Three (Mesmerizing) Hitchcock Villains Revisited on Halloween

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtSnqgNb87Y0Ng5pmOACjMm2jPPAmtBgMQ5x2DsyCg9O23qxd8oNZHUbOC6kPYdfIbHsghcAX6RvY-yGEGmroVmcfDcn2-QGwrLnb7offHNexh9mLMcKXRaIU5bnWZBi1BqPQmM5GL_88/s1600/Hitchcock_Halloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtSnqgNb87Y0Ng5pmOACjMm2jPPAmtBgMQ5x2DsyCg9O23qxd8oNZHUbOC6kPYdfIbHsghcAX6RvY-yGEGmroVmcfDcn2-QGwrLnb7offHNexh9mLMcKXRaIU5bnWZBi1BqPQmM5GL_88/s400/Hitchcock_Halloween.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today (and today only) our friend Lara of <i>Backlots</i> is hosting a one day <i>Hitchcock Halloween</i> blogathon and for the occasion I'm resurrecting an old favorite from the <i>Reel Life</i> archives.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In January 2011 the Classic Movie Blog Association hosted a Hitchcock blogathon and I decided rather than blog about a particular film, I'd take another approach. The result was an exploration of three legendary Hitchcock killers and the actors who portrayed them: Joseph Cotten's Uncle Charlie in <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>(1943), Robert Walker's Bruno Anthony in <i>Strangers on a Train </i>(1951) and Anthony Perkins's Norman Bates in <i>Psycho </i>(1960). I was and still am fascinated by the complex characters of Uncle Charlie, Bruno and Norman - and with the masterful performances of the three daring actors who took their turns as what film critic/historian David Thomson calls Hitchcock's "smiling psychopaths."</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/cmba-hitchcock-blogathon-three-classic.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here to read </span></a><i><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/cmba-hitchcock-blogathon-three-classic.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Three Classic Hitchcock Killers</span></a><span style="color: black;">.</span></i></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For links to Lara's blog and and more on <i>Hitchcock Halloween</i>, <a href="http://backlots.net/2013/10/31/the-hitchcock-halloween-blogathon-the-entries/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">click here</span></a>.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ATvefdWqpCu1fTzNykEpJ4m1FgXaXYs1CpK9_yRW8aU1I19JETubqPw-NpP-K1rfr2VZoeDSNJTIPxX3X3w6CtDOZABiUq6DZ2HBFnCvtl8BRW6eugzV51ePZK4cF4F_PVBbSl-0DE8/s1600/Classic_Killers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ATvefdWqpCu1fTzNykEpJ4m1FgXaXYs1CpK9_yRW8aU1I19JETubqPw-NpP-K1rfr2VZoeDSNJTIPxX3X3w6CtDOZABiUq6DZ2HBFnCvtl8BRW6eugzV51ePZK4cF4F_PVBbSl-0DE8/s1600/Classic_Killers.JPG" /></a></div><span id="goog_1974639347"></span><span id="goog_1974639348"></span><br />

Alfred Hitchcock Backlots Hitchcock Halloween Psycho Shadow of a Doubt Strangers on a Train The Lady Eve (author) Three (Mesmerizing) Hitchcock Villains Revisited on Halloween

Today (and today only) our friend Lara of Backlots is hosting a one day Hitchcock Halloween blogathon and for the occasion I'm resurre...

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Hitchcock Week...and more...at the San Francisco Symphony

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVX-wczSvLpB0a9Gsuto9lXfJ38szFDfx6FUbKAeoWOMXZNtfjNcQlKsNa2TcqdSyrJ2nzX3sstbfCS1lTJ4y5tAXdu0fPW7azbr_9AwVaOPnnecvVvczFqymK1sTrkXwZVJ_W1HhVCuc/s1600/psycho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVX-wczSvLpB0a9Gsuto9lXfJ38szFDfx6FUbKAeoWOMXZNtfjNcQlKsNa2TcqdSyrJ2nzX3sstbfCS1lTJ4y5tAXdu0fPW7azbr_9AwVaOPnnecvVvczFqymK1sTrkXwZVJ_W1HhVCuc/s400/psycho.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Just over two years ago I attended – and was astounded by - “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casablanca</i> with the San Francisco Symphony” at Davies Hall. Conductor Michael Francis led the orchestra in accompanying the beyond-iconic classic with Max Steiner’s unforgettable score. What an experience it was (<a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/07/casablanca-with-san-francisco-symphony.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">click here</span></span></a> for my reaction)...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now the symphony is about to present a Halloween season series, <b>Hitchcock Week</b>, spotlighting several of the Master’s films with live musical accompaniment. The <span class="st"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pièce</i></span><i>de résistance</i><i><span style="font-style: normal;"> will be “World Premiere: </span></i><i>Vertigo</i><i><span style="font-style: normal;">” on Friday, November 1, with the symphony accompanying Hitchcock’s great masterpiece with Bernard Herrmann’s brilliant, haunting and, some would say, peerless score.