After a run of hits in the middle-to-late 1950s, Alfred Hitchcock took a step towards a more European style with 1959's Vertigo, moving away from his showman/entertainer persona. Vertigo was not a hit, but Hitchcock wasn't ready to abandon his new found artistic side. Instead, the following year he released what turned into his biggest hit and arguably most famous film, Psycho. Psycho combined elements of both sides. the artist and the showman, not only creating atmosphere but also paying it off with sudden, thrilling moments of terror.
Psycho begins by introducing us to Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who steals $40,000 from her job and drives off to start a new life for herself. Despite this crime, the audience is instantly sympathetic with Marion; after all, who hasn't dreamed about escaping their life, and starting over with a pile of cash? Added to that, Leigh was a huge star at the time, so viewers start out rooting for her. Leigh eventually stops at the Bates Motel and meets Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), a shy, awkward, but immediately likable young man with whom Marion has chemistry and who could represent that new start for the heroine. Marion eventually intimates that she has decided that to return the money, reaffirming the audiences confidence in her as the heroine of the story. Maybe Norman will return with her and they will fall in love? However, all that is completely thrown out the window during the famous shower murder scene, which not only flips the expectations of audience completely upside down, but breaks decades of movie rules. Leigh was the only big star in Psycho, Perkins was merely a bit player at this point. Taking the top billed star and killing her off a third of the way through a movie was unheard of at that time. Stars drove the movie industry in those day, fans would go see movies just because of the stars in them, but Psycho made the bold choice to place story above star was a decision that changed movies forever. The risk pays off, as not only does Psycho carry on from a tonal standpoint, but actually improves after Leigh's death because now the audience is uneasy; anything could happen. This sense of dread is payed off as tension build before closing out in the movies horrifying conclusion. Psycho is a lesson in atmosphere, from Bernard Herrmann's creepy, manic score to the design of the sets. It was made on a low budget, which only aides to the atmosphere. Low budget movies can often look cheesy, but with some movies, like Psycho or 1945's film noir Detour, it only adds to the immersion. They seem like real places where things like this could really happen, not some gleaning and glistening Hollywood set. Psycho does just that, placing you in a true to life location. I've never passed a roadside hotel and not thought of the Bates Motel.
The mark of a great thriller is that, not matter how many times you've seen, no matter how familiar you are with every element, it still manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. Psycho accomplishes this, not just through shocking moments of sudden violence, but also with a perfect build-up and atmosphere. Psycho's influence on film-making in undeniable, it essentially re-shaped the horror/thriller genre, but while is was often imitated, it has rarely been equaled.
Hitchcock's British films all have a distinct tone and style, weaving intrigue and mystery with humor and charm. The Lady Vanishes is second to last of Hitchcock's British films, and his best. What was started with his earlier British films is perfected in The Lady Vanishes. The movie is a seamless blend of the best elements of those previous films. The exotic locals of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the espionage thrills of The 39 Steps, Secret Agent, and Sabotage as well as the humor and romance of Young and Innocence, all are mixed together in The Lady Vanishes to perfection.
The movie begins in a fictitious European country on the brink of the second World War. As a train full of passengers are stopped by an avalanche, a young woman named Iris (Margaret Lockwood) on her way back to England to get married, meets an Miss Froy, an elderly lady also on her way back to England. They form a friendship and sit together on the train, but after Iris dozes off, she awakes and not only has Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) disappeared, but no one else on the train seems to remember that she ever existed. Iris begins to investigate the disappearance, but find resistance at every turn, except for Gilbert, a young folk musicologist (Michael Redgrave, in his film debut). The mystery continues and eventually leads up to a satisfying conclusion, but as with many of Hitchcock's films, it's not so much about reaching the solution as it is about getting there. The Lady Vanishes is rich with interesting and well drawn characters, each bringing something unique to the story. Take Charters and Caldicott (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne), two Englishmen who are more worried about cricket scores than coming war in Europe. The pair provide genuine comic relief, but also serve to advance the plot, instead of being simply tacked on like many films do. Also, while Charters and Caldicott do provide much of the humor, the rest of cast do a good job as well, particularly the leads of Redgrave and Lockwood. Their witty banter is not only funny but also charming, as their back-and-forths eventually lead to a burgeoning romance. As with all of the movie, this romance rings true and they are characters you want to spend time with, something that not all Hitchcock movies accomplish, even the good ones.
