The Lady Vanishes - A Guest Post by Mark Zero

I'm very proud to present a guest post by one of my closest and dearest friends Mark Zero. Mark and I met on Goodreads several years ago and became fast friends. We both share a passion for good books and good movies. Mark even officiated my wedding making that special day even more special to me.

Mark's new novel The French Art of Revenge just released and I implore you to check it out. It's available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and it's the perfect sort of book for any Francophile who likes a good art heist.

In this guest post, Mark takes a look at three different versions of The Lady Vanishes starting with Hitchcock's version from 1938. Thank you so much Mark for such an informative post! Enjoy.

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The Lady Vanishes by Mark Zero

When it appeared in 1938, Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller The Lady Vanishes became the highest grossing film ever in England, and the New York Times named it one of the year’s ten best pictures. It won Hitchcock the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director (the only directing award he ever received), and its success convinced David O. Selznick to bring Hitch to Hollywood, where he would make the many films we know and fear him for today.

The Lady Vanishes is rarely mentioned among Hitchcock’s best, but The Guardian’s Philip French recently called it his all-time favorite, and last year’s BBC remake prompted a flurry of reappraisals. In this post, we’ll take a look back at the three cinematic versions of this classic story—Hitchcock’s blockbuster, the 1979 remake with Cybill Shepherd, and the 2013 BBC version—but let's begin with the original source material for all three films, Ethel Lina White’s 1936 novel The Wheel Spins, and how Hitchcock drastically alters its story.

White wrote seventeen novels, one every year starting in 1927; the majority were mysteries, and most are now out of print. The Wheel Spins combines political intrigue in the Balkans with Victorian sentimentality in an uneven but entertaining psychological thriller. The story revolves around vacationing heiress Iris Carr and her ill-fated encounter with a British governess, Winifred Froy, on a train bound for Trieste.

It is the prim Miss Froy’s last day of employment in the service of the ruling family of an unnamed, unstable Balkan country. As she is preparing for her return journey to England, the governess has the misfortune of running into one of her employers, a Baron who is supposedly in Vienna but has, in fact, just murdered his chief political rival in a hunting lodge on his own property. Miss Froy is the only witness who can place him at the scene of the crime, but she knows nothing of the murder or the fact that she has spoiled the Baron’s alibi, so she innocently wishes the Baron well and trots down to the train station. Fearing that the chatty Miss Froy will unintentionally implicate the Baron in the murder, and not wishing to cause an international incident with England by abducting or killing Miss Froy in their Balkan homeland, the Baron and Baroness devise a diabolical plan to make the governess disappear in transit to Trieste while also absolving themselves of any suspicion for her disappearance.

Enter Iris Carr. Iris is an English aristocrat who has been on holiday with a group of ne’er-do-well high society friends. Bored with her companions, Iris decides to travel back to England alone, but at the train station she falls unconscious—whether from a mysterious blow to the head or sunstroke, the novel keeps us in doubt. Iris feels quite unwell by the time she takes her seat on the train opposite Miss Froy, in a compartment also occupied by the scheming Baroness!

Classic movie fans will instantly recognize the appeal of such a setup to Hitchcock, many of whose films feature an innocent Everyperson caught up in dangerous intrigues by being in the wrong place at the wrong time (think Cary Grant in North By Northwest, Robert Cummings in Saboteur, and Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man, just for starters).

Miss Froy invites Iris to join her in the dining car for tea, where she unwittingly lets slip the critical morsel of evidence that will convict the Baron of murder and perhaps overthrow his family’s regime. When they return to the compartment they share with the Baroness, Iris drifts off to sleep in her conked-head/sunstroke stupor and awakens some time later to find that Miss Froy and her luggage have disappeared! Worse still, the Baroness and all of her companions claim that Miss Froy never even existed!

The novel then becomes a taut, sometimes nightmarish psychodrama, in which Iris’s sense of self and sanity depend upon finding anyone at all who will corroborate the fact of Miss Froy. For the Baroness and her family, keeping Iris from discovering Miss Froy’s existence and whereabouts on the train is a matter of political survival, so they use all of their resources to encourage her to slowly go mad, and their plot is unwittingly abetted by several English travelers, who each have private and unrelated motives for pretending that they never saw Miss Froy.

At this point, Hitchcock's version veers radically away from the novel. In fact, the untangling of the mystery of Miss Froy’s disappearance becomes the main point of disagreement among the various versions, and how each one solves the mystery drastically changes the meaning of everything that has come before.

