Movie month continues today.
Q: Let’s
talk about Hitchcock. Best plot twist in a Hitchcock film? Strangest character?
A setting you’d like to use in one of your novels?
-from Susan
Caveat: I’m probably the
wrong person to answer this. I left my seat in the movie theater when Janet
Leigh got in the shower and the violins began screeching. I ducked out again
when Tippi Hedron took refuge in a telephone booth. Believe it or not, it was
decades before I saw either movie through to the end. When Hitchcock decides to
scare me half to death, I am a goner. But “strangest character”? Tony Perkins,
although I won’t say why in case you’re one of the 25 people on the planet who
haven’t seen “Psycho.”
Let me back away from
the horror stories and into some of his more intriguing mysteries, “To Catch a Thief.” That story has lots
of twists and turns and Hitchcock isn’t finished with us until the original cat
burglar (Cary Grant) catches hold of the criminal who is pretending to be him
during a chase on the roof of a mansion during a masquerade ball. The story is
operatic, the guesswork about who’s stealing the jewels is fun, and there’s a
romance to enjoy. (Of course – Gary Grant stars in it!)
As to settings, I
visit one of Hitchcock’s locations regularly and would love to use it in a
story as an homage. In “Vertigo,”
Jimmy Stewart chases Kim Novak all over the part of California I live in. One
scene is shot at the foot of the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge,
where “Madeleine” jumps into the Bay during the movie. Come to think of it,
“Vertigo” would be a great answer for the twistiness of its plot. I’m not sure
I could explain it accurately, it’s so convoluted. But it works on screen, as
does so much of Hitchcock’s best work.
Just don’t ask me to
see “The Birds,” since I also drive
to Bodega and Bodega Bay often enough so that hearing a large flock of crows
cawing there would be enough to send me into terror even today!
Surely, no one has
mastered the art of keeping us in blood-freezing suspense better than the
little man with the puffed out lower lip and the wicked, wicked sense of humor!
Good choices, Susan. And I'm glad you finally made it through to the end of the movies :)
ReplyDeleteLove your choices here, Susan! And To Catch A Thief is one of my favorites as well--one that doesn't get discussed as often as some of the heavier, scarier ones, but brilliant in its own way!
ReplyDeleteI still get nervous when I see a bunch of crows or seagulls gathering, Susan...
ReplyDeleteYou live in such a great area, Susan! I'm starting to think if I ever get a vacation, I know where to head :)
ReplyDeletePaul, made it through just barely! And with the option to bolt. I am a sucker for scary.
ReplyDeleteArt, I have always loved this one, in fact, love the movies Cary Grant made with him because Grant's handsome face and demeanor works against the image of him as a villain, no doubt clearly understood and manipulated by hitchcock.
Meredith, I know!
RM, definitely come to SF. You'll see so many places you recognize from movies and TV.