</span></i> </span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Bay Area film lovers, get thee to a box office, online or otherwise! Hitchcock Week is about to begin…<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wednesday, October 30, 8pm, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psycho</i></b>, with Joshua Gersen conducting Herrmann’s legendary score<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Thursday, October 31, 7:30pm, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog</i></b>, live organ music will accompany Hitchcock’s early silent thriller on Halloween night </span><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvVQAs_cYsBf2DoSIBAuEdLXgwqu55s0RN1LSGCmmalRlo-8MlogbNlUV1oN7FfCyAJLslAyS7DXNqhCFTJ7_n6l6rePCyH0FOPAebR8HrsdlZ5I_LnDt91C9UwmO4GgCpK2P5JCpMl4/s1600/vertigo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvVQAs_cYsBf2DoSIBAuEdLXgwqu55s0RN1LSGCmmalRlo-8MlogbNlUV1oN7FfCyAJLslAyS7DXNqhCFTJ7_n6l6rePCyH0FOPAebR8HrsdlZ5I_LnDt91C9UwmO4GgCpK2P5JCpMl4/s400/vertigo2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Kim Novak and James Stewart, </span><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Vertigo </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(1958)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Friday, November 1, 8pm, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Vertigo </i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">-</i></span> <i>Vertigo </i>accompanied by the San Francisco Symphony…what more is there to say?<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday, November 2, 8pm, Hitchcock! Greatest Hits</b>, clips from several Hitchcock classics – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To Catch a Thief, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, North by Northwest</i> – to be hosted by Eva Marie Saint, with Joshua Gersen conducting</span><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeqmiCwtJZxnDukC9UFY-DtbtdZSWKuX0AsOziij6YKZvD_IGcWQxH7zZyd38YNyKPjigyiQ5zxtPXaFSo9H5ZXPBCSsSmnu86M7aJkT2AvWVKfvmw6MN_744yC5F720hF9IV-h9HDTc/s1600/NxNW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdeqmiCwtJZxnDukC9UFY-DtbtdZSWKuX0AsOziij6YKZvD_IGcWQxH7zZyd38YNyKPjigyiQ5zxtPXaFSo9H5ZXPBCSsSmnu86M7aJkT2AvWVKfvmw6MN_744yC5F720hF9IV-h9HDTc/s400/NxNW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in <i>North by Northwest </i>(1959)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The symphony has scheduled more classic films with orchestral accompaniment through the rest of its 2013/2014 season:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Friday and Saturday, December 6 and 7, 7:30pm, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Singin’ in the Rain</i> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday, February 15, 8pm, A Night at the Oscars </b>will feature celebrated scenes and scores from memorable films<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday, April 12, 8pm, Charlie Chaplin's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">City Lights</i> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Saturday, May 31 at 8pm and Sunday, June 1 at 4pm, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fantasia</i></b> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A “Compose Your Own Film Series” package offers savings to those who buy tickets to three or more of these film concerts: <a href="http://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/Calendar.aspx"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</span></a> to go to the symphony website or call (415)864-6000.</span><br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3vnW-q7jVEyRNX9kgQQ107VC1DTbYE1Lmqyx1W-JOp6ag73bSMT36AFmooLCYVYF9TAnUMKSlgQtdMGp0ZC3qDpltZMk4tN2al8uubTKwVuF57Xz49XHcw0dwnKpGEooAgB2apQmR-A/s1600/Fantasia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3vnW-q7jVEyRNX9kgQQ107VC1DTbYE1Lmqyx1W-JOp6ag73bSMT36AFmooLCYVYF9TAnUMKSlgQtdMGp0ZC3qDpltZMk4tN2al8uubTKwVuF57Xz49XHcw0dwnKpGEooAgB2apQmR-A/s400/Fantasia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fantasia </span></i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(1940)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

Alfred Hitchcock Psycho San Francisco Symphony The Lady Eve (author) The Lodger Vertigo Hitchcock Week...and more...at the San Francisco Symphony

Just over two years ago I attended – and was astounded by - “ Casablanca with the San Francisco Symphony” at Davies Hall. Conductor Michael...

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Woody Allen, Master of Suspense?

