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 resurrecting an old favorite from the Reel Life archives.In January 2011 the Classic Movie Blog Association hosted a Hitchc…

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A TV Tour of Hitchcock Film Locations and Edna May Wonacott's First On-Camera Interview

<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></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/AVvXsEixyWr3N6_7k5-q1-lePLVwrjLNEKrnp5WKupFtyDZBL-GGyUi78GTBotWuue0iIvxmUTHkzoJnTLNUks16z0TKGySpMM2FdCPKPKpTl7enz8G6TvEGT_AsP9KRbG8jJHjfHrtQhuxdOgff/s1600/bodega+school+house+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyWr3N6_7k5-q1-lePLVwrjLNEKrnp5WKupFtyDZBL-GGyUi78GTBotWuue0iIvxmUTHkzoJnTLNUks16z0TKGySpMM2FdCPKPKpTl7enz8G6TvEGT_AsP9KRbG8jJHjfHrtQhuxdOgff/s400/bodega+school+house+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bodega School House</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><in 2012="" i="" may=""><i>Eye on the Bay</i>, a feature of KPIX, CBS’s San Francisco TV outlet, was recently on the trail of director Alfred Hitchcock, traveling around the Bay Area to take an up-close look at locations used in his films. The 20-minute piece, <i>Hitchcock Step-By-Step</i>, focuses on sites featured in <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>(1943), <i>The Birds </i>(1963) and <i>Vertigo </i>(1958). Aaron Leventhal, co-author of the definitive Hitchcock-in-the-Bay-Area guidebook, <i>Footsteps in the Fog</i>, discusses the director’s work in the region, providing fascinating production background as well as information on many locations. Hitchcock’s granddaughter, Tere Carruba, talks about her grandfather from a personal point of view and <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/08/akaann-newton-of-shadow-of-doubt.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Edna May Wonacott</span></a>, the last surviving featured cast member of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, speaks on television for the first time about how she was chosen for the film and what it was like to work with Alfred Hitchcock.</in></span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><in 2012="" i="" may="">Clips from each movie accompany location visits. <i>Eye on the Bay</i> host Brian Hackney, a Hitchcock fan, guides the tour. </in></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Note</u>: A brief (15 sec.) commercial spot opens each segment. Closing spots at the end of segments can easily be skipped.</span></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><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/AVvXsEi1p2b1hZ64G1TzKVN4oercdU8JK-995LbEAfRBiBdBPv3XfS4GdQICc4Qp_1PTO23Kk6v0xnmx3XU0tMC93ZtXVsQ38eUM_i3y1lU1LWqgqO3UHQdrQsrTB2x2fQdw80YGt8Ed5W0aZGki/s1600/old+courthouse+square.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/AVvXsEi1p2b1hZ64G1TzKVN4oercdU8JK-995LbEAfRBiBdBPv3XfS4GdQICc4Qp_1PTO23Kk6v0xnmx3XU0tMC93ZtXVsQ38eUM_i3y1lU1LWqgqO3UHQdrQsrTB2x2fQdw80YGt8Ed5W0aZGki/s320/old+courthouse+square.jpg" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Courthouse Square, Santa Rosa</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/7314224-eye-on-the-bay-hitchcock-step-by-step-pt-1/" style="color: #cc0000;" target="_blank">Click here</a> to view Part 1. An 8-minute segment with a tour of Santa Rosa locations for <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>and an interview with Edna May Wonacott Green ("Ann Newton"), now living in Arizona. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/7314281-eye-on-the-bay-hitchcock-step-by-step-pt-2/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</span></a> to view Part 2, a 5-minute segment shot in Bodega Bay, where <i>The Birds</i> was filmed in 1962. The Hitchcock production has had a lasting effect on the small Bay Area town; it’s estimated that 10,000 tourists come each year specifically to visit locations featured in <i>The Birds</i>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/7314313-eye-on-the-bay-hitchcock-step-by-step-pt-3/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</span></a><b> </b>to view Part 3, a 5-minute segment that spotlights sites seen in <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/p/month-of-vertigo-schedule-of-bloggers.html" target="_blank"><i style="color: #cc0000;">Vertigo</i></a>. This tour takes us from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Mission at San Juan Batista and many locations in between.</span><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/video/7314373-eye-on-the-bay-hitchcock-step-by-step-pt-4/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</span></a> for Part 4. Just over 1-1/2 minutes long, it references <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rebecca </i>(1940) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marnie </i>(1964) and ventures to the estate Hitchcock purchased in Scotts Valley while shooting location footage for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rebecca</i>, his first American film. It was Hitchcock’s much beloved home away from Hollywood.<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/AVvXsEjRAsuLsMVKmf-xCu4RePtdmMyN35igpGmfgq0qpF02lyASwOruIVwdm-HdcLs75F0BfPYTx_WoF6aC0b_D6ppYO4a1cVoUJtPZugm_6ZptHz68xMVhuEXRHcj7csYAN6DJssT9Cr33xvOK/s1600/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRAsuLsMVKmf-xCu4RePtdmMyN35igpGmfgq0qpF02lyASwOruIVwdm-HdcLs75F0BfPYTx_WoF6aC0b_D6ppYO4a1cVoUJtPZugm_6ZptHz68xMVhuEXRHcj7csYAN6DJssT9Cr33xvOK/s320/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna May Wonacott on the set with Alfred Hitchcock, 1942</td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>

Aaron Leventhal Alfred Hitchcock Brian Hackney Eye on the Bay Marnie Rebecca Shadow of a Doubt Tere Carruba The Birds Vertigo A TV Tour of Hitchcock Film Locations and Edna May Wonacott's First On-Camera Interview

Bodega School HouseEye on the Bay, a feature of KPIX, CBS’s San Francisco TV outlet, was recently on the trail of director Alfred Hitchcock, traveling around the Bay Area to take an up-close look at locations used in his films. The 20-minute piece, H…

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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 Becky's Brain Food. Click here for more information and links to participating blogs.~On the face of it, the …

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Happy 80th Birthday, Edna May!

