I had imagined I was quite the Hitchcock connossieur, but when I actually went to look up all the movies Alfred Hitchcock produced/directed on Wikipedia, it was clear I have a good amount of viewing still to do. Not a problem.
[via]1. Rear Window
A photographer based on Robert Capa, must temporarily use a wheelchair; out of boredom he begins observing his neighbours across the courtyard, and becomes convinced one of them (Raymond Burr) has murdered his wife. Stewart tries to sway both his glamorous model-girlfriend (Kelly) and his policeman buddy (Wendell Corey) to his theory, and eventually succeeds
What I love: the cinematography is wonderful, the idea is clever, and Grace Kelly is divine.
2. North by Northwest
In North by Northwest, Cary Grant portrays Roger Thornhill, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who is mistaken for a government secret agent. He is hotly pursued by enemy agents across America, one of them Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), who turns out to really be an American double agent.
What I love: the confusion, the danger, the tension...that scene where Cary Grant is nearly mown down by a crop duster!
3. Dial M for Murder
Ray Milland plays the scheming villain, an ex-tennis pro who tries to murder his unfaithful wife Grace Kelly for her money. When she kills the hired assassin in self-defense, Milland manipulates the evidence to pin the death on his wife. Her lover, Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), and Police Inspector Hubbard (John Williams), work urgently to save her from execution.
What I love: the utter audacity of the crime, Grace Kelly's fighting spirit, the scissors!!
4. To Catch a Thief
(pairing Cary Grant and Grace Kelly...clearly, Kelly is a favorite, both of mine and Hitchcock's.)
Grant plays retired thief John Robie, who becomes the prime suspect for a spate of robberies in the Riviera. An American heiress played by Kelly surmises his true identity, attempts to seduce him.
In my mind this isn't exactly classic Hitchcock, but it's got so much to love...a visual feast...
So...what's your favorite??
[Summaries courtesy of Wikipedia]
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