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdCBaLPwrWstMYKgqVUZM_xuVsHIQNCkQZuYuSLh2zXabu9mcf5iU-E_0abwSR9B0rB_CZOfm9C0L3L4SfDff7c5sCJqvQnVqqS1cykTo8TtWaIo64BiWZTUcSiNcFT6oCGPYqY20pROW/s1600/movie+poster+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdCBaLPwrWstMYKgqVUZM_xuVsHIQNCkQZuYuSLh2zXabu9mcf5iU-E_0abwSR9B0rB_CZOfm9C0L3L4SfDff7c5sCJqvQnVqqS1cykTo8TtWaIo64BiWZTUcSiNcFT6oCGPYqY20pROW/s400/movie+poster+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This post is my contribution to The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made blogathon hosted by Tales of the Easily Distracted and Classic Becky's Brain Food. <a href="http://doriantb.blogspot.com/p/best-hitchcock-movies-that-hitchcock.html" style="color: #cc0000;" target="_blank">Click here</a> for more information and links to participating blogs.</span></span></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">~</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">On the face of it, the only thing Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen seem to have in common is the distinction of being aknowledged as preeminent auteurs. As Michael Newton put it in <i>The Guardian</i> earlier this year, </span><span style="font-size: small;">"Along with Alfred Hitchcock, Allen must be the most recognizable director in the history of cinema."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Hitchcock, who spent most of his career working within the studio system, developed the habit early on of planning and shooting his films so carefully that they were virtually immune to being re-cut by anyone else. Then, in 1954, he entered into a deal with Paramount that allowed him to work autonomously, provided generous production budgets and gave him ownership of those films he both produced and directed. Allen‘s career as a director took off in the 1970s, just as a new generation of independent-minded filmmakers swept into Hollywood. Almost from the beginning he had a remarkable arrangement with his financiers and distributors: as long as he stayed within budget he would have complete artistic freedom. Hitchcock, who began in the silent era, was influenced by German expressionism and Soviet montage theory and approached film as visual storytelling. Allen began as a writer and, naturally, has relied more on dialogue and use of the long master shot in his films. Hitchcock became synonymous with big movies with high production values while Allen has made films </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">with an "art house" sensibility and appeal</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"> on relatively small budgets. </span><br /><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">And yet, in 2005 Woody Allen made a film of distinctly “Hitchcockian” elements. <i>Match Point </i>is a sexy thriller about luck and morality set in modern-day London. The film showcases two intensely magnetic stars, Jonathan Rhys Meyers (<i>Bend it Like Beckham</i>, <i>Mission Impossible III</i>, <i style="color: black;">The Tudors</i>) and Scarlett Johansson (<i style="color: black;">Lost in Translation</i>, <i>Iron Man II</i>, <i>The Avengers</i>).</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"> </span> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZCcRkBMhllI" width="420"></iframe> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">With a little luck it goes forward and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose...</span></div><br />Chris Wilton (Rhys Meyers) is a former professional tennis player hired by a posh London tennis club as an instructor. There he meets Tom Hewett (<span style="color: black;">Matthew Goode</span><span style="color: red;"></span>), scion of an extremely moneyed British family. The two become friendly and when Tom discovers Chris enjoys opera, he invites him to join his family in their box at the Royal Opera House for a performance of <i style="color: black;">La Traviata</i>. There Chris meets Tom’s parents and his eligible and instantly smitten sister, Chloe (<span style="color: black;">Emily Mortimer</span>); romance blooms. Soon after, Chris meets Nola Rice (Johansson), Tom’s luscious fiancée, an aspiring American actress. While the Hewett progeny are attractive enough physically, their wealth, position and lifestyle of culture and privilege are even more appealing. Chris and Nola are good-looking, charismatic creatures and, much as each knows they are onto a good thing with their respective lovers, sparks fly between them.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2n2OOyQbXoQjCnWP-juxIsmlGPLNEEJ8hZZxfsC9DdVxZvavvsFSDCp_qXYQ0r20RhyphenhyphenvGOazvLJ5q7vo9BRGOcpQZA9i0peKjDIzf_8GTF7L1nnM-tpGEuG7d7eon3svGLATz_hH4Or5/s1600/Woody+Allen+blonde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT2n2OOyQbXoQjCnWP-juxIsmlGPLNEEJ8hZZxfsC9DdVxZvavvsFSDCp_qXYQ0r20RhyphenhyphenvGOazvLJ5q7vo9BRGOcpQZA9i0peKjDIzf_8GTF7L1nnM-tpGEuG7d7eon3svGLATz_hH4Or5/s320/Woody+Allen+blonde.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson as Chris Wilton and Nola Rice</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This Woody Allen-penned, Oscar-nominated story could easily have appealed to Alfred Hitchcock who knew not only the value of a good, well-scripted story, but also made two films about tennis playing protagonists with problematic relationships and status issues who become involved in murder. In <i style="color: black;">Strangers on a Train</i> (1951), competitive tennis player Guy Haines aspires to a loftier position in life and hopes to divorce his small-town floozy wife so he can marry the daughter of a U.S. senator. In <i>Dial M for Murder</i> (1954), retired tennis player Tony Wendice, who has discovered that his wealthy wife has been carrying on a serious love affair, fears he may lose his meal ticket and cushy lifestyle.