The Lady Vanishes marked the end of a period in which Hitchcock produced not only some of his most entertaining and genuine films, but also some of his best. The Lady Vanishes, though not one of Hitchcock's most well known movies, particularly in America, is a masterpiece of blending suspense, mystery, humor, and charm.
Like most of the films produced during Hitchcock's partnership with producer David O. Selznick, Spellbound had a tumultuous production process. Hitchcock wrestled with Selznick for creative control throughout the filming of the film, with the producer attempting to shape the movie, from casting to cutting. Despite the this clash of titanic personalities, Spellbound not only became a tremendous picture, but one that has a single vision, style, and look that is shaped by the ideas is explores.
At a mental hospital in Vermont, Dr. Constance Peterson (Igrid Bergman), a psychoanalyst, finds out that the new head of the the hospital, Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck), is not only an impostor but also the confessed murderer of the real Dr. Edwardes. The impostor is also suffering from amnesia and Constance, who is in love with him, believes he is innocent and suffering from a guilt complex. She helps him, who has escaped the police, to unlock his memories and find out what really happened to Edwardes. Along with her mentor, Dr. Brulov (Leo G. Carroll), Constance analyzes his dreams, which are show in surreal scenes designed by Salvador Dali. These dreams are what help them solve the mystery, not only of the murder, but of the amnesia. Peck, Bergman, and Carroll are all tremendous, and the script, while very smartly written, never turns into psychobabble. It's a movie that plays with high concepts and backs them up with artful visuals, yet never tries to rise above what it is: a thriller.
Though Hitchcock had been messing with the minds of people on and off the screen for years before Spellbound, this time it's part of the fabric of the movie. Instead of, like the average thriller, tortuous circumstances effecting the mind of the characters, it's a tortuous mind that effects the reality. What can be more scary than our subconscious, what we neither know nor understand? The beautiful cinematography, alternating between the stark, sharp shots of the conscious and the hazy, twisted camerawork of the dream sequences, backs this up. Besides being a great story played out by great actors, what makes Spellbound special is that it not only flips the script on the common movie thriller but also carries through on that with a depth of visuals that inform the mind of what the story is saying.
The early 1950s was a transitory period in Hitchcock's career, moving from the black-and-white stylish thrillers of the 40s to the garish color of the late 50s. With Strangers On A Train, he took the dark artistic vision of the former while launching into the exploration of evil that would shape much of the rest of his career. Exquisitely shot and directed, Strangers On A Train is a deep on symbolism and metaphor but also fill of thrills and containing one of the best movie villains of all time.
The movie opens when two men, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) and Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), meet on a train. Both men have a person in their life who is causing them a problem, for Guy it is his malicious, adulterous wife Miriam (Laura Elliott) that he wants to divorce so he can marry Anne Morton (Ruth Roman), a senator's daughter. Bruno on the other hand, hates his condescending father and suggests to Guy that they trade murders; Guy kills his father and Bruno kills Miriam. Guy believes that he is speaking hypothetically to simply pass the time, but Bruno is deathly serious. Guy get accused of the murder and must deal with the maniacal Bruno, who wants him live up to the "deal" to kill his father. Hitchcock accents the plot with motifs that display the differences, and similarities, between Guy and Bruno. Doubles (cars, feet, tennis, drinks) are a big part of the movie, while the light and shadows show the contrast in their natures while the reflection in Miriam's eyeglasses suggest they aren't that different after all, merely a reflection. Both have obstacles (Miriam, Bruno's father) to the women in their lives (Anne, Bruno's mother). Guy himself becomes violent with Miriam, but that step to the murder Bruno commits is a big one and indicative of his insanity, which Hitchcock represents with the out-of-control carousel; a mind and a life spinning out-of-control. While inside Bruno is just that, on the exterior he oozes charm. Played perfectly by Walker, Bruno's character is a complex look at what makes a person take that last step to murder.
