HitchcOctober Day 15: Mr and Mrs Smith

Posted on October 15, 2014 by jaycluitt

David and Annie (Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard) have been married for three years and, despite the occasional row (the most recent of which lasted three days, five short of their record) they are still very much in love. One morning Annie asks David if he would still marry her if he could go back and live his life again, to which he foolishly replies no, saying he would rather remain a carefree bachelor than marry anyone. Annie is understandably perturbed, but an argument does not ensue and the pair go about their days. A short while later, David is visited in his office – he’s a lawyer – by a man from the town he and Annie were married in, claiming that, due to a discrepancy over which state their church was actually in, the couple are not legally married. The notion amuses David, who delights himself in the idea that he is technically dating a single woman again, but his hesitancy to tell his then-wife-now-girlfriend may cost him the entire relationship. 5111 Continue reading →

HitchcOctober Day 14: Rebecca

Posted on October 14, 2014 by jaycluitt

Whilst working as a paid companion (no, not that kind of paid companion; filthy mind) a girl with no friends or family (Joan Fontaine) meets the wealthy but recently widowed Max de Winter (Laurence Olivier). The girl’s obnoxious employer (Florence Bates) comes down with a bout of the flu, leaving Max and the girl to become acquainted enough for him to propose instead of losing her when the trip comes abruptly to an end. The newlyweds return to Manderlay, the stately home of the De Winters in Cornwall in the south of England (where Jamaica Inn was also set, and if I’d watched this when I was down there recently as well – and there was a chance; I took Rebecca with us as well – I think I’d have probably freaked right out), where the new Mrs de Winter feels very much out of place, especially because the memory of her predecessor seems to have a powerful effect on the house and its staff, particularly the head of the household, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson). Continue reading →

HitchcOctober Day 13: The Lady Vanishes

Posted on October 13, 2014 by jaycluitt

In a small European town, an avalanche has forced a variety of people to stay at an overcrowded hotel. Many of the guests are waiting for the snows to clear so they can catch the train the next morning. One such guest is Iris (Margaret Lockwood), a much-travelled young woman heading back to England to meet and wed her fiancé. She befriends an elderly women travelling alone by the name of Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), a governess who has been in Europe for a number of years, and is now regretfully heading home. Amongst the other passengers are a rude clarinet player named Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), an adulterous couple attempting to hide their situation (Cecil Parker and Linden Travers) and two cricket-obsessed Englishmen (Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford). Before the train sets off, Iris suffers a blow to the head from a falling potted plant. Miss Froy cares for her, but after Iris takes a short nap she awakes to find Miss Froy has disappeared, and everyone else on the train denies her existence. Something is definitely amiss – either Iris’ head injury is causing her to be delusional, or there’s a far greater conspiracy at hand.
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HitchcOctober Day 12: Downhill

Posted on October 12, 2014 by jaycluitt

Two boarding school students and best friends, Roddy and Tim (Ivor Novello and Robin Irvine) are invited by Mabel, one of the serving maids (Annette Benson) to visit her in the shop she works (Ye Olde Bunne Shoppe, love it) after school one day. She just wants Roddy to be there, and dances and kisses him, but he convinces her to dance with Tim as well. Roddy becomes distracted by children in the shop and Tim takes Mabel into the back and has his way with her. Later, the two boys are called into their headmaster’s office, where Mabel blames Roddy for her pregnancy, because his father is wealthy and can pay for it, whereas Tim is relying on a scholarship. Roddy, despite being a star rugby player and freshly dubbed Captain of the School, is thrown out, and deemed a liar by his father, prompting Roddy to leave home, becoming a penniless waiter whose life continues to get worse and worse with every new person he meets. 3M4FD3JoZNgp0UCdJ6ckgJzNxZb
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HitchcOctober Day 11: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Posted on October 11, 2014 by jaycluitt

Bob and Jill (Leslie Banks and Edna Best) are holidaying in Switzerland with their daughter Betty (Nova Pilbeam), partaking in some kind of competition where Jill gets to show off her clay pigeon shooting skills, and they get the chance to meet up with their family friend Louis (Pierre Fresnay), who is involved in the skiing tournament. On the last evening of Louis’ stay he is shot whilst dancing with Jill, and his dying words set in motion a mission for the couple, as they must keep the contents of a hidden message secret, because their daughter’s life is at risk. 723
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HitchcOctober Day 10: The Pleasure Garden

Posted on October 10, 2014 by jaycluitt

See, told you I’d be getting to The Pleasure Garden soon (though when I wrote that yesterday I had no intention of it being quite so soon, I just ran out of time to watch anything longer than an hour. All praise YouTube!).