<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/AVvXsEibpB1TzaHnybs4BMIKXz0HLu603hpAQJjFP-suDWMrkqodYwY4-gfsQSV_z83_aZKzl6m8URJad_p1ww1oyzRolU1o9Ir5IQCYKeZ-T0VLX348ngRwJdlBFOoJu7B8NZtCAPGrFSoZM8on/s1600/soad-edna-and-travers-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibpB1TzaHnybs4BMIKXz0HLu603hpAQJjFP-suDWMrkqodYwY4-gfsQSV_z83_aZKzl6m8URJad_p1ww1oyzRolU1o9Ir5IQCYKeZ-T0VLX348ngRwJdlBFOoJu7B8NZtCAPGrFSoZM8on/s400/soad-edna-and-travers-2.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May Wonacott in </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Shadow of a Doubt</i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> (1943) with Henry Travers</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May Wonacott, who turns 80 today, was born in the town of Willits in Northern California in 1932. She spent most of her childhood to the south, in Santa Rosa, where her father was a grocer. When she was nine years old a twist of fate occurred that changed her life forever. Edna happened to be waiting at a bus stop in downtown Santa Rosa when she encountered director Alfred Hitchcock and producer Jack Skirball. Hitchcock, who would be shooting much of his next film in town, thought there might be a part in it for the pig-tailed, bespectacled young girl whose curiosity captured his attention.</span><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Two years ago, on Edna's 78th birthday, I posted the story she told me of her fateful "discovery." She and I had talked at length about what transpired on that day, what it was like working with Hitchcock on <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>,<i> </i>as well as her memories of working on Leo McCarey's <i>The Bells of St. Mary's </i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">(1945). <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/08/akaann-newton-of-shadow-of-doubt.html" style="color: #990000;">Click here</a> for the full interview.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We've stayed in touch since, and last January just before her 79th birthday, Edna brought me up to date on her life during the intervening year. It was a busy year - a year of letters and autograph requests from fans who'd seen our interview online or when it was published in her local paper or when it later appeared in <i>Films of the Golden Age</i>. She'd been active in other ways, too; in fact, she'd been a very busy lady. <a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/shadow-of-doubts-ann-newtontoday.html" style="color: #990000;">Click here</a> to find out what interesting turns Edna's life took during 2010.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then last summer, on the 112th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's birth, she was part of a celebratory event here at <i>Reel Life;</i> a drawing was held for a DVD copy of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> along with a copy of this photo signed by Edna:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_873078715"></span><span id="goog_873078716"></span></span><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/AVvXsEje17jLUM038bmE3k8zB85aKnVBkliygmufnnHalYeCy4GcjeqCow5yqUwrAHo6iWzlKNgvsnobw_dBS0pZlzBTI00LhQumiKfbPgU02xcggV2sueCFtkZPlZQ9eZmReVmX2FL438oLzVbF/s1600/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje17jLUM038bmE3k8zB85aKnVBkliygmufnnHalYeCy4GcjeqCow5yqUwrAHo6iWzlKNgvsnobw_dBS0pZlzBTI00LhQumiKfbPgU02xcggV2sueCFtkZPlZQ9eZmReVmX2FL438oLzVbF/s400/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna May Wonacott and Alfred Hitchcock on the set<i></i></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span id="goog_873078715"></span><span id="goog_873078716"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Today, as Edna turns 80, I'd like to wish her an especially happy birthday and wish her many, many more. Thank you, Edna, for sharing your memories.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kQ3SfjwHMK0" width="420"></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A ten minute segment from <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> featuring scenes with Edna</span></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Edna May Wonacott Shadow of a Doubt The Bells of St. Mary's The Lady Eve (author) Happy 80th Birthday, Edna May!

Edna May Wonacott in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) with Henry TraversEdna May Wonacott, who turns 80 today, was born in the town of Willits in Northern California in 1932. She spent most of her childhood to the south, in Santa Rosa, where her father was a…

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Norman Rockwell with a Twist in Hitchcock's America: Shadow of a Doubt