<br /><br />But before any inkling of murder surfaces in <i>Match Point</i>, Chris, who is headed for marriage to Chloe and a good job with “one of” her father’s companies, develops a fascination with Nola. When, one day, he runs into her on the street, the two end up having drinks together. They talk about themselves and their relationships with Chloe and Tom and the elder Hewetts. Nola remarks that Eleanor, Tom and Chloe’s mother, hates her but that Chris is more fortunate, he’s “being groomed.” </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Nola: You’re going to do very well for yourself, unless you blow it.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Chris: And how am I going to blow it?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Nola: By making a pass at me.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Chris: What makes you think that’s going to happen?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">Nola: Men always seem to wonder. They think I’d be something very special.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHduv9W5vE3va16FHrc2e6KXLo6eRZoR3h7Fm_hnEJ1TSCpENeuqZbX-pSoFqogmbn8Euom_aWidHRSOrFhyphenhyphenOQdQPxxqrQZ6OH0UZVCPNgFqGHXkl2AdSXc6MTJdHZ_Rd302iU8zQExGA/s1600/Chris+and+Nola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHduv9W5vE3va16FHrc2e6KXLo6eRZoR3h7Fm_hnEJ1TSCpENeuqZbX-pSoFqogmbn8Euom_aWidHRSOrFhyphenhyphenOQdQPxxqrQZ6OH0UZVCPNgFqGHXkl2AdSXc6MTJdHZ_Rd302iU8zQExGA/s320/Chris+and+Nola.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scarlett Johansson will portray Janet Leigh In "Hitchcock" (2013)</td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">The two laugh, but Chris is powerfully tempted. Scarlett Johansson's Nola Rice begins as an assured, almost taunting beauty confident of her sexual appeal. She isn't quite the Grace Kelly version of the <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/08/hitchcock-blonde.html" style="color: #cc0000;" target="_blank">Hitchcock blonde</a>, but falls somewhere between the worldly hedonism of Ingrid Bergman at the beginning of <i>Notorious</i> (1946) and Kim Novak's subdued sultriness in <i>Vertigo</i> (1958). A blonde who flirts with danger, Nola is Hitchcock's kind of woman.</span><br /><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">When fate eventually provides the moment, the two indulge in a frenzy of passion, but Nola warns, "this can't lead anyplace." Chris goes on to marry Chloe and Tom later breaks off with Nola (Tom: "mother poisoned the well"). Chris adapts to life on the corporate fast track, he and Chloe move into a spectacular, glass-encased apartment overlooking the Thames and she is soon fixated on becoming pregnant. The vitality begins to drain from Chris's life. As luck will have it, he and Nola meet again and this time she, who is beginning to lose her self-confidence and show slight signs of wear, is available. A torrid affair begins. As Chris embarks on a double life, the atmosphere quickens with tension. When his romance with Nola hits the wall of reality and she begins to pose a threat, unrelenting suspense mounts until a neatly executed plot twist brings unexpected resolution.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NCNhPLortkk" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The man who said, "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life...</span></div><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">What helps to create the film's tension and suspense are themes and motifs that echo Hitchcock: </span><br /><ul><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>The Wrong Man</i> - Occasionally Hitchcock turned this theme on its head and the innocent man accused would be a secondary character rather than the protagonist. This character's sudden death puts an end to further police investigation. The device is employed in both <i>Blackmail </i>(1929) and <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> (1943)  - it also occurs in <i>Match Point</i>.</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>Doubles </i>- A recurrent Hitchcock theme in which two characters seem kindred spirits until their bond is broken. Classic examples are the relationships between Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony in <i>Stangers on a Train </i>and "the two Charlies" in <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Chris and Nola appear to be two of a kind when they meet over a ping pong table. But, as she learns, he plays "a very aggressive game."</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>Obsession</i> - <i>Vertigo</i> is a virtual meditation on obsession, but Hitchcock contemplated fascination several times. Young Charlie is enchanted by her Uncle Charlie in <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, Bruno is obsessed with Guy in <i>Strangers on a Train</i>, two young men are enthralled with a philosophy in <i>Rope </i>(1948), </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">in <i>Rear Window</i> (1954) </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">L.B. Jeffries becomes obsessed with his neighbors' lives and his belief that a murder has been committed.