In the novel, after much intrigue, Iris discovers that the unfortunate governess has been bound and gagged and bandaged head to foot to resemble a burn victim in transit to a Trieste hospital for “emergency surgery.” Iris tears Miss Froy’s bandages off, revealing her true identity; the Baron’s intrigues are discovered; and Miss Froy returns to her home in the English countryside, where her parents and her loyal dog greet her. In fact, the main focus of the story shifts at the very end of the novel from Iris to Miss Froy, and what had been the harrowing tale of Iris’s fight to maintain her sanity becomes, in the end, a sentimental, slightly xenophobic story of the dangers of foreigners and the safety of home—a moral that Hitchcock wanted nothing to do with. He was more interested in cheeky dialogue and romance:

Hitchcock and screenwriters Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder radically reworked great chunks of the middle, adding characters and inventing situations mainly for comic effect but also reshaping the narrative into a broader political thriller. Hitchcock’s version retains the novel's sense of British superiority; the unnamed Balkan country becomes the goofy fictional nation of Bandrika (with a made-up, infantile, gobbledygook language), and Miss Froy is no longer the innocent governess of the novel but rather an undercover operative of the British Foreign Office charged with delivering a vital secret message about Bandrika back to London. Thus, the Baroness’s plot to abduct and kill Miss Froy becomes an attempt to thwart the British Foreign Office, and a pitched battle between British passengers on the train and Bandrikan soldiers takes up most of the final third of Hitchcock's film. Iris’s psychodrama becomes a MacGuffin played mostly for laughs and used as an excuse to spark a romance between Iris (the fetching Margaret Lockwood) and the Cambridge-educated stranger she meets during her adventures, the upper-crusty Gilbert (a charming, blasé Michael Redgrave, in his first film role).

Most reviewers point to the wit of the screenplay and the elegant economy of Hitchcock’s direction as primary pleasures of the 1938 The Lady Vanishes, and many of the jokes do still seem fresh. Two characters invented out of whole cloth for the film, Charters and Caldicott—dry, cricket-obsessed Oxford men played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne with exquisite comic timing—were so popular with audiences that the screenwriters wrote them into two subsequent films (1940’s Night Train to Munich and 1943’s Millions Like Us), and they became something of a cottage industry afterward, appearing together in ten more films and a slew of BBC radio programs.

All the comic high jinx, however, make the tone of Hitchcock’s film wildly uneven, and the movie ultimately becomes a farce with no emotional depth or satirical bite (imagine a Duck Soup in which the Marx Brothers try to make us actually care about the politics of Freedonia). When Charters is shot in the hand by Bandrikan soldiers, he reacts as if he’s merely been insulted, without even flinching at the bloody wound; and the other characters are quite nonchalant despite the flying lead, as if the pistols were popguns. Hitchcock plays one minor character's death (the philandering Mr. Todhunter's) as a joke, so that we can’t take Mrs. Todhunter's supposed grief seriously, no matter how melodramatically the beautiful Linden Travers acts it out; and Iris’s equally melodramatic fear for Gilbert’s life during the shootout feels put on. We have stopped suspending our disbelief: it’s all just playacting. A nun is shot in the back, soldiers fall mortally wounded next to the train, and when the English characters ultimately escape, the Baroness and her closest collaborator shrug and smile and actually wish them well, as if none of it ever mattered at all.

This dodgy tone is the guiding principle of the 1979 remake, which exaggerates the most farcical elements of Hitchcock’s version into a slapstick comedy so awful that it’s nearly impossible to stop watching it. Cybill Shepherd stars at the height of her beauty, a miscast Elliott Gould takes Michael Redgrave’s place, and Angela Lansbury plays Miss Froy as a dry run for her Jessica Fletcher character in the tv series Murder, She Wrote. This version sets the action in 1939 Bavaria, which is crawling with Nazis, and it opens in a German beer garden with Cybill Shepherd in a slinky white evening gown drunkenly mocking Der Fuhrer by wearing a black greasepaint mustache and yelling at SS soldiers in gibberish German. Shepherd keeps the mustache on for more than ten minutes of screen time, and it’s almost impossible to describe the mixed feelings you have watching this sublimely beautiful, statuesque blonde yipping ridiculous dialogue in a sexy gown and Hitler mustache. My advice is to drink your cocktails before you watch it. The film is unavailable in its original English on DVD, though you can still watch it online dubbed into German or Italian.

Surprisingly, the best version of The Lady Vanishes is the recent BBC remake, which is better even than the original novel, because it finds the story with the highest psychological stakes and sees it through to a satisfying ending, in which the main character genuinely changes as a result of her tribulations.

Where Margaret Lockwood played Iris as a pouting debutante, Tuppence Middleton plays her as a contemptuous, entitled snot who is selfish to the core when the story begins. The BBC narrative mainly cleaves to the plot of the novel (changing only the very ending); it dispenses with Hitchcock’s gunfights and spies and sticks to the story of a simple governess caught in politics over her head and a spoiled little rich girl who finds her own humanity by having it tested to the limit.

