commentary tracks, but it still hasn't gotten here. Ugh! It's been two weeks and I'm _reeeaally_ eager to see The Lodger is a restored form. I only own it on a beaten up old public domain transfer.


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## Shoegaze99 (Dec 19, 2008)

A month ahead of schedule, we've gotten our page proofs. I'm very happy with the layout ... but NOT happy with having to index it over the next few weeks. What a chore!

It will be worth it in the end, though.


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## Shoegaze99 (Apr 2, 2009)

This book comes out in just a few weeks (April 30). Yay! It's available through Amazon as well as all other good retailers. Certainly looking forward to finally holding it in our hands. For all that decide to take the plunge, enjoy!


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## Shoegaze99 (Apr 20, 2009)

Thanks to all you folks who read along. The day is finanly here. I'm happy to announce the release of _A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense_, co-authored with Jim McDevitt and being published by Scarecrow Press.







"This book analyzes some 68 works directed by Hitchcock--including notable silents, all of his films from the early 1930s on, the two French propaganda shorts from WWII, and episodes of his television program--assessing his development as an artist."

Feel free to visit the book's official webpage for more information.

The book is available at here at Amazon.com, as well as all major online retailers and fine brick and mortar shops.

We're also doing a companion podcast, which will air weekly and which will also make a journey through Hitchcock's career. You can subscribe via your feed of choice at this link (click "add to iTunes" for an iTunes subscription), or download directly from our website.

And finally, if you're on Facebook you can become a "fan" at the book's Facebook page.


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