<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/AVvXsEjKMGCz3GnKzZTyGVFUxjWqEPj1NGpfSxVRzzspdrzp3nnYj89de7d_sSlFFsN_TEYwN0NJtZ3vnuPS5KxVLsurS0tOwDCA69VnIGLbeF_EA5ncDzKUaxJh2SNv7eFPJErta-6vQ9kSOaoM/s1600/Freedom+from+want+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMGCz3GnKzZTyGVFUxjWqEPj1NGpfSxVRzzspdrzp3nnYj89de7d_sSlFFsN_TEYwN0NJtZ3vnuPS5KxVLsurS0tOwDCA69VnIGLbeF_EA5ncDzKUaxJh2SNv7eFPJErta-6vQ9kSOaoM/s1600/Freedom+from+want+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...by Rockwell</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i></i><i><span id="goog_1901497116"></span><span id="goog_1901497117"></span>Shadow of a Doubt</i> (1943) was Alfred Hitchcock’s fifth American film and the first in which he believed he'd truly depicted America. His “first draft” attempt at this had been <i>Saboteur</i> (1942), but Hitchcock hadn’t gotten the cast he wanted, he felt the script was weak and that he’d been rushed into the project. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></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/AVvXsEhmeMepiQC0ydLNWrfUsPWXbRICKWzz_lSGf1LT5oHwq7MsDaCNwQj-K8j2DcAJQdAtGnxs9-EWVfQDRFp04700t1_3Qc-KZO8YjiCL1AzNnK7mX6IMpZBBm16CgNxPOSLsgZAxD9FiN4b4/s1600/Hitchcock+not+Rockwell+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeMepiQC0ydLNWrfUsPWXbRICKWzz_lSGf1LT5oHwq7MsDaCNwQj-K8j2DcAJQdAtGnxs9-EWVfQDRFp04700t1_3Qc-KZO8YjiCL1AzNnK7mX6IMpZBBm16CgNxPOSLsgZAxD9FiN4b4/s320/Hitchcock+not+Rockwell+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...by Hitchcock</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The narrative of <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>was based on a story called “Uncle Charlie” by Gordon McConell. For the adaptation, Hitchcock turned to Thornton Wilder, confident the author of <i>Our Town</i> possessed the vision of small-town American he wanted to incorporate into <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Wilder, who helped Hitchcock select Santa Rosa, California, as the setting, wrote a prose outline for the story before he was mobilized into World War II. Hitchcock then turned to Sally Benson, another writer deeply steeped in Americana. Her “5135 Kensington Avenue” stories became the basis for <i>Meet Me in St. Louis</i>.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></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/AVvXsEgBU4-HpS-R1U27x7NwUzOUFsRnUKNsNxkmXvR_b_R8rrlpNuon-JHEnOOx3XjFE59Sv-oAHAbDX9fB7ajb4KzsA74cCeeo4FxR2D3jnO9bqr7oo0kHXQJHH9AIVlwAngRfxDSeD5qARGNl/s1600/shadow+house+santa+rosa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBU4-HpS-R1U27x7NwUzOUFsRnUKNsNxkmXvR_b_R8rrlpNuon-JHEnOOx3XjFE59Sv-oAHAbDX9fB7ajb4KzsA74cCeeo4FxR2D3jnO9bqr7oo0kHXQJHH9AIVlwAngRfxDSeD5qARGNl/s320/shadow+house+santa+rosa.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once upon a time in America...</td></tr></tbody></table>Santa Rosa, scene of much location work, provides the idyllic setting: a tree-filled little town of two-story homes with broad porches, nosy neighbors, fussy librarians, crusty cops, busy churches and a stately and bustling bank. This is provincial America during “the war years.”<br /><br />The opening scenes of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> establish that the man we will soon come to know as Charles Oakley (Joseph Cotten) has troubling secrets and, by the time he descends on tranquil Santa Rosa and his sister’s family (the Newtons), we know something sinister is at hand. But Oakley is smooth; his voice is velvet and his manner insinuating. He has seen the world and dazzles with his money and his style. When he settles in with the Newton family, their staid community is charmed and responds with an open embrace. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Central to the film is a doppelganger theme personified by young Charlie (Teresa Wright) and her Uncle Charlie. They are avowed “doubles,” she was named for him and adores him; he openly favors her. The two Charlies seem to share a psychic link, a restless spirit and other traits.  Teresa Wright’s young Charlie is an intelligent and decent girl, impatiently verging on womanhood. Intuitive and determined, she grows up rapidly once she discovers her beloved uncle is not at all who she imagined him to be.  Joseph Cotten’s Uncle Charlie is a cunning sociopath of chilling charisma whose view of humanity snarls with cynicism:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>“Do you know the world is a foul sty? Do you know if you ripped the fronts off houses you’d find swine?”</i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><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/AVvXsEg8qGb2TiPwBvBCAXnt8K3afdQ1H7flcLZftlppTFahYRgZJta1PPx4E7KZst8YaBf6AmmcWIZPS5G_TPyKbWsaC-DETld4kcjAfUP8-Ukt_o-HGbbja3hK_tjC2vmK53TQS6v1q2ABZqQh/s1600/wright+and+cotten.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/AVvXsEg8qGb2TiPwBvBCAXnt8K3afdQ1H7flcLZftlppTFahYRgZJta1PPx4E7KZst8YaBf6AmmcWIZPS5G_TPyKbWsaC-DETld4kcjAfUP8-Ukt_o-HGbbja3hK_tjC2vmK53TQS6v1q2ABZqQh/s320/wright+and+cotten.jpg" width="289" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Wright and Cotten play against each other in perfect counterpoint; she was never more fetchingly wholesome, he never more darkly complex. Supporting the two is a distinguished cast: Hume Cronyn in his memorable film debut as the Newton’s eccentric next-door-neighbor, Herbie; cozy and congenial Henry Travers as small-town-dad Joe Newton; underrated Patricia Collinge as fluttery and sentimental Emma Newton. Adding nuance and color are Edna May Wonacott as cheeky little sister Ann Newton and Wallace Ford as one of two detectives on Oakley’s trail. Macdonald Carey, as the other detective, is Wright’s love interest.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>has been called Hitchcock’s first fully realized masterpiece. I can’t ignore his direction and overall imprint on <i>Rebecca </i>or his early triumph with <i>Blackmail</i>, but agree that <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, multi-layered and meticulously constructed, is among his very best films.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LEoTXa_52A0" width="425"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">Uncle Charlie revealed</div><br /><i>For a chance to win a DVD copy of Shadow of a Doubt and an autographed photo of Edna May Wonacott (Ann Newton), send an email to <a href="mailto:ladyevesidwich@gmail.com">ladyevesidwich@gmail.com</a> and include your mailing address. A random drawing will take place at noon (Pacific) on August 13, 2011, the 112th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's birth. The winner will be posted on this blog later that day. U.S. residents only, please...</i><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/AVvXsEhw96u8rdO0ezYMNE9Z2_WMUQpLMmhMpUexmiuRHQVpowUPeodVenTxtHsMBAQcSUZlH-k2jZg2n9DKM8KS3mu_DWFRVQ4tQWOKklPA3dGF_szm1kM0wLoiNTz4L6TqURzdK5aGFPQw6047/s1600/Drawing+Names+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw96u8rdO0ezYMNE9Z2_WMUQpLMmhMpUexmiuRHQVpowUPeodVenTxtHsMBAQcSUZlH-k2jZg2n9DKM8KS3mu_DWFRVQ4tQWOKklPA3dGF_szm1kM0wLoiNTz4L6TqURzdK5aGFPQw6047/s320/Drawing+Names+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Names in a bowl for the upcoming<i> Shadow of a Doubt</i> drawing</td></tr></tbody></table></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Shadow of a Doubt The Lady Eve (author) Norman Rockwell with a Twist in Hitchcock's America: Shadow of a Doubt

...by RockwellShadow of a Doubt (1943) was Alfred Hitchcock’s fifth American film and the first in which he believed he'd truly depicted America. His “first draft” attempt at this had been Saboteur (1942), but Hitchcock hadn’t gotten the cast he want…