Though this telling lacks the wit of Hitchcock’s version, its tone is pitch-perfect and it homes in on Iris’s existential crisis, refusing to conclude with either the novel’s sentimental celebration of jolly old England or Hitchcock’s perfunctory wedding bells for the two stars. The BBC version is more typically Hitchcockian even than the Hitchcock version, since it makes the political intrigue the MacGuffin, while the real story is the heroine's emotional coming of age (much in the way the Nazi plot in Notorious is the MacGuffin for Cary Grant's transformation from cad to lover).

The novel The Wheel Spins is richly evocative line by line, keenly observant of Iris, and incredibly cinematic. You can read it for free at The Hitchcock Zone. Hitchcock's 1938 version of The Lady Vanishes rewards your ninety minutes’ investment with some sharp wit and genuine laughs, and you can watch it for free at The Internet Archive. And you can buy the BBC version at the BBC Store (or any number of other places) or watch the full film on YouTube with optional Portuguese subtitles.

Leonard Maltin Interviews Norman Lloyd at The Lady Vanishes (1938) Screening

On Saturday April 27th, 2013 I attended a screening of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Lady Vanishes (1938). Leonard Maltin hosted and started off with asking the audience if any of us had never seen the film before. I was one of the people who raised their hands. This film has been on my to-be-seen list for as long as I can remember and I'm so glad that my first time watching it was at this screening.

Maltin noted that many Hitchcock fans tend to focus on his later American films but his sentimental favorites are Hitchcock's British films from the 1930s. Maltin introduced Norman Lloyd calling him a "rare individual", one of the few people who can speak about a long working relationship with notable figures including Charlie Chaplin, Jean Renoir, Martin Scorcese, cast and crew of St. Elsewhere and Alfred Hitchcock. Maltin said Lloyd was one of the producers of the long running Alfred Hitchcock TV series. He also noted that the only unfortunate thing about Norman Lloyd being there that day was that he was missing his daily tennis match. Maltin referred to him as the "ever eternally young, 98 year old Norman Lloyd".

As I had said before in a previous post, Norman Lloyd was one of the oldest guests at the TCM Classic Film Festival but he was in the best shape. Several stars required wheelchairs or assistance walking. Lloyd at 98 years old needed no help whatsoever and seemed the epitome of health. God bless that man!

Lloyd was greeted with a standing ovation. Maltin joked that he would have to work hard to bring Lloyd out of his shell because he is very shy. Lloyd was by the far the most entertaining guest I saw interviewed at the festival.

I will do my best to transcribe the interview. It's not word-for-word and I use a lot of paraphrasing.

Maltin kicked off the interview by asking Lloyd by noting Hitchcock was able to blend the thrilling and suspenseful elements of film with humor.

Maltin - Tell us about Hitchcock's sense of humor.

Lloyd - Hitchcock said about his humor that the moment he got a new script, he threw out all logic. Lloyd notes that Hitchcock was the one who made famous the term "MacGuffin". When asked for a definition of the MacGuffin, Hitchcock would say that it was a plot point that has nothing to do with the plot. The MacGuffin was used to hunt lions in the Scottish Highlands. So Lloyd replied, but there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands! And Hitchcock replied, there's no MacGuffin. When asked to define it, Hitchcock said it's what the actors talk about at great length and has nothing to do with the story. He notes that it propels the story but no one knows what it is. Maybe that's accounts for how movies achieve their fame.

Maltin - One of the examples of Hitchcock's sense of humor, something Lloyd had a lot to do with, were the introductions to the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show. Hitchcock became well-known to many generations visually and through his droll wit. Hitchcock always said something snide about the commercial sponsor. How did you, the producer and Hitchcock arrive at the idea and executing Hitchcock's intros and interruptions.

Lloyd - Lloyd notes that he wasn't there on the show when Lew Wasserman got the idea to have Hitchcock appear in that manner. Even having a television show with Hitchcock was an extraordinary coup for the agency MCA because Hitchcock was only connected with films. (Interjection: I read that Hitchcock was very reluctant to do the TV show at all because he wasn't sure it would work). Comedy writer James Allerdice found in Hitchcock a vessel for Allerdice to voice his views about the world and a ready collaborator. Joan Harrison was the producer of the show, was once Hitchcock's secretary and Lloyd remembers her fondly. James Allerdice's imagination ran wild so much so that he'd put Hitch in a bottle, in golf knickers (Lloyd notes "that's quite a sight!"), have him play his own brother with a mustache, etc. Allerdice would send in the intro ideas to Lloyd and the producer and Lloyd would think, Hitch would never do that! But Hitch always did. Lloyd shares an anecdote of how Allerdice once had a lion sent in for an intro and the lion had his head in Hitch's lap and Hitch kept talking the whole time. Hitchcock did every intro Allerdice wrote and Lloyd notes that it was an amazing collaboration that went on for 10 years. Hitchcock became a real star, a world-wide figure. Hitch particularly loved that they showed the program in Japan especially because the captions were perpendicular and that seemed to amuse Hitch. Hitchcock would come up to Lloyd in the morning and would say "You sent for me?". Lloyd would reply, no no! Hitch was the boss, you don't send for the boss. Hitch loved that surprise element that caught people off their guard.
Lloyd remembers cameraman Joe Valentine on the set of Saboteur (1942) laying out a whole shot and asking Hitch if he wanted to look at it. Hitch responded "oh no, I've looked through a camera before."