Patsy (Virginia Valli) is a chorus line girl at a theatre known as The Pleasure Garden, which is run by Mr. Hamilton (Georg H. Schnell). One day a new girl, Jill (Carmelita Geraghty), arrives, but she’s had her introductory letter stolen along with all her money, so Patsy offers her a place to stay for the night. The next day, after Patsy puts in a good word and Jill haggles with Hamilton, Jill is offered a shot at dancing and, despite never having danced professionally before, she secures herself a place not just as one of the backing dancers, but as a starring attraction. Jill stays with Patsy in her small flat (even sharing a bed, which they do on their first night together as perfect strangers, it was a different time back then), and when Jill’s fiancé Hugh (John Stuart) visits, Patsy is soon set up with his colleague Levett (Miles Mander). Hugh has to go abroad on business for two years, and requests Patsy prevent Jill from going off the rails, but Jill’s newfound fame and fortune soon go to her head, leading her down a dark path. Meanwhile, Patsy and Levett marry, with the intention of waiting for one another and being together once he is back from his similar work trip.
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HitchcOctober Day 9: The Lodger

Posted on October 9, 2014 by jaycluitt

In 1920s London, a string of murders has just received its latest addition. Every tuesday night a golden-haired young woman is slain within a small area of town, and as yet the police have no leads to go on, other than the killer goes by the name of The Avenger, and is a tall man with a face wrapped up in a scarf. Meanwhile, a tall, creepy, scarf-adorned man (Ivor Novello) arrives at a lodging house and requests a room. The landlady Mrs. Bunting (Marie Ault) accepts and he is shown the room, were he immediately requests that all the portraits of blonde women be removed, as they unnerve him. Mrs. Bunting runs the lodging house with her husband (Arthur Chesney) and daughter Daisy (June Tripp), who also works as a fashion model. The house is regularly visited by bumbling policeman Joe (Malcolm Keen) who is attempting to woo Daisy and, once he is put onto the Avenger case, he vows that as soon as he catches the killer he’ll put a ring on Daisy’s finger. Over time, Daisy grows closer to the house’s new, mysterious lodger, much to the concern of her parents, who begin to suspect this strange man may be involved in the murders.

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HitchcOctober Day 8: The Wrong Man

Posted on October 8, 2014 by jaycluitt

Christopher Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Balestrero (Henry Fonda) is a pretty ordinary man. He makes a living playing bass fiddle in a band, and takes his modest pay home to his wife and two sons, barely scraping by with the bumps life throws into the road. Manny’s kids are learning to be musicians like their father, he dutifully visits his ailing parents, and his wife Rose (Vera Miles) suffers from toothache, which means they need to borrow money against her life insurance to pay for the dentist bill. When Manny attempts to obtain this money, his life is suddenly throw upside-down as he finds himself caught in the midst of an incredible case of mistaken identity. The-Wrong-Man1000 Continue reading →

HitchcOctober Day 7: To Catch A Thief

Posted on October 7, 2014 by jaycluitt

John Robie (Cary Grant) is a former master cat burglar, who gave it all up during the war to become a hero of the French resistance. He now lives a life of luxury in the south of France, but when a string of burglaries starts up the police immediately puts Robie in the frame, causing him to go on the run. He hatches a plan using a connection within the jewellery insurance industry to scope out the next potential victims, believing the only way to clear his name is to catch the real burglar in the act. This brings him into contact with the wealthy Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis) and her beautiful daughter Frances (Grace Kelly). Thief 1
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HitchcOctober Day 6: Lifeboat

Posted on October 6, 2014 by jaycluitt

In the midst of World War 2, a freighter is torpedoed by a German U-Boat, during which both ships sink. One lifeboat remains afloat, and is gradually filled with survivors, beginning with famous journalist Constance Porter (Talulah Bankhead), and eventually includeinga headstrong engine-worker named Kovac (John Hodiak), radio operator Stan (Hume Cronyn), nurse Alice (Mary Anderson), millionaire Ritt (Henry Hull), wounded seaman Gus (William Bendix), black steward Joe (Canada Lee) and mourning mother Mrs. Higgins (Heather Angel), whose baby has died in the incident. As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, the ninth person aboard their craft is Willi (Walter Slezak), the sole survivor of the U-Boat that sank their ship.
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