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...aka/'Ann Newton' of "Shadow of a Doubt"

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; 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/AVvXsEgojZ9jp-etWTxKzSK6L3SownKXy4D6kHkMAbhf3Rd5dAfkL2ILkDHpnl24Gsv7fiRutyiGdoUAhhXAYeFmDaf5RHA9Cahyphenhyphens3chOd7pvCfs94LjXaadHHF04XptKudg80MgLw-woX5nvVtc/s1600/Edna+Ford+and+Carey+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojZ9jp-etWTxKzSK6L3SownKXy4D6kHkMAbhf3Rd5dAfkL2ILkDHpnl24Gsv7fiRutyiGdoUAhhXAYeFmDaf5RHA9Cahyphenhyphens3chOd7pvCfs94LjXaadHHF04XptKudg80MgLw-woX5nvVtc/s1600/Edna+Ford+and+Carey+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, Wallace Ford, Edna May Wonacott, Macdonald Carey</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Early in 2010 I was doing research for a post on Alfred Hitchcock's </i>Shadow of a Doubt<i> and in the process came upon an interesting piece by one of TCM's MovieMorlock bloggers, Medusa. Entitled "My Favorite Book Worm or: Where in the World is Edna May Wonacott?", it focused on the child actress who portrayed Ann Newton in</i> Shadow of a Doubt<i>. I was inspired to locate and contact Edna (now Edna Green) and asked her if she'd like to be interviewed. She agreed, and our conversation evolved into a blog that first appeared at </i>The Classic Film & TV Cafe<i> on her 78th birthday in February 2010, was later published as a Sunday feature in </i>The Yuma Sun <i>and, later still, as an article in </i>Films of the Golden Age<i>. Here is a slightly revised version:</i></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May was nine years old and living with her family in Santa Rosa, California, when she caught the eye of director Alfred Hitchcock while he was in town preparing to make <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i> (1943). The director cast her in the role of Ann Newton, younger sister of the protagonist, Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) and niece of the villain, Charles Oakley (Joseph Cotten). Edna May made quite a splash in the part and appeared in small roles in other films over the next few years.<br /><br />That Alfred Hitchcock happened upon Edna May and cast her in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i> is a minor legend, but an imprecise one. In some versions of the story, Joseph Cotten was with the director when they met. Edna clearly recalls the circumstances of that fortuitous day when she and two cousins were on their way home from a shopping excursion:</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I was discovered in Santa Rosa, standing on a street corner waiting for a bus. Alfred Hitchcock and producer Jack Skirball were standing at the same corner looking over the town."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh_IUSetapGSq8c8YazjKArQIn83zhN9DH9EI6nzAPWcHRqsgDoIAfjemAHLINhy3FXkgchmJBlJgaWNhc78VcXZulzwBNQUr33FxA4TViyOXBFlkecNq7nyMZQACJb1c5mBtdhh_6Yuq/s1600/Edna+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnh_IUSetapGSq8c8YazjKArQIn83zhN9DH9EI6nzAPWcHRqsgDoIAfjemAHLINhy3FXkgchmJBlJgaWNhc78VcXZulzwBNQUr33FxA4TViyOXBFlkecNq7nyMZQACJb1c5mBtdhh_6Yuq/s1600/Edna+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hitchcock (right) in Santa Rosa, near the spot where he met Edna</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">That particular corner bus stop, in front of a Karl's shoe store, had a view of several prominent downtown locations including the courthouse, a circular green and the bank. Hitchcock and Skirball were looking and talking and jotting down notes on a clipboard. Edna May watched them and was curious. She edged away from her cousins to be closer to Hitchcock and Skirball so she could find out what was going on. The two men noticed her observing them and began to look her over.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"My older cousin made me move away from them and next to her, and the two men kept looking at me and finally walked over to us and introduced themselves and said they were making a movie in town and wanted to know if I wanted to be in it." They asked for her address and said they would be out to talk to her parents that afternoon.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May ran all the way home to tell her mother that she was going to be in a movie. Her mother, well aware of her daughter's vivid imagination, thought she'd made it up until the cousins arrived and confirmed her story.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9KfC9_PbDcYpVYrRJDwGUTE2dz6z4Qb58Ewg3GgeO5uL1URJBmkqdiNeEwIy3b6KSNfo1Y6tDHmNFbXVTMQk2YHDeWrh-UUp-RNmkPQD_f6GqGfupRkHQbZ6RG3lLsPMgYMax9uzeb8P/s1600/Edna+on+the+phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK9KfC9_PbDcYpVYrRJDwGUTE2dz6z4Qb58Ewg3GgeO5uL1URJBmkqdiNeEwIy3b6KSNfo1Y6tDHmNFbXVTMQk2YHDeWrh-UUp-RNmkPQD_f6GqGfupRkHQbZ6RG3lLsPMgYMax9uzeb8P/s320/Edna+on+the+phone.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna's first scene as Ann Newton</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The next day Edna May and her mother were on the night train to Los Angeles where the young girl would make her screen test. The following morning they taxied from the Glendale depot to Universal Studios, where they were met at the gate and escorted to the audition. Edna May was given a script for the phone scene, the first appearance of Ann Newton in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Hitchcock directed her, basically instructing her on the reactions and expressions he was after. Edna May wasn't nervous, she just followed Hitchcock's direction and aced the screen test. She said she didn't have to be coaxed into taking the part, adding: "What nine year old wouldn't want to be in a movie?"</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The story goes - and it's true - that Edna May had no experience as a performer up to that point, not even in school plays or church pageants, "I hadn't had any acting experience and no interest in ever doing such a thing..."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HI0OZH0w_WoUeJ98iGmUlaASAzUJOYun8RGZqMY39H-fzsrr3OQP2kEpkWxHS9SqdlMKTBWUbvBF6FO6CoaT1wif-DypgPTkKWYyURGd1-_Q8-nmbm9bntLZz2XQ8eFIZiiDYBIKbmyE/s1600/Abbott+and+Costello+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6HI0OZH0w_WoUeJ98iGmUlaASAzUJOYun8RGZqMY39H-fzsrr3OQP2kEpkWxHS9SqdlMKTBWUbvBF6FO6CoaT1wif-DypgPTkKWYyURGd1-_Q8-nmbm9bntLZz2XQ8eFIZiiDYBIKbmyE/s200/Abbott+and+Costello+3.