Maltin - At this point, Maltin informs the audience that Norman Lloyd was in Saboteur (1942) and he's the one hanging off of the Statue of Liberty in that famous scene. So if you weren't impressed before...

Maltin - He asks Lloyd whether he remembers Hitchcock talking about his British films.

Lloyd - Lloyd says that Hitchcock never talked about The Lady Vanishes and 39 Steps, which Lloyd refers to as "two perfect films" which helped Hitchcock become the most famous director in England. Lloyd goes on to say that Hitchcock never topped the perfection of these two films in his opinion. The Lady Vanishes was made under the most difficult conditions. The stage was only 90 feet long and everything was happening on that set. All the trains you see in the film were toy ones. Lloyd asked Hitchcock, didn't that worry him about the trains being fake. Hitchcock replied that it didn't matter. He knew in telling his story that he could convince the audience otherwise.

Maltin - Maltin notes that because the story is so good that audiences tend to forgive rear projection and miniatures. He then brings up the two amusing Greek chorus characters Caldecott (Naunton Wayne) and Charters (Basil Radford) which became so popular that they appeared in future films, even ones that Hitchcock wasn't involved with.

Lloyd - Lloyd says that this was an example of Hitchcock's humor. Wayne and Radford were straight actors and not comics. Hitchcock was the one that put them together and made a comedy team out of them.

Maltin - What do you think is the appeal of The Lady Vanishes and Hitchcock's other British films?

Lloyd - There was a technical mastery in these films. If you want to know how to shoot a film, Lloyd advises watching the 39 Steps. Every shot, every camera set, every movement is perfection. Hitch had a saying "camera logic", when asked about what that meant Hitch said the camera logic is when the camera is exactly where it should be to tell the story. Lloyd shared an anecdote of a particularly difficult shot that Hitchcock was filming in Saboteur. Hitchcock believed that the shot had to tell a story and every close-up should move the story along. Lloyd was on a balcony, standing on a railing and Hitchcock asked him if he would do a backflip over the railing (Lloyd notes he was much younger then and would do anything for art). Lloyd did the backflip in lieu of a stunt double because Hitchcock was shooting it as a close-up and didn't want to go right with Lloyd as he did the flip. With a stunt double the camera would have had to move away and back and away and back so as to hide the stuntman. But Hitchcock thought it crucial for storytelling and wanted to maintain the close-up. Hitchcock knew how to tell a story. Hitchcock once said, if you can tell a story you can shoot it, if you cannot tell it, you cannot shoot it.

This was such an amazing event. I'm very grateful to Norman Lloyd, Leonard Maltin and the folks at TCM for putting this together! And I enjoyed The Lady Vanishes (1938) very much and was glad to see it on the big screen alongside other grateful festival attendees and Norman Lloyd himself. Even Marvin Kaplan was there to watch the film!

North by Northwest (1959) at the Brattle Theatre

On Columbus Day, I had the day off from work so I decided to make my way to Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA to go to the Brattle Theatre to watch the Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) on the big screen. I was going to go with my good friend Kevin but he wasn't feeling well (I hope he's feeling better! Hi Kevin!). Carlos convinced me to go out on my own and I'm really glad I did.

I decided to drive to and park in Harvard Square which is no easy task. Even at 1pm on a Monday, it was still technically a holiday which means people come out to Harvard Square in droves. After circling the square several times I finally found a single parking spot.

Just a fun bit of information, the park in the picture above is the Cambridge Common. When Carlos and I were dating, before we became engaged and got married, I would be terrified of walking through this park with him. The reason for my fear was because every time we would go to this park he would always scream out at the top of his lungs "I LOVE MY GIRLFRIEND" in front of a bunch of confused strangers and a very embarrassed girlfriend. He hasn't done it in a long time and I hope he won't again!

It was a chilly day, so I stopped by L.A. Burdick for a hot drink and a pastry. L.A. Burdick is known for their homemade chocolates, hot chocolates, delicious pastries and coffee and tea drinks. If you are in Harvard Square on a cold day, it's imperative that you stop by L.A. Burdick for a sweet treat and a hot beverage.

I got one of their Melange Tea Lattes and a Chocolate Madeleine Cookie and headed over to the Brattle Theatre which was only about a block away. (Sorry for the out-of-focus photo! Never drink, walk and photograph).

