Tagged: Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Cary Grant’s Tuxedo in Notorious
Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in Notorious (1946)
Vitals
Cary Grant as T.R. Devlin, American government agent
Rio de Janeiro, Spring 1946
Film: Notorious
Release Date: September 6, 1946
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Design: Edith Head (gowns only)
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Released 80 years ago this September, Notorious marked the second of four screen collaborations between Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant—who was born 122 years ago today on January 18, 1904. Written by Ben Hecht, Notorious is vintage Hitch at full boil, blending noir-tinged espionage with a romance daring enough to taunt the censors, all delivered with the Master of Suspense’s unmistakable mix of wit, menace, and nerve-shredding tension.
Notorious reaches a boiling point during a party hosted by the urbane yet dangerous Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains) and his new wife Alicia (Ingrid Bergman)—in fact a honeyspot spy recruited by American agent T.R. Devlin (Grant) to seduce her way into Sebastian’s circle of German emigrés hiding in post-World War II Brazil. Continue reading
The Trouble With Harry: Royal Dano’s Leather Jacket
Royal Dano as Calvin Wiggs in The Trouble With Harry (1955)
Vitals
Royal Dano as Calvin Wiggs, laconic deputy sheriff and antique car restorer
Vermont, Fall 1954
Film: The Trouble with Harry
Release Date: September 30, 1955
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
One of the most outwardly comedic of Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography, The Trouble with Harry remains a fall favorite for its lush autumnal setting in New England, where filming began 70 years ago last month in Craftsbury, Vermont. Of course, the production team was stunned to see that the leaves had already turned by late September and were forced to resort to gluing colorful leaves onto the trees to create the desired atmosphere in the fictional town of “Hightower”.
“It’s as if I had set up a murder alongside a rustling brook and spilled a drop of blood in the clear water,” Hitchcock explained to François Truffaut of his intention behind this setting.
Law is primarily enforced in Hightower by the laconic and literal-minded deputy sheriff Calvin Wiggs, who arguably lacks the sense of humor shared by our protagonists as they spend the better party of a crisp fall day hiding the fresh corpse of Harry Worp to avoid Calvin’s suspicions. Calvin was portrayed by Royal Dano, a 6’2″ character actor born in New York City who nonetheless built his convicning career often playing cowboys and Abraham Lincoln. Continue reading
Shadow of a Doubt: Uncle Charlie’s Navy Blazer
Joseph Cotten in Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
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Joseph Cotten as Charles Oakley, attentive uncle and enigmatic “Merry Widow Murderer”
Santa Rosa, California, Summer 1941
Film: Notorious
Release Date: January 12, 1943
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Design: Vera West
Background
A vintage pin I purchased at a thrift store several years ago commemorates July 26 as Uncle’s Day, a day I’ve discovered has been inclusively expanded to become Aunt and Uncle’s Day. As I chose to celebrate Mother’s Day last year with a post from Psycho, your Uncle BAMF again returns to the Master of Suspense’s oeuvre for today’s observance, specifically the mysterious “Uncle Charlie” in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1943 masterpiece Shadow of a Doubt.
Often cited by Hitch himself as a personal favorite of his filmography, Shadow of a Doubt was released 80 years ago in January, starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten, the latter having recently made his screen debut across a trio of films directed by his pal Orson Welles: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Journey Into Fear. Continue reading
The Birds: Mitch’s Donegal Tweed Suit
Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren filming The Birds (1963)
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Rod Taylor as Mitch Brenner, defense lawyer
Bodega Bay, California, Summer 1962
Film: The Birds
Release Date: March 28, 1963
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Wardrobe Supervisor: Rita Riggs
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today is the 60th anniversary of the release of The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock’s avian horror yarn adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s 1952 novella and a real-life incident in August 1961 as scores of birds crashed into the streets and rooftops of the central California town of Capitola.
The Birds centers around Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), an attractive travelers’ aid secretary from San Francisco whose flirtatious pranks with the charming attorney Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) lead about an hour north to the idyllic seaside village of Bodega Bay. Melanie’s surprise visit isn’t ultimately unwelcome, and Mitch invites her to join his little sister Cathy’s 11th birthday parry the following day. Continue reading
John Forsythe’s Autumn Attire in The Trouble with Harry
John Forsythe as Sam Marlowe in The Trouble with Harry (1955)
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John Forsythe as Sam Marlowe, touchy artist who scores the town with his belting baritone
Vermont, Fall 1954
Film: The Trouble with Harry
Release Date: September 30, 1955
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
As we settle into what looks like a comfortable autumn—at least for fallphiles like me—I want to highlight what must be one of the earliest movies to truly capture the season’s striking colors.
