Episodes
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For this week’s episode we take a look at the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the story so nice that Hitchcock made it twice. The 1956 version with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day is now better known, but this was one of the key early hits that established Hitchcock’s career. It’s a kidnapping thriller about a British family who gets accidently mixed up in some international intrigue while on vacation in Switzerland.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
Details: A Gaumont-British Picture released in England on December 9, 1934. Produced by Michael Balcon. Screenplay by Charles Bennett and D. B. Wyndham Lewis, based on a scenario by Edwin Greenwood and A. R. Rawlinson. Starring Peter Lorre, Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Nova Pilbeam and Frank Vosper. Cinematography by Curt Courant. Music by Arthur Benjamin.
Ranking: 26 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Man Who Knew Too Much got 1,681 ranking points.
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This week we talk about the 1953 priestly thriller, I Confess. This is the first movie in our Hitchcock series that Bonnie had seen before, at least in part. It’s the story of a priest who is suspected of a murder. He knows who the real killer, but the seal of the confessional prevents him from clearing his name.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
Details: A Transatlantic Picture released February 12, 1953. Produced Hitchcock. Screenplay by George Tabori and William Archibald, based on the 1902 play Nos deux consciences by Paul Anthelme. Starring Montgomery Clift, Karl Malden, Anne Baxter, O. E. Hasse, and Brian Aherne. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin.
Ranking: 27 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines I Confess got 1,587 ranking points.
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What better way to start off the new year than with a podcast? Join us this week as we discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s polarizing 1955 black comedy, The Trouble with Harry. Set in rural Vermont, an eclectic ensemble bonds over their dealings with a dead body that keeps popping up at the most inopportune times. Our hot takes with come at you when you least expect it, not unlike this film’s eponymous corpse.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
Details: A Paramount Picture released September 30, 1955. Produced Hitchcock. Screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the novel by Jack Trevor Story. Starring Shirley MacLaine, John Forsyth, Edmund Gwenn, Mildred Natwick, and Jerry Mathers. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Music by Bernard Hermann.
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Merry Christmas! Our stocking stuffer for you, our dear listeners, is this wildly entertaining podcast on Alfred Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot. And as an added bonus, we bring you an extra sibling!
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
Details: A Universal Picture released April 9, 1976. Produced Hitchcock. Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, based on the novel The Rainbird Pattern by Victor Canning. Starring Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, and William Devane. Cinematography by Leonard J. South. Music by John Williams.
Ranking: 29 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Family Plot got 1,421 ranking points.
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This week, we cover a relatively early Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Young and Innocent (also known by The Girl was Young. A young man finds himself accused of a crime he didn't commit, and in his efforts to clear his name, he finds an unlikely ally in the constable's daughter.
***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
Details: A Gaumont-British Picture released 11/1/1937. Produced Edward Black. Screenplay by Charles Bennett, Edwin Greenwood, and Anthony Armstrong, based on the novel A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey. Starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney, Percey Marmont, John Longden, Edward Rigby, and Mary Clare. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles.
Ranking: 30 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Young and Innocent got 1,341 ranking points.
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We're returning to Hitchcock this week with a murder mystery set amidst the London theatre world. From 1950, it's Stage Fright. An aspiring actress tries to clear her boyfriend's name by inserting herself into a highly publicized murder investigation. Check out this film and come hear our take on it.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.
Details: A Transatlantic Picture released 2/23/1950. Produced by Hitchcock. Screenplay by Whitfield Cook, Alma Reville, James Bridie, based on the novel Man Running by Selwyn Jepson. Starring Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, and Patricia Hitchcock. Cinematography by Wilkie Cooper. Score by Leighton Lucas.
Ranking: 31 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Stage Fright got 1,232 ranking points.
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We have another Chaplin checkpoint this week. This time it's none other than City Lights, arguably Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece. Bonnie saw it for the first time! Come hear our takes on this magnificent film.
Next week, we will continue with our Hitchcock countdown with 1950's Stage Fright.
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This week we take a look Hitchcock's 1966 Cold War thriller, Torn Curtain, starring two of the biggest stars of the Sixties, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.
: A Universal Picture released 7/14/1966. Produced by Hitchcock. Screenplay by Brian Moore. Starring Julie Andrews, Paul Newman, Hansjorg Felmy, Lila Kedrova, Wolfgang Kieling, Ludwig Donath, Carolyn Conwell, Mort Mills, Tamara Toumanova, and Gisela Fischer. Cinematography by John F. Warren. Score by John Addison.
Ranking: 32 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Torn Curtain got 1,225 ranking points.
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This week we return to Hitchcock's very early sound era. In fact, our focus this episode is on the very first British talkie: Blackmail. It's a terrific little picture--I don't want to spoil it for you here. Go watch it and come back and listen to our take on this surprisingly topical, nearly-century-old picture.
Details: A British International Picture released 7/28/1929. Produced by John Maxwell. Screenplay by Hitchcock and Benn W. Levy, based on a play by Charles Bennett. Starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, Joan Barry, Cyril Ritchard, and Sarah Algood. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Score by Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly.
Ranking: 33 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Blackmail got 1,202 ranking points.
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Secret Agent is a 1936 espionage thriller set during World War I. We did into this little-seen spy movie from Hitch's British era in this week's podcast.