As you see, the Brattle is tucked away and is off of the main street. Downstairs there used to be a restaurant called Casablanca but after over half of a century of being in business the owners decided to close it down. It's all very sad. Carlos, my friends and I had a wonderful experience watching Casablanca (1942) at the Brattle then having dinner and drinks at Casablanca restaurant later that same evening. A happy memory indeed.

The North by Northwest (1959) screening was part of The Brattle's Cloak & Dagger: Spies on Screen series. It was a double bill with the Fritz Lang film Ministry of Fear (1944). Unfortunately, I only had time to stay for the North by Northwest screening. Two films for $7.75 matinee is a pretty good deal.

Alfred Hitchcock says SHHHH.

The managing director of the Lucas Theatre in Savannah, GA tells me she has this same poster in her theater too!

I love to sit in the balcony of the Brattle. You don't have the best view and the screen seems pretty small at that distance but it's the coziest. The balcony feels tucked away and private and it stays pretty warm too. Most theaters are cold but the Brattle is (almost) always at a good temperature. Another interesting note about the Brattle is that they do rear projection rather than the traditional front projection. So the projection comes from behind the stage rather than behind the audience.

There were about 50 people in the audience for the screening of North by Northwest. It's not the first time I had seen this film on the big screen but it had been a couple years since I had seen it so this was definitely a treat. It's amazing how many things I had forgotten about the film and what I had remembered. I forgot almost the entire beginning up until the assassination of Mr. Townsend.

A few observations on this viewing: I noticed that the film does a really good job blending humor and drama. And Cary Grant is good at both so he's the perfect actor to deliver this suspenseful and entertaining film. Also, I now really appreciate how much chemistry there is between Cary Grant's Roger Thornhill and Eva Marie Saint's Eve Kendall. When they meet on the train for the first time, their flirtation is electric. The dialogue is sharp, witty and downright sexy. And their prolonged kissing scene with lots of pecks and caresses is a Hitchcock trademark to get around the Code's limit on the length of time a kiss lasts on screen. It's a long scene that feels like one continuous kiss but is in fact a lot of little kisses (Hitchcock does the same thing in To Catch a Thief). The romantic connection between Thornhill and Kendall is important to the plot. It adds more tension as Thornhill cares more about Kendall as the spy who is putting herself in a lot of danger. His affection for her determines his actions as he goes on a wild north by northwest chase. The film was very satisfying to watch and a lot of fun. I'm glad I made the trek out to the Brattle to see it.

I feel very privileged to have access to repertory theaters which show amazing classic films!

The Birds (1963) Performance September 19, 2012

Thanks to Fathom Events and TCM, Carlos and I went to go see The Birds (1963) last night at our local AMC theater. 

I hate to admit it but I've been avoiding watching The Birds for years. None of Alfred Hitchcock's post Psycho (1960) films appeal to me and I usually stay in the safe territory of his 1940s and 1950s masterpieces. The idea of a movie about flocks of birds attacking a pretty blonde woman just didn't entice me. However, in the past few years I've become more and more open-minded to watching things I've avoided in the past. In doing so, I have discovered new favorites. So when the opportunity to see The Birds (1963) on the big screen came along, I was pretty excited and jumped on the chance to see it.

The film started with some TCM promos and some trivia questions. I think these kind of screenings benefit everybody. It gets folks into theaters during the middle of the week, a dead time for most movie theaters. It gives TCM an opportunity to promote their brand and products. And it also gives classic movie fans, especially ones who don't have access to repertory houses which screen old movies, a chance to watch some of our favorite classics on the big screen. It's a win-win-win situation all around and I hope this continues.

They completely sold me on this Alfred Hitchock: The Masterpiece Collection Limited Edition Blu-Ray boxed set. WANT!

Before the screening, we got to see an introduction to the film by Robert Osborne, an interview between Robert Osborne and Tippi Hedren from the last Turner Classic Movies Film Festival and archival interviews of Rod Taylor (from 1995) and Suzanne Pleshette (from 2003). We got to learn about how Alfred Hitchcock picked Tippi Hedren from an advertisement and had Universal court her for a movie. She became part of Hitchcock's entourage but it would be a couple years before he gave her a movie. Her very first one was The Birds. I love that she credits Jessica Tandy for inspiring her to play a more sympathetic character. And I thought it was very neat that Tippi wore the bird pin that Hitchcock gave her when he cast her in The Birds. Hitchcock seemed to be such an interesting but odd person. He tended to be possessive of his blonde starlets and collected them over the years. As Osborne said in the intro, each actor had a different experience with the director. Some good, some bad, some mixed. Hitchcock never treated one person the same as the next.

There is nothing new I can say about The Birds and I came to it with hardly any knowledge of the film. So I will just share my reactions. I wasn't too crazy about the movie but there were things I really enjoyed. The lack of music added a creepiness to the film which I thought was very effective. The bird noises were quite overwhelming. Carlos and I both found ourselves with our fingers in our ears at different points. You are supposed to be disturbed by the film so I found that to be effective as well. There is no musical soundtrack however Bernard Herrmann is listed as Sound Director. The only music really is the song you hear the girls singing in the Bodega Bay School.

