Alfred Hitchcock’s best movies are about the most fun you can have without involving chocolate. From over 50 Hitchcock films, with few dogs in the kennel, here is one man’s opinion.
5. Rebecca (1940) is the dead first wife of nobleman Lawrence Olivier, but her ghostly presence looms over all of the characters. Joan Fontaine is superb as the second wife who fears she will never measure up. Dame Judith Anderson is the dour and vaguely threatening housekeeper who constantly reminds Fontaine how wonderful her predecessor was. This was Hitchcock’s first American film and the only one which won the Oscar for best movie.
4. Vertigo (1958) is to heights what Psycho is to showers. James Stewart is a retired cop hired by an old friend to keep an eye on his beautiful wife, Kim Novak. Absolutely riveting suspense holds as scene after scene builds the plot. Some of Hitchcock’s most famous set pieces, especially the tower scene. Completely fascinating.
3. Dial “M” for Murder (1954) builds suspense to a fever pitch in the first reel, then does it again toward the end. Ray Milland hires a killer to dispatch his wife (Grace Kelly). Then policeman Robert Cummings leads us through the intricate process of figuring out the villain and trying to trap him. Some versions of the film look a little funny because it was shot in 3-D. You get used to it.
2. In North by Northwest (1959) the police think Cary Grant is an assassin and the bad guys think he’s a double agent. Actually, he’s just an advertising man who is neither. He and Eva Marie Saint have one narrow escape after another. Lovely comic touches include Grant having to escape from an art auction full of enemies. The famous scene on Mount Rushmore is still compelling after several viewings, as is the scene with the crop dusting plane. Hitchcock at the top of his game.
1. In Rear Window (1954) photographer James Stewart has broken his leg and is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment. Bored and immobile, he spies on his neighbors across the courtyard and decides he has seen a murder. He tries to convince girlfriend Grace Kelly and nurse Thelma Ritter (and us) that he is right. The suspected villain is Raymond Burr (Perry Mason; Ironside) who started out his career as a heavy. A wonderful banter among the three principals and a heart-stopping conclusion.
All of the films in this column are available in DVD. All are suitable for children 8 and up.
Rusty Hammond has been writing the Mr. Movie column since 1996. It appears in several newspapers in North Carolina.