</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>The staircase motif</i> is an image Alfred Hitchcock used frequently - famously in <i>Suspicion </i>(1941), <i>Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Strangers on a Train, Vertigo </i>and <i>Psycho </i>(1960). Staircases are prominently featured in <i>Match Point.</i></span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>The dominant mother</i> is another Hitchcock trademark. Mrs. Bates is a powerful unseen presence in <i>Psycho;</i> in <i>Notorious</i>, Mme. Sebastian has all but emasculated her son<i>. </i>Outspoken Eleanor Hewett's disapproval of Nola in <i>Match Point </i>is pivotal.</span></li><li><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;"><i>Landmarks</i> are common backdrops for important scenes </span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">in Hitchcock films - t</span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: small;">he list is long, from the British Museum in <i>Blackmail</i> forward. <i>Match Point </i>showcases London landmarks including The Tate Modern museum, The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, the stunning Parliament View Apartments and The Queen's Club. Unlike Allen's treatment of New York in <i>Manhattan </i>(1979), <i>Match Point </i>is no homage to a city, rather, the attractions of London enhance the film's narrative.</span></li></ul><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9cI720lOtaqflVMPBJ217t6ro2B7ht5inyWq1nbbPzTFLtVhJkFRMBnr_BrV7v3yRtqY4wB-AwRsDFp2jCZkQut_2Ah-4RXR9WkWlfWhP445TrHtYkbzyX42nbv98P_l4fR4zB1bh1tP/s1600/jonathan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9cI720lOtaqflVMPBJ217t6ro2B7ht5inyWq1nbbPzTFLtVhJkFRMBnr_BrV7v3yRtqY4wB-AwRsDFp2jCZkQut_2Ah-4RXR9WkWlfWhP445TrHtYkbzyX42nbv98P_l4fR4zB1bh1tP/s320/jonathan.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan Rhys Meyers</td></tr></tbody></table>As well known for his ability to cast a film as Alfred Hitchcock, Woody Allen has said that his philosophy is to “hire the best actors, shut up and get out of their way.” One of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Match Point</i>’s great strengths is its cast, especially Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the central role. His Chris Wilton subtly and evocatively transforms from a beguiling “boy from Ireland come to London” who would like to do something special with his life, to a remote and preoccupied rising executive with dark secrets on his compliant conscience. Rhys Meyer’s sympathetic introduction along with selective point-of-view camera work engages the viewer; Chris is captivating. By the time he has fallen into desperation and is entangled in murder, we find ourselves complicit and anxious about his fate. Hitchcock managed this trick many times with his proclivity for point-of-view editing and masterful casting. Who could help but identify with Robert Walker’s Bruno Anthony in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Strangers on a Train</i> as he struggles to retrieve a lighter from a drain so that he can plant it as false evidence? Who doesn't share the nervousness of Anthony Perkins’s Norman Bates in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Psycho </i>as he waits for a car to sink after he’s pushed it into a swamp? <br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Woody Allen was elated with <i>Match Point </i>and was widely quoted at the time of its release in 2005 that he considered it his best film to date. Everything had come together, he said, and the production had been blessed with luck. Every actor exceeded his expectations, there was no trouble gaining access to desired locations and even the weather cooperated. He reflected that the storyline lent itself to the film medium and he’d been able to take advantage of that, focusing on action as much as dialogue. The movie, best described as a “moral thriller,” was his first successful drama and reinvigorated his career. Allen’s screenplay was nominated for an Oscar and Jonathan Rhys Meyers was awarded the Chopard Trophy at Cannes.</span></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOL6IHJ0NTX2F3qAzyslae25Hj15HoUtQUsU9nrcKarhXkvM-H_-8l2msWJmH3U_wPb3-nbfhnyCy2R5oAOE2pGXgu7g6SbTwdk2Tvscf83K3sp58aqhSJEECyWWAjHFbCJ-VMbF49-QP/s1600/woody+and+his+blonde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQOL6IHJ0NTX2F3qAzyslae25Hj15HoUtQUsU9nrcKarhXkvM-H_-8l2msWJmH3U_wPb3-nbfhnyCy2R5oAOE2pGXgu7g6SbTwdk2Tvscf83K3sp58aqhSJEECyWWAjHFbCJ-VMbF49-QP/s320/woody+and+his+blonde.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filming <i>Match Point</i>: Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen on the set</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">~</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u><b>Sources</b></u>:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Conversations with Woody Allen</i> by Eric Lax, Knopf (2007)</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Woody Allen: cinema's great experimentalist</i> by Michael Newton<i>, The Guardian</i>, January 13, 2012 (quote only)</span></span></div></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Blackmail Dial M for Murder Jonathan Rhys Meyers Match Point Notorious Psycho Scarlett Johansson Shadow of a Doubt Strangers on a Train The Lady Eve (author) Vertigo Woody Allen Woody Allen, Master of Suspense?

This post is my contribution to The Best Hitchcock Films Hitchcock Never Made blogathon hosted by Tales of the Easily Distracted and Classic...