The performances were so-so. I don't think anyone was spectacular and I thought Tippi Hedren's performance was just awful. I realize that she was a model and this was her first role so I give her some benefit of the doubt. It didn't help that I disliked her character Melanie Daniels and found no sympathy for her either.

The setting was amazing. Bodega Bay was quite a perfect choice. A big expansive space but still isolated and small. Edith Head was Tippi Hedren's costume designer but Tippi only wears one outfit the entire time.

The ending was very abrupt. All of a sudden we saw the Universal Pictures sign and that was it. We kept waiting for more. I knew that was Hitchcock's touch but we didn't even get to see the lights turn on because it's a satellite fed screening and there was no one there to oversee it.

Leaving the movie I kept asking myself lots of questions. Why did the birds attack the people of Bodega Bay? What was the purpose of them doing that? Was it an anti-feminist message? Was Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) and her romantic pursuit of Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) too much of a reversal of the sexes? Was she being punished for "acting like the man"? Was she being cursed? Was she a witch? Was it the ghost of Mr. Brenner who caused this? Was it a coincidence that she arrived at Bodega Bay right around the time the birds went crazy? How did they collect all those birds? Why did Melanie open that last door to the attic? Why did Fathom Events and TCM use a lot of blue in the promo image when the movie was clearly green? Why did my stomach keep making noises during the showing? WHY?!

Overall, it was a good experience. About 25 people showed up to the screening and no one laughed! And I'm looking forward to more Fathom Events and TCM screenings to come. 

Update: One of my giveaway winners Jena pointed out to me this trailer for an upcoming movie about the making of The Birds (1963). It focuses on the strange relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren. Tippi Hedren is played by Sienna Miller and Hitchcock by Toby Jones. I had seen some publicity photos online but wasn't sure what it was for. Watch the teaser trailer below:

Rear Window (1954) Timelapse

Rear Window Timelapse from Jeff Desom on Vimeo.

EDIT: The video was taken down. If I see a new version up online I'll replace this one. Otherwise, I'll delete this post after a few weeks.

This is an interesting video. Not really sure what it's trying to accomplish but very cool nonetheless. It takes shots from the vantage point of the "rear window" from the film and puts them all together. It must have taken hours upon hours to piece together! What do you think?

Side Note: I've been a bit out of the loop lately in terms of blogging and social media. I've been having numerous health problems and lately, it's been difficult for me to find a new-to-me film that I enjoy. I might start revisiting favorites on a more regular basis. Also, all this talk about people watching TCM, going to film festivals, meeting all sorts of cool film people, having time to watch loads of movies, writing wonderful classic film posts, has got me really depressed. It makes me feel like less of a legitimate classic film fan and I've lost a lot of that joy that movies used to give me. I have numerous ideas for posts I want to write but I've lately lost the will to write them. I've taken a step back so that my feelings of envy can subside and I can continue to be supportive of others as well as get back some of that classic film joy that's been missing in my life. I hope to be back on the blogging bandwagon soon enough!

Rear Window (1954) at the Brattle

Can you believe that I have missed TWO opportunities to watch Rear Window (1954) on the big screen? Due to inclement weather and a too-busy schedule, chances to see my favorite Hitchcock film in a proper theatre passed me by. Like a hungry lion, I pounced on this opportunity like it was an injured Wildebeest. Rrrraawwwrr!

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Carlos and I headed to Harvard Square to see Rear Window at the Brattle. Now I've talked about the Brattle, many many times before, but in case you are not familiar with the theatre, it's a non-profit repertory house which showcases classic films, independent cinema and cult favorites. It's impossible to look at their monthly calendar and not find a few films that you would want to watch on the big screen. The Brattle survives solely on the basis of their regular patrons, members and generous donors and they are always trying to drum up more support for their theatre. So if you are ever in the Boston area and you love classic films, please support this theatre!

Even though I own a copy of Rear Window (1954) on DVD, it's been quite a while since I have seen it. So watching it on the big screen after a considerable time has past since my last viewing was a great treat especially because it reminded me how many things I love about this movie. How, even though it's a thriller, I find it enjoyable than most murder mysteries because the focus is on the characters and plot development rather than on gore, action and jump scares. Besides, Rear Window has a lot of witty and funny moments. Thelma Ritter (Stella) has some great witticisms and shares no-nonsense romantic advice with Jimmy Stewart (Jeff) whether he wants to listen to it or not. Plus we can't help be amused by Jeff's observations on neighbors such as Miss Torso (the scantily clad dancer) and the pair of amorous Newlyweds (Harry?! Oh Harry...). And we get some sad moments as we see the isolation some of the neighbors face including Miss Lonelyhearts and Songwriter. Oh and then there is Lisa Freemont (Grace Kelly). We feel for her. All her wealth and beauty can't buy her the love she so desperately wants. In order to win Jeff's affections, she needs to showcase her adventurous side. How great it is that a woman has to woo a man with her adventurous spirit and taste for danger rather than her physical appearance?! One of the things I forgot about the film was how annoying Wendell Corey is as the detective who just doesn't believe Jeff's suspicions about the murdering husband (Raymond Burr). I just wanted to smack him for being such a schmuck!