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abbott & Costello</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While at Universal, Edna May and her mother ate in the commissary and were entranced as they watched actors and actresses in costume eating lunch. Edna remembers meeting Abbott and Costello, Deanna Durbin and Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame that day. In fact, she and her mother were offered an all-expenses-paid weekend in Hollywood, including a chauffeur-driven car to take them anywhere they'd like to go. Edna May wanted more than anything to visit the Disney studios, but her mother, unsettled at being away from home and on her own for the first time, didn't want to stay - and they were on the train headed back to Santa Rosa that night.  </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Though she was a novice, Edna May didn't receive any special training for her performance. She gives credit to the director: "I had no coaching for the part and just took direction from Alfred Hitchcock." She worked well with him and had no trouble understanding what he wanted from her. She felt it was the same for the other actors in the cast (Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, Hume Cronyn, Macdonald Carey, Wallace Ford). She recalls Hitchcock as a very quiet man who kept to himself much of the time (she often saw him reading comic books on the set).</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ann Newton was a unique character, a confident, self-possessed little girl who loved books and didn't hesitate to speak up. She was an observant child, the only family member who took a dubious view of Uncle Charlie early on. I wondered if Edna May had been like Ann Newton as a child. In some ways, she doesn't think so ("I didn't like reading and would rather be outside riding my bike or playing."). On the other hand, she noted that she was "a very confident kid and never doubted I could do anything I wanted to do." And she was observant; it was her curiosity about Hitchcock and Skirball on that street corner that set her Hollywood adventure in motion.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrE91_4ieDPpcwPNJKhP1_bThyphenhyphenNKR_bR9XPRmJk20b-OoNqfg5b_6DCHRjZW2IQay15SN_TjI2DQRilp9mMYUeSPrEjzKyau6L12aB6oi3jXRSolCFlg3lCiGWQc_Q0taOQHv_XKqISqY/s1600/Edna+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifrE91_4ieDPpcwPNJKhP1_bThyphenhyphenNKR_bR9XPRmJk20b-OoNqfg5b_6DCHRjZW2IQay15SN_TjI2DQRilp9mMYUeSPrEjzKyau6L12aB6oi3jXRSolCFlg3lCiGWQc_Q0taOQHv_XKqISqY/s200/Edna+4.jpg" width="166" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ann Newton is not impressed</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna remembers filming <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i> fondly: "The cast and crew were like a happy family. No one was treated any differently than anyone else. I had no favorites on the set other than the fact that I was madly in love with Joseph Cotten and melted every time he talked to me. Everybody knew this and I got kidded a lot!" Her crush on the charismatic Mr. Cotten didn't get in the way of her performance, though. Hitchcock's instructions to Edna May regarding her scenes with Cotten were: "It doesn't matter how nice he is to you, always be suspicious of him and question why he's doing what he's doing." Ann's skepticism of him is reflected the moment Uncle Charlie hands her an ill-chosen teddy bear gift and Edna May screws up her face and gives him a withering sidelong glance.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Shadow of a Doubt</i>'s exterior scenes were shot on location in Santa Rosa, which was unusual for the time. The interiors were shot at the studio on a soundstage. When the time came to travel to Hollywood again, Edna May's mother and brother accompanied her. Her dad, who was a Santa Rosa grocer, stayed home and minded the store. It was her brother who helped her memorize her lines.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnSiWPQTXKCPkmY7VlvoR8RzNC80jzqwoVT7y5-fTrhxaqhscr6NvlyMflVhC3JLTToiEIPKJCN-_5ORZO8O17JvmOHtzoPNvU6LOMHXuT90ARsVQrKGd0Hf1HORvBqI_Kc3mS5LdWI7T/s1600/Edna+B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnSiWPQTXKCPkmY7VlvoR8RzNC80jzqwoVT7y5-fTrhxaqhscr6NvlyMflVhC3JLTToiEIPKJCN-_5ORZO8O17JvmOHtzoPNvU6LOMHXuT90ARsVQrKGd0Hf1HORvBqI_Kc3mS5LdWI7T/s320/Edna+B1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna's classmate, Sabu, 'the elephant boy'</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Filming on <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>began in August 1942 and took three months to complete. While in Hollywood during the school year, Edna May was tutored on the set on the days that she worked. On off-days, she attended classes at the studio's schoolhouse. She particularly remembers one fellow student, Sabu, who captivated the class with stories about the elephants of India. His stories gave Edna May the impression that in India elephants were as common as dogs in the U.S., and treated in much the same way.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May became close to Pat Hitchcock, the director's daughter, and the two often played gin rummy on the set. Both girls had crushes on Joseph Cotten, and when he gave Edna May an autographed picture inscribed "with love," Edna remembers that Pat was a little disconcerted because Cotten hadn't signed his picture to her with the same sentiment.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci5xSC0pS1zqmjbZQLkf3NLdqtt8QGBvzIf6zSAzMwUceb3OiukRgEy0EPuWHIFwBDx8CvRY_gTG5P4cZ58mCzkhk2wWortTKj8GTbHHv4OhNSdZy0qYEL-BibACeGCK100G4kNRtcx_6/s1600/Joseph+cotten3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjci5xSC0pS1zqmjbZQLkf3NLdqtt8QGBvzIf6zSAzMwUceb3OiukRgEy0EPuWHIFwBDx8CvRY_gTG5P4cZ58mCzkhk2wWortTKj8GTbHHv4OhNSdZy0qYEL-BibACeGCK100G4kNRtcx_6/s1600/Joseph+cotten3.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joseph Cotten</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Hitchcocks frequently took Edna May to Hollywood's famous Brown Derby restaurant with them, and she spent many weekends as Pat's guest at the Hitchcock home. On most days, their meals would be ordered from the kitchen and sent up to Pat's room via a "dumb-waiter" built into the wall. One day, though, Pat told her there would be a formal dinner that evening and to "wear something nice." Edna May was flustered, not being familiar with the forks, spoons, knives, dishes and glasses used at proper dinners. She hoped to sit next to Pat and follow her lead. But Pat told her they'd be sitting across the table from each other and, when it came to the silverware, "just start from the outside and work your way in." It turned out that the evening's guests were Joseph Cotten, his wife and step-daughter - and Edna was seated next to him. She remembers being so smitten that she was trembling. And she'll never forget that he talked with her all through dinner.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Like so many kids of that era, Edna May had an autograph book. When it was Alfred Hitchcock's turn to sign, he did it as one might expect - with a twist. He signed the last page in the book and with his left hand (he was right-handed): "By hook or by crook, I'll be the last one to sign in this book."