Though regarded as the “Master of Suspense”, Alfred Hitchcock had long incorporated humor into his movies. The Trouble with Harry differentiates itself among Hitch’s more earnest thrillers and mysteries by emphasizing the comedy, resulting in what may be among of the director’s least suspenseful outfit but still entertaining and certainly aesthetically satisfying. Continue reading
Roscoe Lee Browne in Topaz
Roscoe Lee Browne as Philippe Dubois in Topaz (1969)
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Roscoe Lee Browne as Philippe Dubois, smooth-talking Martinican-American sleeper agent
New York City, Fall 1962
Film: Topaz
Release Date: December 19, 1969
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Background
Following last month’s look at a “hero costume” from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1942 thriller Saboteur, I want to continue exploring style from the lesser-known entries in the Master of Suspense’s oeuvre. Loosely based on the “Martel affair” and events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, Topaz was Hitch’s final movie centered around espionage, though I consider it to lack much of the spark that fueled his earlier successes like North by Northwest.
The single exception in Topaz may be a brief scene made more memorable by the appearance of Martinican agent Philippe Dubois, portrayed by Roscoe Lee Browne, the multi-talented star of stage and screen born 100 years ago today on May 2, 1922. Continue reading
Saboteur: Bob Cummings’ Heroic Leather Flight Jacket
Robert Cummings as Barry Kane in Saboteur (1942)
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Robert Cummings as Barry Kane, civilian aircraft mechanic
From Glendale, California, into the High Desert, Spring 1942
Film: Saboteur
Release Date: April 22, 1942
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Background
Alfred Hitchcock’s wartime thriller Saboteur—not to be confused with his earlier movie Sabotage—was released 80 years ago this month. Though production began just days after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the idea had actually been months in the making after Hitch’s original pitch to David O. Selznick. “We were in 1941 and there were pro-German elements who called themselves America Firsters and who were, in fact, American Fascists. This was the group I had in mind while writing the scenario,” Hitchcock later explained to François Truffaut.
Despite his traditional elements of the wronged man, the beautiful blonde, and the “MacGuffin,” Hitch identified several disappointments with Saboteur, most notably in the casting of his two heroes and the villain. Of leading male star Robert Cummings, who portrayed the accused saboteur, Hitch commented to Truffaut that “he’s a competent performer, but he belongs to the light-comedy class of actors,” though this wouldn’t stop him from casting him a decade later in a strong supporting role in Dial M for Murder. Continue reading
Marnie: Sean Connery’s Beige Herringbone Tweed Suit
Sean Connery as Mark Rutland in Marnie (1964)
Vitals
Sean Connery as Mark Rutland, publisher
Philadelphia to Baltimore, Spring 1964
Film: Marnie
Release Date: July 22, 1964
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Edith Head
Men’s Costumes: James Linn
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Months before Goldfinger was released and cemented Bond-mania among the cinematic zeitgeist of the 1960s, Sean Connery got the opportunity to show audiences that he was capable of more than just suave secret-agenting with the back-to-back releases of thrillers Woman of Straw and Marnie. The latter has been celebrated as the better-regarded of the two, with some even calling it Alfred Hitchcock’s underappreciated masterpiece, though Hitch himself was more dismissive when discussing the work with François Truffaut:
I wasn’t convinced that Sean Connery was a Philadelphia gentleman. You know, if you want to reduce Marnie to its lowest common denominator, it is the story of the prince and the beggar girl. In a story of this kind you need a real gentleman, a more elegant man than what we had.
Say what you will about Connery’s performance, but I’ve considered Hitchcock’s criticism to be somewhat undeserved, particularly considering that the adaptation of Winston Graham’s 1961 novel of the same name condensed the characters of Marnie’s husband, Mark Rutland, and the psychoanalyst that Mark forces Marnie to see. Thus, Connery’s characterization requires him to convincingly depict Mark as first a charismatic cad, then a manipulative rapist, and—ultimately—a quasi-therapist whose motives are depicted more through the lens of spousal support than domination. Given the challenge of the role, I believe Connery ably rose to the occasion, bringing out more savage sides of the character than we may have believed in the hands of Hitch’s erstwhile stalwarts like Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart.
Psycho: Norman Bates in Corduroy
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in Psycho (1960)
Vitals
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates, mother-obsessed motel proprietor and amateur bird taxidermist
Fairvale, California, Fall 1959
Film: Psycho
Release Date: September 8, 1960
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Rita Riggs (uncredited)
Costume Supervisor: Helen Colvig
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
A boy’s best friend is his mother…
Alfred Hitchcock would probably find some dark humor in choosing Mother’s Day to focus on Psycho, the story of a young man’s complicated relationship with his mother.
Rear Window: James Stewart’s Pajamas
James Stewart and Thelma Ritter in Rear Window (1954)
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James Stewart as L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies, bored photographer
New York City, Summer 1954
Film: Rear Window
Release Date: September 1, 1954
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Costume Designer: Edith Head
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
April 16 is celebrated as National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day, an observance that many would have considered unthinkable until the spread of the coronavirus pandemic last month found many around the world working from home for the first time, finding comfort in their lounge-wear while struggling with unfamiliar teleconferencing software. The idea of being confined to one’s home in pajamas while a growing terror lurks outside brought one movie to mind: Alfred Hitchcock’s damn-near-perfect thriller Rear Window.
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