The movie house was packed with folks when we got there at 2:30 (half an hour before the show started!). I was really worried that the audience reaction was going to be negative. You know the deal. Laughs at inappropriate moments. Whispers of judgement. However, this audience was absolutely quiet. We all got sucked into the story immediately and the only laughter came at the parts that were genuinely supposed to be funny. In fact, I think Carlos and I laughed the most because there were so many great witty lines, sexually suggestive scenes and novelty moments (such as the famous Hitchcock cameo). At the end of the film, the audience applauded. I am always so happy when that happens. 

This experience has encouraged both Carlos and I to do a few things this summer: 1) visit the Brattle more often and perhaps become members, 2) watch more Hitchcock films, including ones we haven't seen 3) spend more time in Harvard Square. Thank you Brattle for giving me this opportunity to watch my favorite Hitchcock film on the big screen!

Vertigo (1958) at the Capitol Theatre

The Capitol Theatre is my local movie house. It is literally a few blocks away from my apartment building, yet I almost never go. It's proximity to my home makes me take it for granted because I know it's convenient and that's its always there for me. The last time I went to the Capitol was also the first time I went and that in October of 2008 when I saw the remake of The Women (1939) with Kevin.

A return visit has been long overdue.

 

Walking home one day, I saw this signage on the door of the Capitol. Hitchcock? On the big screen? Just a few blocks from my apartment? And I don't even have to worry about parking? Huzzah!

It's been years since I've seen Vertigo (1958) and while visually it's stunning, at that time I didn't much care for the story. I thought I'd give it another try. Initially, I had planned to go by myself but Carlos begged me to take him with me. He loves Hitchcock as much as I do, so date night was set. We had dinner then walked to the Capitol. We were a bit early so we stopped in on there ice cream shop and had a few pre-movie treats. While we were indulging in Maine Black Bear (raspberry ice cream with chocolate pieces) and Purple Cow (blackberry ice cream with white chocolate chips), Carlos asked me a question completely out of the blue...

What if Alfred Hitchcock directed Dr. Strangelove (1964)?

At first I brushed off the question but then I took a moment to think about it. Hitchcock would have never directed Dr. Strangelove because there are no no prominent female characters in it. Hitchcock REALLY loved his women. And he had a particular appetite for blondes.

 

In Hitchcock films, the camera is constantly making love to the female lead. Our eye is drawn to her instinctively. It's as though we are borrowing Hitchcocks POV for a few moments. However, it's always the female lead and never the other actresses. For example, in Rear Window (1954), the viewer is in a state of constant adoration for Grace Kelly but our eyes do not rest for very long on Thelma Ritter.

So when we watched Vertigo on the big screen, I kept an eye out for this detail (tee hee). And sure enough, Kim Novak is lovingly adored by Hitchcock's camera.

I must not have paid much attention the first couple of times I had watched the movie because there were a lot of great plot points I was missing. Watching it on the big screen, forced me to pay closer attention. Vertigo has everything. Great actors, stunning visuals, a plot that keeps you guessing, action, drama and romance. Plus a Jimmy Stewart with an excessive amount of make-up on.

I love how Hitchcock uses structures to represent different things. Brassieres and bridges hold things up and represent stability. Windows and door frame paint idyllic pictures but are often misleading. Ledges, rooftops and towers (heights) mean danger. The museum, cemetery, church and hotel are all purgatories for people in the present who are stuck in the past. There is enough meat in this film for an English major like me to feast on.

Watching Vertigo this once on the big screen is not enough. I need to own this film, watch it several times at home, take notes and break it apart. I need to watch it to analyze and watch it for fun.

Have you watched a Hitchcock film on the big screen? If so, which one? Did it change the way you watched the film or what you thought of it? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Out of the Past - Into the Now ~ Vanity Fair's Tribute to Hitchcock

I came out of my hiatus just to tell you to watch the newstands for the March 2008 Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair. It features a photo spread in tribute to the great Alfred Hitchcock! Yay! I saw a bit about it on TV. Basically they take well known contemporary actors and dress them up in scenes from different Hitchcock films. I am hungrily searching for a copy as I don't have one yet.

Here is what is in the issue...