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At the end of the shoot, there was a goodbye party in San Francisco. Edna May received many gifts that she still cherishes, including an inscribed bracelet from Teresa Wright, a scarf with a "pigtail" motif from Joseph Cotten and a golden bow from Hitchcock inscribed "to Ann Newton from Alfred Hitchcock." Edna recalls that Hitchcock never called her anything but Ann throughout the making of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkHO2mcU15JprMCi9Zy46CpYnsyUfwaHp_trHsXh4bU3SxDrCLDJ3mkm5kloitW67lzg9SbHizWT4Pz_nUKZI8jwEO_LjEfRlbiHeqlrmI9l3l4-c8OTSWWNAZA0fZE6ZfH-H2VgihEdp3/s1600/Edna+autograph+resized.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/AVvXsEgkHO2mcU15JprMCi9Zy46CpYnsyUfwaHp_trHsXh4bU3SxDrCLDJ3mkm5kloitW67lzg9SbHizWT4Pz_nUKZI8jwEO_LjEfRlbiHeqlrmI9l3l4-c8OTSWWNAZA0fZE6ZfH-H2VgihEdp3/s320/Edna+autograph+resized.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna May Wonacott, child actress</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna May, of course, was a local celebrity in Santa Rosa (then with a population of 19,000). "There was a lot of publicity and women would come into dad's store and want to touch the father of a movie star! I have lots of scrapbooks of the publicity and had quite a write-up in <i>Life</i> magazine and was in movie magazines. Little girls with pigtails and glasses suddenly started showing up on the street corners in town."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> was released it premiered in Santa Rosa and Pat Hitchcock came up from Hollywood and attended with Edna May. There was quite a hubbub in town over the film and its release signaled a war bond drive, with Edna May kicking it off at the courthouse in Santa Rosa. She also took a trip to sell war bonds in Salinas when the movie opened there.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When she signed a five-year contract with producer Jack Skirball, Edna May and her parents moved to Glendale following the release of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>. Her older brother, then in college, stayed in Santa Rosa and ran the family store until he went into the military and served during World War II.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Her first assignment for Skirball was to be <i>It's in the Bag</i> with Fred Allen, and Edna May was to have equal billing. But Allen balked at this and refused to work with her. Ultimately, her contract was broken, but when the film was eventually made without her, Edna May was paid in full.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8eJ6HN3Rw-HpglAqAn4JM8Zo1ciz-mN92OlK3hvt3_yHiyP5319XfV3gMxTjMDCgbyqG7MjZKOoJ2EBhwisiP3c1wY9k882qrZ441YvxQV8JttD4UnK8gsLKScbxREIHFahxTcFGLx8I/s1600/Edna+C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8eJ6HN3Rw-HpglAqAn4JM8Zo1ciz-mN92OlK3hvt3_yHiyP5319XfV3gMxTjMDCgbyqG7MjZKOoJ2EBhwisiP3c1wY9k882qrZ441YvxQV8JttD4UnK8gsLKScbxREIHFahxTcFGLx8I/s320/Edna+C.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Bells of St. Mary's</i>,<i> </i>Ingrid Bergman, center, and Edna, right</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At this point, she signed with an agent who handled child actors exclusively. Edna May won small roles in several more films, and she has warm memories of working on Leo McCarey's <i>The Bells of Saint Mary's </i>(1945), a film nominated for eight Oscars and winner of one. She played Delphine, a girl about to graduate from St. Mary's, the one who smacks a baseball through a window in Mr. Bogardus's (Henry Travers) new building. Edna recalls that, like <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i>, the atmosphere on the set was "just like family." Ingrid Bergman was "a real sweetheart who said hello to everyone from the janitor on up when she came on the set." Edna also remembers that a member of the crew would play a little tune on an ocarina whenever Miss Bergman arrived. She adds, "We had a lot of fun with Bing Crosby - since there was a schoolyard set, he was always playing basketball with the kids."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna continued playing bit parts for the next few years but left acting at the beginning of the 1950s. Though her movie career is now long ago, she remembers those days with pleasure, "I have nothing but good memories of working in Hollywood. It was a different era than it is now and, being as young as I was, I didn't feel like an actress...I was just a kid who did what she was told to do."</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Along with her memories, Edna has a treasure-trove of <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>memorabilia. From her scrapbooks, copies of <i>Life</i> magazine and the prized goodbye gifts, to her original script with its cover signed by Hitchcock and the entire cast.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna mused that some friends of hers recently watched <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i> after she told them she was in it. They were quick to tell her: "You are just <i>exactly</i> like you were in that movie." And I'll admit that at times during our conversation I could hear a little bit of Ann Newton as I spoke with Edna Green.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; 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/AVvXsEgK4a5xII9BGZhLn5ehPsrSOCsKM-TnrVYQbDS0y9l_y2CHT3FnQvAANI5d-ZVoyMFyCUPJuS3493dc2xkj-mG6iB2nFVIcIESl2T8GtczHymH8Fm91XZAIaHJiqml49qYO1kNtXRJfJ8v7/s1600/Edna+and+cougar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4a5xII9BGZhLn5ehPsrSOCsKM-TnrVYQbDS0y9l_y2CHT3FnQvAANI5d-ZVoyMFyCUPJuS3493dc2xkj-mG6iB2nFVIcIESl2T8GtczHymH8Fm91XZAIaHJiqml49qYO1kNtXRJfJ8v7/s400/Edna+and+cougar+2.jpg" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna on the set of <i>Under Western Skies </i>(1945) with one of her co-stars, a young mountain lion</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://moviemorlocks.com/2008/08/03/my-favorite-bookworm-or-where-in-the-world-is-edna-may-wonacott/">Click here</a></b> for MedusaMorlock's post about Edna; <b><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2011/01/shadow-of-doubts-ann-newtontoday.html">click here</a></b> for an update on Edna's life a year after our first interview,<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><b><a href="http://evesreellife.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/from-edna-may-wonacotts-photo-collection/">click here</a></b> to view publicity photos from Edna's personal collection. <b><a href="http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/2012/07/a-tv-tour-of-hitchcock-film-locations.html">Click here</a> </b>to watch a 2012 TV interview with Edna (courtesy of KPIX TV, San Francisco).</div>

