My Favorite Collection: Rear Window (10/10)

“Intelligence. Nothing has caused the human race so much trouble as intelligence.”

     

Rear Window was my first Hitchcock film, and what a lasting impression it has had on me ever since. I remember watching scenes for it in a film course I was taking in college and I enjoyed it so much that I immediately decided to see it in its entirety. Alfred Hitchcock has been one of my favorite directors ever since. It helps that suspense is one of my favorite genres so leave it to the master to deliver plenty of thrills in all his films. In Rear Window the suspense was elevated to its highest potential and what a fun experience it was. The first thing that stuck out for me in this film was the voyeuristic nature that Hitchcock is exploring through the main character of the movie, played magnificently by James Stewart. Just like his character I remember spending some summers in the balcony of my apartment looking at the passing by neighbors in order to fight my boredom. In Rear Window I too felt I was alongside Stewart’s Jeff obsessing over the possibility that a horrendous crime had been committed. We also suffer with Jeff when he sends his beloved Lisa (played by the gorgeous Grace Kelly) to investigate the suspect’s apartment while we see that he is arriving, and just like Jeff there is nothing we can do about it other than hope she manages to hide before she’s caught. This film is so well made that it continues to thrill today without having to rely on impressive visual effects. There is a reason why Alfred Hitchcock is considered the Master of Suspense, and this is perhaps the greatest proof for that claim. I can’t think of another film that’s as involving as Rear Window is with its audience. We become participants in Hitchcock’s latest experimentation with voyeurism and that is its major appeal. 

"We have become a race of Peeping Toms.”

Dial M for Murder (9/10): Hitchcock delivers a top notch mystery in his most wordy film

“I'm afraid my murders would be something like my bridge: I'd make some stupid mistake and never realize it until I found everybody was looking at me.”

Hitchcock loved to innovate and experiment with his films and some might argue that Dial M for Murder is his most straightforward mystery movie. But what we forget is that Hitchcock made this film in 3-D which explains why there are so many low-angle shots. Warner Bros forced him to do so, but in a way we can call this another experimentation from the Master of Suspense. It is by far his most wordy film and  just like Rope the screenplay was adapted from a play. The film takes place almost entirely in a small British apartment where Tony (Ray Milland) and Margot (Grace Kelly) live. Over a year ago Margot had an affair with an American crime author named Mark (Robert Cummings) who is now returning to England. Mark meets with Margot and that is where we are introduced to their backstory. They had had a very torrid love affair and he continued to write to her after he returned to America, but she didn’t. She explains that after Mark left, her husband had decided to quit tennis to spend more time with her and that she didn’t want to leave him anymore. What Margot doesn’t know however, is that her husband discovered her secret affair and was simply waiting for the perfect opportunity to have his revenge. Tony blackmails one of his  former schoolmates, Swann (Anthony Dawson), and convinces him to murder his wife while he goes to a guys reunion with Mark providing the perfect alibi. Tony has been planning this perfect murder for quite some time so he can inherit her money (she is the one with the wealthy family). But something unexpected happens and the film took some interesting and clever turns that had me at the edge of my seat.

I’ve mentioned before that in my opinion Hitchcock directed his best movies during the 50’s and this is yet another great example of a film that was made during the height of his career. There might not be as many innovative filming techniques here, but the heart of the film relies on its clever story full of unexpected twists. This is the very definition of a mystery film and it stands out for the story alone. If you don’t like wordy films then this isn’t one for you because it feels very theatrical considering it takes place mostly in one room and it relies heavily on explanations. It’s no secret that Hitchcock knows perfectly well how to create suspense and he manages to do so in this talkative movie relying on dialogue this time around more than on anything else. Although I do have to say that the confrontation between Kelly’s character and Dawson is incredibly tense and filmed perfectly. It’s one of the best scenes in the movie and very memorable as well. There is something about the mystery story here that feels like it was taken from an Agatha Christie novel or from Sherlock Holmes, and Hitchcock knew that he had a great story to work with and relied on the power of storytelling this time around.

Grace Kelly is perhaps one of my favorite Hitchcock leading ladies and this might be her best role. I loved Rear Window and she was wonderful in it, but James Stewart owned that film. Here Grace Kelly shines in every scene and she is wonderful in the surprise attack scene as well. Ray Milland, who was unknown to me, did a wonderful job in the lead villain role, while Robert Cummings also delivered. I expected his character to be the one to figure everything out, but Hitchcock does include some clever twists and it’s someone else who takes on the role of Sherlock Holmes, John Williams, who plays the Chief Inspector in this film. In a talky film like this, it is very important that you have convincing actors to play the roles and I felt that the cast delivered solid performances. This film may fly under the radar in Hitchcock’s astonishing filmography, but I had a really good time with the screenplay and enjoyed it more than some other beloved Hitchcock films.    

My Review: To Catch a Thief (8/10)

"Do you want a leg or a breast?"

Squeezed in the middle of Hitchcock's filmography, To Catch a Thief, is many times forgotten since it came out the year after Rear Window. Hitchcock also had greater success with his later films, Pyscho, The Birds, North by Northwest, and Vertigo so this film is easily discarded when we compare it to his other works. It is a shame because To Catch a Thief has many great things going for it which we now take for granted. For instance the love story mixed right in the middle of the mystery is captivating. Perhaps for modern audiences the mystery involving this copycat thief, known as the cat, may be way to easy to solve, but the heart of the story lies in the fantastic chemistry between Cary Grant's John Robie and Grace Kelly's Frances Stevens. The sparks fly between these two characters and their intense chemistry on screen is rarely equaled in modern films. This was my first Cary Grant film and only the second time I'v seen Grace Kelly on screen so perhaps that's why I enjoyed it so much. I was pleasantly surprised with this film and despite it not being at the same level of some of Hitchcock's other masterpieces it is a really enjoyable movie. The cinematography here is gorgeous and perhaps one of the best coming from Hitchcock. Deciding to film this on location in the French riviera was the best idea Hitchcock had and it really payed off. His cameo at the beginning of the movie just might be my favorite of his as well. There is also a spectacular car chase scene that is the highlight of the film. My only complaint lies in the fact that the resolution wasn't as strong as the opening and mid section of this film, but the pacing was well established and I enjoyed it.  Cary Grant and Grace Kelly were magnificent on screen together and I look forward to seeing more of their classic work in the future. 

The gorgeous scenery and the romance went perfect together in this charming film from Hitchcock. Grant and Kelly shared an incredible chemistry together and their witty remarks also added some comedy to the mix. The film might not be as artistic as some of his greater work, but this light weight romantic thriller shouldn't be disregarded when we consider Hitchcock's films because it showed his versatility as a director and his capability of directing less serious films and making them better than the actual material really was. It's an enjoyable film and it accomplishes its purpose of entertaining the audience as it takes us through the gorgeous riviera of France and introduces us to these beautiful beaches and mansions. Some of Hitchcock's better known films could have benefited from the two strong leads in To Catch a Thief because for a light film they really got the job done. It may be a forgettable film coming from Hitchcock but it is far more entertaining than most of the light movies we are exposed to in the theaters today. Despite not having heard great things about this film, I'm glad I had the pleasure to watch this and see the sparks fly between Grant and Kelly.