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CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: THREE CLASSIC HITCHCOCK KILLERS

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sTkNuLpILQBIYClxPzrA9BjkSWlfqci5ASygvGEhyphenhyphenSW5ewWXZipgP_YF8KEtnzopUtGT3MLNv5qTcpJDZWphKYCJZw5RkRj0kfzrB5s4E9azFqAAviCGE059MZhFBkzexGiIWnU9HD0Q/s1600/Hitchcock+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sTkNuLpILQBIYClxPzrA9BjkSWlfqci5ASygvGEhyphenhyphenSW5ewWXZipgP_YF8KEtnzopUtGT3MLNv5qTcpJDZWphKYCJZw5RkRj0kfzrB5s4E9azFqAAviCGE059MZhFBkzexGiIWnU9HD0Q/s320/Hitchcock+cropped.jpg" width="292" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Alfred Hitchcock once remarked that, “in the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog.”  He resisted such <span style="font-family: Arial;">clichés</span>, preferring a different kind of heavy, the sort he called “an ordinary human being with failings.”  The director also said, referring to his own work, “the more successful the villain, the more successful the picture,” and though this was not always the case, it held true for some of his best films. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Three villains who reflect his preferences and support his contention come quickly to mind:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Charles Oakley, the “Merry Widow” killer in <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b> (1943) </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bruno Anthony, the “Criss Cross” strangler of <b>Strangers on a Train</b> (1951)</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Norman Bates, the identity-challenged slayer in <b>Psycho</b> (1960)</span></li></ul></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM8Wj_Dmmg0apMD83IJCJng6rBWAaYOCs1V9H3yp-WBKP8YHKCzYdDI45-qV4IbakSyy1_zth8sXDdP2BBRFs1CQ9YMdTrkWEtvMWIGnQsoU-cVr3YjokT0FC4bF_zUadYkbKKCePi6rL/s1600/shadow+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxM8Wj_Dmmg0apMD83IJCJng6rBWAaYOCs1V9H3yp-WBKP8YHKCzYdDI45-qV4IbakSyy1_zth8sXDdP2BBRFs1CQ9YMdTrkWEtvMWIGnQsoU-cVr3YjokT0FC4bF_zUadYkbKKCePi6rL/s320/shadow+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shadow of a Doubt: Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b></b></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Shadow of a Doubt</b> is the film Hitchcock sometimes claimed </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">was his favorite. It was one in a string of hits he made during his first years in the U.S.; some call it his first truly "American" film. Joseph Cotten as Charles Oakley is spellbinding, beginning with the rich velvety rasp of his voice. Uncle Charlie’s suave veneer and practiced charm belie his homicidal impulses and he is welcomed with open arms into a wholesome small town.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Strangers on a Train</b> was a major hit and responsible for reviving Hitchcock’s career after a series of mid-century flops. Robert Walker’s hypnotic performance as the bizarrely unbalanced Bruno is so powerful he dominates the entire film. Bruno, glib and witty, smoothly finagles his way into the lives of the unwary.</span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3cMcYGF4T630zTGo-XpaD00UWPM_OKHLbSdG13jG_oNuYyCjuWi7A4cpYjtP4diCIOWmryk7rB6YNAZj2jbaqwqbawGe_SVHI6uhWbBQAvjAmg_1_JzWhzaUt6NlUSHpFI1inZY_O7qc/s1600/psycho+3+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3cMcYGF4T630zTGo-XpaD00UWPM_OKHLbSdG13jG_oNuYyCjuWi7A4cpYjtP4diCIOWmryk7rB6YNAZj2jbaqwqbawGe_SVHI6uhWbBQAvjAmg_1_JzWhzaUt6NlUSHpFI1inZY_O7qc/s320/psycho+3+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Psycho: Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Psycho</b> was a sensation, the great groundbreaking masterpiece of Hitchcock’s later career.  The personality of Norman Bates is the crux of the plot and Anthony Perkins’s portrayal is both riveting and far-reaching. An engaging young fellow, Norman appears harmless and accommodating to those who stay at the Bates Motel.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hitchcock cleverly selected actors for these roles who were not known for playing heavies; each was immensely talented as well as cast soundly against type.</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Joseph Cotten, 37 when cast as Uncle Charlie, had made his screen debut in <b>Citizen Kane </b>(1941) as down-to-earth reporter Jedediah Leland. He had also portrayed the protagonist in Welles’s <b>The Magnificent Ambersons </b>(1942) and went on to play sympathetic leads in several films following <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b>.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0Cft2NZQQ-AwM2ykqyfSHXybe_1CNbjRFjbA5dlaCxAX1moe6TsWFemHkWQIPw6NFr7a6YWwmDqK5MKHpncKVtLAwwKfxLbz20YOGquULYRMSVOP3ToBSjR9YdAikjRZdvyvyMQL_XDO/s1600/strangers+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-0Cft2NZQQ-AwM2ykqyfSHXybe_1CNbjRFjbA5dlaCxAX1moe6TsWFemHkWQIPw6NFr7a6YWwmDqK5MKHpncKVtLAwwKfxLbz20YOGquULYRMSVOP3ToBSjR9YdAikjRZdvyvyMQL_XDO/s320/strangers+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strangers on a Train: Farley Granger and Robert Walker</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In his 2007 autobiography Farley Granger remembered that after he had been cast as Guy Haines, Hitchcock asked him what he would think if Robert Walker were to play Bruno Anthony in <b>Strangers on a Train</b>. Granger recalled Joseph Cotten in <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b> as “masterful surprise casting” and, thinking of Walker’s earlier roles, responded, “What a terrific idea!”