Seth Rogan - As Cary Grant in North by Northwest
Renee Zelwegger - As Kim Novak in Vertigo
Scarlett Johansson - As Grace Kelly in Rear Window
Javier Bardem - As James Stewart in Rear Window
Naomi Watts - As Tippi Hedren in Marnie
Charlize Theron - As Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder
Keira Knightley - As Joan Fontaine in Rebecca
James McAvoy - As Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train
Emile Hirsch - As Farley Granger in Strangers on a Train
Jodi Foster - As Tippi Hedren in The Birds
Marion Cotillard - As Janet Leigh in Psycho
Gwenyth Paltrow- As Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief
Robert Downey Jr. - As Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief

Life Boat
- Tang Wei; Josh Brolin; Casey Affleck; Eva Marie Saint; Ben Foster; Omar Metwally; Julie Christie


I almost hyper-ventilated when I saw the bit on TV. I need to buy a copy or two!!! Go out and get one, especially if you are a hardcore Hitchcock fan like myself! Check it out!

Update: Strangers on a Train (1951)

"I certainly admire people who do things." - Bruno

My second viewing of this film went really well. It was great to see it on the big screen in a proper theatre with good friends close by. I managed to successfuly maintain a steady breathing pattern, most noticeably through the party scene. However, there were moments in which I felt that my heart would leap out of my chest. This film is thrilling and creepy on a psychological level and it didn't lose much of its potency the second time around.

It's funny the things you forget about a film over time. My memory bank seems to have deleted (or just plain neglected) some things from my first viewing. The opening sequence with the camera following two different pairs of shoes (Bruno's flashy ones and Guy's practical ones) and the really cool shot of the murder shot through the reflection of the lense of a pair of glasses were both welcome surprises. I quite enjoyed the creepiness the infamous tennis court scene where Bruno's gaze is firmly fixed on Guy while everyone else in the stands follows the ball back and forth. And I had forgotten how thrilling the musical carousel-gone-awry scene was! I believe at one point during that scene my jaw dropped and stayed dropped for a considerable amount of time.

I am glad that now I can be thrilled, and not emotionally traumatized, by this film. I don't know if I will be able to say the same for The Night of the Hunter (1955), but we'll see.

Strangers on a Train (1951)

The time has come for me to come to terms with this movie. My first viewing happened during a very difficult time in my life, in which I was struggling with the impending deaths of two loved ones. I was emotionally raw and exposed to the full brunt of anything even remotely unsettling. In hindsight, I should have stayed away from films such as this, but with my other experiences with pre-Psycho Hitchcock, I probably thought I was relatively safe with this film. Boy, was I wrong.

I must give kudos to the great Alfred Hitchcock for creating a film that was truly scary indeed. I remember it was a sunny afternoon, on a seemingly innocent day, when I popped the DVD of this film into the player. As engrossing as Hitchcock films often are, I was swept into the story immediately. Then, sometime into the film, came the scene that harshly struck the chord that twanged and sent disonant reverberations right through me.

It was the party scene with Robert Walker as Bruno, a man who had trapped Guy, played by Farley Granger, into a sordid deal; a murder for a murder. With a nervous Guy in the background, Bruno carried on a conversatin with two older ladies about murder and how one would successfully suffocate another person. Bruno, to my utter dismay, proceeds to demonstrate the correct technique one of the ladies' throats. He tightens his grip on her windpipe, then freezes when he sees Barbara, played by Hitchock's daughter Patricia, in the background. All the while staring at her, he is still choking the little old lady. He cannot bring himself to let go and has to be pulled off of her.

At that moment, I started to hyperventilate. I could not catch my breath. I stopped the movie immediately and ran out of the room gasping for air. I must have been so terrified during the scene that I had just stopped breathing altogether, as though Bruno was choking me! Quite traumatized by the experience, it took me a full week before I could watch the remaining length of the movie (careful, of course, to avoid the scene that, literally, took my breath away).

I am a firm believer that what you get from a film depends on what point you are in your life when you see it. Right now, I'm in a good place and feel that I could watch it again. So on Monday, I will watch Strangers on a Train (1951), properly, in an actual theatre, in the dark and I won't be scared.

I hope...

Next Stop: The Night of the Hunter (1955)

The Dick Cavett Show ~ Hitchcock Edition

If you haven't watched The Dick Cavett Show yet, shame on you! For the classic film fanatic, it is absolutely essential to watch. Where else will you see amazing one-hour interviews with film legends? The best part is that during the late '60s and '70s, most of these stars had already gone through the best moments of their career and you get to hear wonderful stories. An added bonus - Dick Cavett knew how to showcase these film legends at their best.

There is no excuse not to watch it. It's on DVD, and available to buy or rent. They've been aired on Turner Classic Movies and perhaps might be in the future (pretty please good folks at TCM!). You get to see Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Groucho Marx, Orson Welles and other greats. One of my personal favorites is the witty Alfred Hitchcock. It opens with a very amusing sequence and I thought I'd share some screenshots so maybe you'll be enticed to watch the show. Here they are...