Alfred Hitchcock Edna May Wonacott Henry Travers Hume Cronyn Joseph Cotten Macdonald Carey Patricia Collinge Shadow of a Doubt Teresa Wright Wallace Ford ...aka/'Ann Newton' of "Shadow of a Doubt"

Shadow of a Doubt, Wallace Ford, Edna May Wonacott, Macdonald CareyEarly in 2010 I was doing research for a post on Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt and in the process came upon an interesting piece by one of TCM's MovieMorlock bloggers, Medusa. …

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Shadow of a Doubt Giveaway on Hitchcock's Birthday...the details

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJEu7rw-6-WRm0_4UztirtS1EQmUtfd0BmcU0w6Mld91p7quhZKeuXd1taAmn3q8wfG3r5DNsEBz-4rh3g1AjVf8-2E2cazjNiWt-ON9vBokkKDGf23b19K2TWvBysGNOi3oO7TgFlJUo/s1600/shadow+of+a+doubt+dvd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYJEu7rw-6-WRm0_4UztirtS1EQmUtfd0BmcU0w6Mld91p7quhZKeuXd1taAmn3q8wfG3r5DNsEBz-4rh3g1AjVf8-2E2cazjNiWt-ON9vBokkKDGf23b19K2TWvBysGNOi3oO7TgFlJUo/s1600/shadow+of+a+doubt+dvd.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In celebration of Alfred Hitchcock's 112th birthday on August 13, Reel Life is giving away a DVD of one of his great masterpieces, <i>Shadow of a Doubt </i>(1943). The giveaway will be in the form of a random drawing to be held on the 13th at noon Pacific Time. To enter, send an email to ladyevesidwich@gmail.com and include your name and mailing address (U.S. residents only, please).</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to the DVD, the winner will also receive an 8 x 10 photograph (shown below) personally autographed to them by Edna May Wonacott (Green), who portrayed younger sister Ann Newton in </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shadow of a Doubt</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. </span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span></i><br /><br /><i style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Update</b>: </span></span></i><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The drawing has been held and Jeff in Ohio is the winner. Thanks to all who participated!</span></span><br /><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">The Lady Eve</span> </span></span></i><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><br /> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGI2Q8wF316aV3YIuojf9Jv1C1zNlqOaVU-SswvEnBehGsEe6xLmgDaZhmnHelNVV3SfIykau-znCyxchJErO1bK58R-TU4c2nZ-M-XNN8C5pkt3bNUf3lBOLaYXiz4mBn0b9P_iJk7if/s1600/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGI2Q8wF316aV3YIuojf9Jv1C1zNlqOaVU-SswvEnBehGsEe6xLmgDaZhmnHelNVV3SfIykau-znCyxchJErO1bK58R-TU4c2nZ-M-XNN8C5pkt3bNUf3lBOLaYXiz4mBn0b9P_iJk7if/s400/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><br /> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna and Hitch on the set of <i>Shadow of a Doubt</i></td></tr><br /> </tbody></table>

Alfred Hitchcock DVD giveaway Edna May Wonacott Shadow of a Doubt The Lady Eve (author) Shadow of a Doubt Giveaway on Hitchcock's Birthday...the details

In celebration of Alfred Hitchcock's 112th birthday on August 13, Reel Life is giving away a DVD of one of his great masterpieces, Shadow of a Doubt (1943). The giveaway will be in the form of a random drawing to be held on the 13th at noon Pacific T…