Details: A British International Picture released 5/11/1936. Produced by Michael Balcon and Ivor Montagu. Screenplay by Charles Bennett, Alma Reville, Ian Hay and Jesse Lasky Jr., based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham and a play by Campbell Dixon. Starring John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, Peter Lorre, and Robert Young. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Score by John Greenwood.
Ranking: 34 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Secret Agent got 1,013 ranking points.
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This week we jump ahead to 1969, one of Alfred Hitchcock's last movies, Topaz. Based on the Leon Uris novel that itself is loosely based on events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film features a French agent who tries to uncover Cold War developments in the US, Cuba, and France.
Details: A Universal Picture released 12/19/1969. Produced and Directed by Hitchcock. Screenplay by Samuel Taylor, based on Leon Uris’ novel. Starring Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon, Karin Dor, Claude Jade, Michel Subor, Philippe Noiret, Roscoe Lee Brown, and John Forsythe. Cinematography by Jack Hildyard. Score by Maurice Jarre.
Ranking: 35 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Topaz got 955 ranking points.
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Jamaica Inn was Alfred Hitchcock's last British movie before going to Hollywood. It's a rare period piece and the first of three adaptations of a Daphne du Maurier book. Set in the wild moorish landscape of 19th Century Cornwall, Maureen O'Hara plays the young heroine with Charles Laughton chewing the scenery as the colorful magistrate.
Details: Produced by Erich Pommer, released in 1939. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Joan Harrison. Starring: O'Hara, Laughton, Leslie Banks, Marie Ney, Emlyn Williams. Cinematography by Harry Stradling and Bernard Knowles.
Ranking: 36 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Jamaica Inn got 930 ranking points and is in last place.
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We head to court this week for Hitchcock’s 1947 courtroom drama, The Paradine Case. Gregory Peck leads the cast as a famed London lawyer who defends a notorious widow accused of poisoning her husband. Charles Laughton costars as a lascivious judge, and a very young Louis Jourdan appears as a French heartthrob who was valet for the victim.
Details: A David O. Selznick/Vanguard Film. Released in 1947. Produced by Selznick. Screenplay by Selznick, based on Robert Hitchens’ novel. Starring Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Valli, Charles Coburn, Charles Laughton, Louis Jourdan, Ethel Barrymore, and Joan Tetzel. Cinematography by Lee Garmes.
Ranking: 38 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Paradine Case got 854 ranking points.
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For our second Chaplin Checkpoint, we dig into Charlie Chaplin's 1940 World War II satire, The Great Dictator. Chaplin has dual roles as a fascist dictator and a humble Jewish barber. Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie costar.
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This week we jump ahead to Under Capricorn, which practically feels modern after having spentabout14 weeks in the 20s and 30s. This 1949 period drama stars Joseph Cotton and Ingrid Bergman as a married couple in 19th Century Australia. An Irishman comes Down Under and begins unravelling the mysteries of their relationship.
Details: A Transatlantic Picture, produced by Hitchcock and Sidney Bernstein. Screenplay by James Birdie, with adaption by Hume Cronyn based on the novel by Helen Simpson, via the play by John Colton and Margaret Linden. It stars Joseph Cotton, Ingrid Bergman, Michael Wilding and Margaret Leighton. Cinematography by Jack Cardiff.
Ranking: 39 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Under Capricorn got 799 ranking points.
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We’re nearing the end of Alfred Hitchcock’s early period. This week, we take a look at his third sound film, Murder!. The film involves a murder among a travelling acting troupe. One young actress is convicted, but a juror begins to have second thoughts and takes up his own investigation.
Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock and Walter Mycroft, based on the novel Enter Sir John by Helen Simpson. Starring Norah Baring, Herbert Marshall, Esme Percy, Edward Chapman and Phyllis Konstam. Cinematography by John J. Cox.
Ranking: 40 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines Murder! got 761 ranking points.
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For the fourth consecutive week, we review an early silent film by Alfred Hitchcock. For those out there who are tiring of silent movies, don’t worry there’s only one left after this! The Ring is another love triangle as a sideshow boxer gets a big break, but at the expense of his relationship with his girlfriend.
Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Carl Brisson Lillian Hall-Davis and Ian Hunter. Cinematography by John J. Cox.
Ranking: 41 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” The Ring got 675 ranking points.
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For our third straight silent Hitchcock film, we discuss The Manxman. This 1929 melodrama is the story of two childhood friends from the Isle of Man whose bond is pushed to the limits by their affections for the town barmaid.
Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Eliot Stannard based on the novel of the same name by Hall Caine. Starring Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen, Anny Ondra, and Randle Ayrton. Cinematography by John J. Cox.
Ranking: 42 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” The Manxman got 616 ranking points.
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We continue to plug our way through the lesser-known entries in Hitchcock’s filmography. Downhill was new to both of us. It’s the story of an idealistic young and wealthy college student who falls from grace after he takes the blame for the misdeeds of his friend.
Details: Gainsborough-Emelka Pictures, 1927. Produced by Michael Balcon. Written by Eliot Stannard, based on the play by Ivor Novello and Constance Collier. Starring Novello, Robin Irvine, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter and Lillian Braithwaite. Cinematography by Claude McDonnell.
Ranking: 43 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Downhill got 583 ranking points.
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