Conceived as a simple thriller, without a noteworthy star and based on pulpy novel, Strangers On A Train transcends that label in ever conceivable way. It is not only thrilling, but also thought provoking, stylish, and brilliantly written, directed, and acted. Many movies in this genre just want to put you on the edge of you seat, Strangers On Train engages you eyes, ears, and brain in every scene.
After battling with David O. Selznick over Spellbound the previous year, Hitchcock began working on his next film with the intention of making a serious love story. Part way through production, problems between the two arose again and Selznick ended up selling the film to RKO, finally giving Hitchcock the freedom to make the movie he wanted to make. The result, Notorious, is one of the greatest films ever made and one that redefined what a thriller could be.
The movie begins with a man on trial being found guilty of being a Nazi spy. His daughter, Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) is enlisted by T.R Devlin (Cary Grant), a government agent, to infiltrate the house of Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains) a high up member of the Nazi party. However, not before Devlin and Alicia fall in love, starting a complicated love triangle when she marries Sebastian. While living in his house in Rio de Janeiro, Alicia attempts to balance the triangle while discovering what the Nazis are up to. Complicating matters more is the growing tension between her and Devlin, neither wants her to be there, but he places duty over love and let's her go ahead with the plan, creating tension. This kind of complicated love story was rare at the time, and has never been topped since. Notorious continues as a cat-and-mouse game, with both Sebastian suspicious of Alicia, while she is trying to discover what the Nazis are planning. Bergman, Grant, and Rains are all terrific in the movie, as are some of the lesser roles such as Sebastian's mother (Leopoldine Konstantin), who is just as much his handler as his mother. This movie finds all three leads in their peak years, and they each delivers genuine emotion in a movie where it would be easy to overplay. Their acting and the superb writing not only make the movie feel real, but the characters as well. You sympathize with them, even the Nazi Sebastian.
Compared to every other major Hitchcock film, Notorious has the least action in it. There are no planes attacking, no shoot outs, no chases, the most action is Alicia driving a little too fast at the beginning of the movie. Still, as far as tension, suspense and thrill are concerned, it stands up with the best because of how well established the characters, motives, and consequences are. At no point in the movie does the audience think Alicia is safe, and that sense of impending disaster covers the whole story. Even when she is found out, the movie keeps the tension by the slow poisoning of Alicia. Due to the dark tone of the movie, you can never be sure she won't just die, which was rare in the era of happy endings. The production side of the movie also stands out among the best, adding much to the story. The house in Rio is a beautiful set, and the checkered floors speaking to the mental and emotional chess match in the movie. In addition to the tremendous art design, story and acting, Hitchcock's direction and camerawork is impeccable, knowing when to step back and when to insert himself. In the party scene, Hitchcock starts with a wide shot of the party from the balcony above, tracking down all the way to the a close up on the key in the hand of Alicia. The implications are clear: despite the prescience of many people at the party, and the risk of the Nazi plot, Alicia is the key to the movie. Unlike other thrillers, love drives the plot of Notorious, both men genuinely love Alicia and are willing to risk a lot for her. Devlin risks losing her, while Sebastian risks his own life. The difference is when Devlin decides the risk is too much and removes her from danger because there is true love between them, while Alex knows that he is just holding on to a tattered dream. Notorious begins in a slow burn that eventually rises to a dramatic conclusion. It is a movie that both satisfies and leaves you thinking, something that can be said for the best movies, of which Notorious certainly is.
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