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Walker, 31 when he portrayed Bruno, had been knocking around Hollywood for years, repeatedly cast in boy-next-door roles. He had played young servicemen throughout World War II – <b>Bataan </b>(1943), <b>Since You Went Away </b>(1944), <b>Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo </b>(1944), <b>The Clock </b>(1945) and in the Private Hargrove films. <b>Strangers on a Train</b>, a testament to his remarkable versatility, was the last film he completed before his sudden death.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyiXgdEPS2ZFQZ0eZpgBLdVaLIx19UtzWG8JvIR58jwJNNv6FjHohmxkm91QWOawg587TV4LqoySUjuymEoF0T7nzztfzZMvz9CmQddd0cMpK43-oxCSjVUD4_GEcIoD3tDYF4AeLuHI9/s1600/psycho+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyiXgdEPS2ZFQZ0eZpgBLdVaLIx19UtzWG8JvIR58jwJNNv6FjHohmxkm91QWOawg587TV4LqoySUjuymEoF0T7nzztfzZMvz9CmQddd0cMpK43-oxCSjVUD4_GEcIoD3tDYF4AeLuHI9/s320/psycho+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anthony Perkins in Psycho</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Anthony Perkins, 28 when he played Norman Bates, had been cast mostly as sensitive, sincere young men prior to becoming a Hitchcock killer:  <b>Friendly Persuasion </b>(1956), <b>Fear Strikes Out</b> (1957), <b>The Tin Star </b>(1957) <b>Green Mansions </b>(1959). Afterward, Perkins became synonymous with <b>Psycho</b> and critic Robin Wood spoke for many when he mused, “…the saddest casualty of Norman Bates’s murder spree was Perkins’s career.” </span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">None of these three actors had been or would ever be a top star though David O. Selznick tried hard to make a leading man of Cotten.  It's no stretch to say that each actor’s greatest role was his turn as a Hitchcock killer.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The relationship between these villainous characters is as interesting as the similarities the three actors share.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">  </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1266WpbLr1JcXZl8QSQXQjZeVJYUMtWj6gtK-xarfkdkSxlIG-SJEdN2IIT1OQFHhfPLtQy4eL4Y3iJqGBB-g-teMO34WmGKIub_o0XivgO5g0BiXNDYfnpvV0-WQdEGsfCkJwjVCF0q/s1600/strangers+2+resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1266WpbLr1JcXZl8QSQXQjZeVJYUMtWj6gtK-xarfkdkSxlIG-SJEdN2IIT1OQFHhfPLtQy4eL4Y3iJqGBB-g-teMO34WmGKIub_o0XivgO5g0BiXNDYfnpvV0-WQdEGsfCkJwjVCF0q/s320/strangers+2+resized.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoBodyText" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In his <u>Hitchcock’s Films Revisited</u>, Robin Wood pondered Hitchcock’s avowed disinterest in actors with a grain of salt:  “…one needs to account for the numerous superb performances…” and specifically referenced Cotten, Walker and Perkins. Though he acknowledged that some actors, left to their own devices, might capably seize the moment, Wood believed there was “…more reason to deduce that there are certain performances – or more exactly, certain <i>roles </i>– which arouse in Hitchcock a particular creative interest.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">What these three personalities seem to most obviously have in common is a complex psychology rooted in family relationships. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv038Uiq0daookwCllsr0TcgdE91jpwYoSTUfVrDxI3xFKaxvLhCUqCBSByiA0TslIBymZ9NatC7OxDks4-c33nmKy7KLBGboZmDu3K9etNMo3K7VlmC2_PnWanlpokL2UJqcTbhKni_xP/s1600/shadow+2+cropped+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv038Uiq0daookwCllsr0TcgdE91jpwYoSTUfVrDxI3xFKaxvLhCUqCBSByiA0TslIBymZ9NatC7OxDks4-c33nmKy7KLBGboZmDu3K9etNMo3K7VlmC2_PnWanlpokL2UJqcTbhKni_xP/s320/shadow+2+cropped+a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Cotten in Shadow of a Doubt</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial;">Early in <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b> it is revealed that dapper Uncle Charlie was the youngest in his family, badly spoiled by mother and older sister. His attitude toward men suggests he is used to being top dog and his attentiveness to women implies his seductive powers. But Charlie, with his “spirit wounded and festering” (Lindsay Anderson), is deeply disdainful of everyone.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Dissipated playboy Bruno Anthony of <b>Strangers on a Train</b> still lives at home in the family mansion. He is an only child, coddled by an addled mother and dismissed by a powerful father. Bruno seems to have little interest in women though, like Charlie, he manipulates them easily. While his behavior hints at sexual identity issues, he desperately schemes to dethrone his hated father.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Norman Bates in <b>Psycho</b> is also an only child. Norman appears to be the hapless victim of a domineering mother. Whatever the actual dynamics of the mother/son relationship, Norman never matured or successfully transitioned to manhood. He is awkward and twitchy, if sometimes boyishly charming, as he navigates the dark and chaotic world he shares with his mother.