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SHADOW OF A DOUBT's "Ann Newton"...Today...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; 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/AVvXsEiPHoj-LQLc8WFu4HrR5WR9zWG4K-h5gzHgM1b30UTfG5uW3wdSpz203EKSzCy77wlhfllqod0DsD49HuykX5Hy2WmPHTBdw6aQMbqXSuhqKTlziIBopC_OCICmVNLQYNo3XkolHryqCAJ4/s1600/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHoj-LQLc8WFu4HrR5WR9zWG4K-h5gzHgM1b30UTfG5uW3wdSpz203EKSzCy77wlhfllqod0DsD49HuykX5Hy2WmPHTBdw6aQMbqXSuhqKTlziIBopC_OCICmVNLQYNo3XkolHryqCAJ4/s400/Edna+and+Hitch+2+resized+small+cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna and Hitch</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While doing research for a blog on <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b> last year I unearthed information about Edna May Wonacott Green who portrayed Ann Newton, the younger sister in the 1943 film. I wrote a letter asking Edna if she'd be interested in being interviewed and a little while later received an email from her saying "yes." We had a lengthy telephone conversation soon after and on Edna's 78th birthday, February 6, 2010, the first part of our interview was posted at <i>The Classic Film & TV Cafe</i> as "Happy Birthday, Edna May." Part 2 posted a few days later (<a href="http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-edna-may.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Part 1 link</span></a><span style="color: #cc0000;">, </span><a href="http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-edna-may_10.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Part 2 link</span></a>). The blog also posted later at TCM's Classic Film Union fan site. <br /><a name='more'></a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9QuBheQXrs2nAfluu0iGl7W1pJIChNvXhSjc5kG1r_4_smF28K4fat07bAlN_xzUsY8Ut6PDQIE_5q0yIClMWjuD-zkrkrWSML4s1yrEzt29NTCgP8fLzTpIyNL5uk1BTBxvyLO4Ve_R/s1600/Edna+now+resized+and+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9QuBheQXrs2nAfluu0iGl7W1pJIChNvXhSjc5kG1r_4_smF28K4fat07bAlN_xzUsY8Ut6PDQIE_5q0yIClMWjuD-zkrkrWSML4s1yrEzt29NTCgP8fLzTpIyNL5uk1BTBxvyLO4Ve_R/s200/Edna+now+resized+and+cropped.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna Green today</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna Green is a truly genuine, intelligent and warm woman whose childhood was extraordinary. It occurred to me that the local paper where she now lives might be interested so I emailed the paper's features editor suggesting a piece about her. I included a link to my interview so he could get an idea of Edna's story. He was interested but said he liked what I'd written and asked for permission to reprint it. It was my turn to say "yes"...and in March of last year, Edna got the front page of the features section of a Sunday edition of the <i>Yuma Sun</i> (the interview was also posted with the online edition). But wait, there's more...</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I submitted our interview to <i>Classic Images</i> - and it was accepted - for the journal's glossier sister publication, <i>Films of the Golden Age</i> and appears in the new issue - #63, Winter 2010 - 2011. It's an eight-page spread with many pictures from Edna's personal collection (a few are shown here), several taken on the set of <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b>. According to Wikipedia, TCM's "Robert Osborne has gone on record proclaiming <i>Films of the Golden Age</i> is one of his favorite publications."  </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: right;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Last weekend Edna and I, who have stayed in touch since our initial interview, talked about events in her life over the past year.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwqEsM3AYidoAr7xxDxNEAK_ShftzsWexdkvXsYpIzfJNooGSRC5TYjUT_F0W84Ozv4efJCrGVXobDuKSWXTZekC62452q_AQ32ogDDaHKsvNRPjw7RYAtOT2lxfe42bLzhV47p-cAIsz/s1600/Edna+with+Martha+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCwqEsM3AYidoAr7xxDxNEAK_ShftzsWexdkvXsYpIzfJNooGSRC5TYjUT_F0W84Ozv4efJCrGVXobDuKSWXTZekC62452q_AQ32ogDDaHKsvNRPjw7RYAtOT2lxfe42bLzhV47p-cAIsz/s320/Edna+with+Martha+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edna with Martha O'Driscoll on <i>Under Western Skies</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Once our interview appeared Edna began to hear from fans all over the U.S., Canada and...the world (Belgium, England, France, Germany, Greece, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden). The letters she receives usually include a photo of her printed from the Internet and a request that she sign it. Edna still averages about three letters a week and reports that most are interested in <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b>, but some even mention <b>Under Western Skies</b>, a 1945 film that co-starred Noah Beery and Martha O'Driscoll. One young American girl wrote asking for advice on how to get into the movies. Edna responds to all who write her and in the girl's case emphasized that it's been nearly 70 years since she was "discovered," and that Hollywood has changed dramatically since then...Edna is a little surprised (and pleased) that so many of those who contact her are young people.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After Edna's interview appeared in the <i>Sun</i> she began to receive invitations from local community groups to speak about her years as a child actress. So far she has led two such programs and has a third coming up soon. She brings her memorabilia and scrapbooks and talks about her experiences on <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b>, <b>The Bells of St. Mary's</b> and the other films on which she worked during the 1940s. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna's life has also opened up over this last year in an arena unrelated to her Hollywood heyday. When her husband died of cancer a few years ago, Edna became interested in diet and nutrition. She attended <i>Food for Life</i> classes offered by <i>The Cancer Project</i> and was soon part of a small group of women who regularly met to share ideas and recipes. Eventually Edna was leading a class of 30+ men and women who still meet once a week on Mondays. Edna is committed to a plant-based diet and claims she feels better than she has in decades. She is now leading two additional classes a week and her crusade to promote healthy eating was recently covered by the <i>Yuma Sun</i>. <a href="http://www.yumasun.com/articles/diet-66578-green-recipes.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Click here for link</span></a>. Following this latest newspaper coverage, Edna was contacted by a local judge in charge of a rehab center who is interested in incorporating healthy eating into his program and has asked for her assistance.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Edna's childhood could be called magical, but she left the movie business while still young and led a normal life in the intervening years. It seems somehow fitting that she has come full circle and is once again in the spotlight - not only because of interest in her onetime movie career, but also because of the work she is doing to help others in her community.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; 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/AVvXsEjYAusZU0vnEEhOGXkj9lwAvxFo8cXGh4R1VhHz3ZpTnTR44EzqH1M-YNrjxt9aYUyLKt0sxy_U4fHZX3rVqvpf6VMFA-utFQtz419Wi7H5aFH-3xowYQHMNgkIlhIcdmdIMPTgMeRnkAVK/s1600/FGA+63+cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAusZU0vnEEhOGXkj9lwAvxFo8cXGh4R1VhHz3ZpTnTR44EzqH1M-YNrjxt9aYUyLKt0sxy_U4fHZX3rVqvpf6VMFA-utFQtz419Wi7H5aFH-3xowYQHMNgkIlhIcdmdIMPTgMeRnkAVK/s400/FGA+63+cropped.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Films of the Golden Age</i> Winter 2010/2011,<span style="color: #990000;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.filmsofthegoldenage.com/contact/"><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small;">click here</span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> to go to site</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Edna May Wonacott Films of the Golden Age Shadow of a Doubt The Lady Eve (author) SHADOW OF A DOUBT's "Ann Newton"...Today...

Edna and HitchWhile doing research for a blog on Shadow of a Doubt last year I unearthed information about Edna May Wonacott Green who portrayed Ann Newton, the younger sister in the 1943 film. I wrote a letter asking Edna if she'd be interested in b…

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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 different kind of heavy, the sort he called “an ordinary human being with failings.”  The director also said, r…

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