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVksiMlvRbP16_pZHma46KkThCLHJgaM26FAwKrjX-rMkt6y9tux1S5ipdUxarMxWW2fcyny1YqPQHNnPvlfDq717JXl9t7EiIL-oPb4gt91vLbUnW6hwOlO_FdeQZQoEzlOnmdsAjnnw/s1600/shadow+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVksiMlvRbP16_pZHma46KkThCLHJgaM26FAwKrjX-rMkt6y9tux1S5ipdUxarMxWW2fcyny1YqPQHNnPvlfDq717JXl9t7EiIL-oPb4gt91vLbUnW6hwOlO_FdeQZQoEzlOnmdsAjnnw/s320/shadow+1.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Charlie visits Santa Rosa</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hitchcock additionally bestowed upon each of these villains one of his favorite motifs, a "double"…all three have one. Uncle Charlie and his namesake niece/twin, “Young Charlie,” engage in a fierce battle to the death. Bruno proposes to his less sinister double, Guy, that they “trade murders,” but later perceives a “double-cross”…and Norman, well, with Norman Hitchcock takes his fascination with alter-egos to the extreme; Norman has two personas.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In essence, each character is a progressive reworking of a character type and it strikes me how each also fits neatly into the era in which he "lives."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">On the surface, Uncle Charlie is the most civilized of the three killers. He is courtly and chivalrous, very polished – and entitled. <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b> is set during the early days of WWII. As eventually in the war, good triumphs over evil, but much innocence is lost in the fight. David Sterritt commented on the turbulence of the early 1940s and saw Uncle Charlie as a depiction of  “a seemingly genuine (albeit very evil) mortal who indeed personifies the worst tendencies of that moment.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdnrkfIKyY486zTZlWqdpb8y_XvTAxzD4UG7vQUV5lqBB6f5Yb87H0GoW-BN-wdpb08BmDIrsJQHZYbqbK8qJP60nYj1504NTNQ_mInjV-5Xok5aThQQYCDa7tG9-BTcmX-5dsuOIRve_/s1600/strangers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZdnrkfIKyY486zTZlWqdpb8y_XvTAxzD4UG7vQUV5lqBB6f5Yb87H0GoW-BN-wdpb08BmDIrsJQHZYbqbK8qJP60nYj1504NTNQ_mInjV-5Xok5aThQQYCDa7tG9-BTcmX-5dsuOIRve_/s320/strangers+1.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bruno in Washington, D.C.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Like Charlie, Bruno is also entitled and fairly polished, but his behavior is more erratic, his inconsistencies more visible. <b>Strangers on a Train</b> takes place during the post-war era in Washington, D.C., seat of power of newly affluent and upwardly mobile America. Bruno and Guy both have aspirations - Guy desires a new well-connected wife and a political career and Bruno plots for his father’s money and clout. Guy’s dreams appear to be within reach by the end, but he also seems destined for the conformity of a “gray flannel suit" (something Bruno would never have worn).</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Norman has a naive sort of charm and is not at all sophisticated or polished. But like Bruno, his psychological conflicts are obvious early on. In <b>Psycho</b> just about everyone is nervous and on edge – it’s the Cold War era - but no one is more agitated than Norman Bates with his split-like-an-atom personality. The climax is an A-bomb, the ending an interlude on a psychiatrist’s couch…</span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDgeAsFRR0_J6hX2BuzI0H0WETR5j6Z5KXricMT1RqSZ6F50FuRnIpQUEYfhh2oxZo-qQXTFRbzv5VTsNlaesV5t6Oj3xIPwsE8POz2B5QpSkKV4b6n2FnW5ocSuMIT8cim7LxI8Xa_QK/s1600/psycho+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDgeAsFRR0_J6hX2BuzI0H0WETR5j6Z5KXricMT1RqSZ6F50FuRnIpQUEYfhh2oxZo-qQXTFRbzv5VTsNlaesV5t6Oj3xIPwsE8POz2B5QpSkKV4b6n2FnW5ocSuMIT8cim7LxI8Xa_QK/s320/psycho+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Norman Bates at home</td></tr></tbody></table> </div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Uncle Charlie was the original prototype. Updated and fine-tuned he became the more baroque Bruno Anthony who evolved into shattered nowhere-man Norman Bates. All three are singularly conjured variants of what David Thomson has called the "smiling psychopath" - and legendary among Alfred Hitchcock's "successful villains." <b>Strangers  on a Train</b>, <b>Shadow  of a Doubt </b>and<b> Psycho</b> are all regularly cited on "top ten Hitchcock" lists...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial;"><b><i><span style="color: #660000;">For links to blogs participating in CMBA's HITCHCOCK BLOGATHON</span> <a href="http://clamba.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">click here</span></a><span style="color: #ffd966;">!</span> </i></b></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br /></div></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Anthony Perkins CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon Joseph Cotten Psycho Robert Walker Shadow of a Doubt Strangers on a Train The Lady Eve (author) CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: THREE CLASSIC HITCHCOCK KILLERS

Alfred Hitchcock once remarked that, “in the old days villains had moustaches and kicked the dog.”  He resisted such clichés , preferring a ...

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