Lifeboat

1944 Hitchcock movie

Rating: 16/20

Plot: A black guy, a nerdy guy, a guy who likes dancing, a guy who doesn't like to wear a shirt, a snobbish socialite, a young woman, and maybe a couple people I've forgotten about survive the sinking of their ship. Tension mounts when they pick up one of the Germans who torpedoed their ship. They debate what to do with their "prisoner" but soon realize they may have to rely on his expertise to save them from their predicament.

I was skimming a trivia page for Lifeboat and came across this nugget: Members of the crew noticed that Tallulah Bankhead was performing sans underwear and brought the issue to Uncle Alfred's attention. Hitchcock answered, probably while chewing on marbles, "I don't know if this is a matter for the costume department, makeup, or hairdressing." I told my wife this, and she asked (with that scrunched-up face she makes some times), "Are you putting that in the blog?" I said, "Of course!" She suggested I start writing cleaner and "get rid of the randiness." So that brings us to the first shane-movies poll of 2011! Please leave your answer(s) in the comments. Do you:

A) want less randiness
B) want a lot less randiness
C) want more randiness
D) want a whole lot more randiness, randiness of Mary Poppins proportions!
E) want nothing but randiness
F) want no randiness at all
G) want the exact same amount of randiness
H) want the same amount of randiness but desire some diversity in the randiness
I) have no problems with randiness as long as it's not too gross or read too close to dinner time
J) have problems even remembering any shane-movies randiness in previous entries
K) have no problem with randiness as long as it's in an entry about randy old Uncle Alfred's movies
L) just want me to write about the movies and not go on and on about randiness
M) want this to be the randiest blog in the history of the Internet
N) think I should start having give-aways like some blogs my wife reads


Quick note: Two movies in a row to start this year with a compound word for a title. Although I'm not sure Timecrimes is a real word.

The movie? Well, John Steinbeck wrote it, based on Hitchcock's idea, and Hitchcock directed it. For a 40's movie that takes place entirely in a boat (Hitchcock experimenting again with a one-setting movie), it sure manages to seem realistic. I like that Hitchcock wasn't afraid to take a tense situation and throw in some comic moments. There are a lot of characters for one lifeboat, and I wish they could have been developed more. This is the type of movie that forces the viewer to put themselves in the situation of its characters and imagine making the same choices though, and it is a story more about the situation than the individuals involved. I really liked Walter Slezak as the enigmatic German, always calculating and with motivations that don't entirely make sense to me. Odd ending, one that made me wonder if Hitchcock was messing with me. Speaking of the director, you've got to look close for his trademark cameo, but it's a clever one.

The Man Who Knew Too Much

1956 movie

Rating: 14/20 (Cory: 14/20; Dylan: 3/20)

Plot: Following a medical conference, Indianapolis doctor Ben McKenna decides to explore Morocco with his wife Jo and their son Hank. Bad idea since Morocco is apparently the most dangerous place on earth! After befriending a mysterious Frenchman on their bus, a series of events occur that lead to poor Hank being kidnapped and taken to London. Dr. McKenna knows too much, but he isn't allowed to reveal anything as he and Jo zip on over to London to look for Hank, even though Hank is sort of obnoxious.

This is not one of Alfred Hitchcock's better efforts. It's colorful and the textures of both people-packed Morocco and nearly-vacant London add to the film. I like Doris Day even when she's singing the seemingly endless "Que Sera Sera," and I like about half of what Jimmy Stewart is doing. But there are more than a few of those moments of Jimmy Stewart awkwardness, like in a very exciting scene where his character has trouble eating. I really like Reggie Nalder, the guy who plays the assassin, looking like the kind of guy who should be a villain in a James Bond movie. The story is good here, and the building up of suspense in a climactic scene at the Albert Hall is very well done. Unfortunately, this movie is way too long, gets really goofy, and has a sort of second ending that really takes away most of the wallop that the Albert Hall scene delivered. It's a second ending that is way too long on its own, but it's also completely preposterous. Oh, and then there's a third ending which is a silly joke. It all leaves a bad taste in my mouth and nearly makes me forget the positives about The Man Who Knew Too Much. One positive I didn't mention is a scene in a taxidermy shop. That scene was easily the best of the film, and it has very little to do with the story. It's probably not a good thing when a red herring is the best thing about the movie.

This was actually a historic occasion, marking the first time I've watched a movie with blog-reader Cory. Jimmy Stewart is his favorite actor, but look at that poster up there. The guy can't even act on a poster!

The Wrong Man

1956 Hitchcock movie

Rating: 15/20 (Jen: 15/20)

Plot: The Right Man has been flying around the neighborhood committing armed robbery. The Wrong Man, jazz bassist Manny Balestrero, looks a lot like The Right Man, and is mistakenly identified as The Right Man even though he's actually The Wrong Man. He's arrested for the crimes, and he and his wife, The Wrong Man's Right Wife, have to find an alibi to prove The Wrong Man's innocence.

Ah, Hitchcock, you're a tricky one. After he gets his shadowy cameo out of the way early, he gives us a scene with our protagonist walking out of the Stork Club, his place of employment, and down a sidewalk while flanked by a couple coppers. It's a wonderful bit of visual foreshadowing. There are a bunch of shots I really like in this one. Hitchcock gives this "true [suspense] story" a noir flavo[u]r, and the way the city and its shadows are filmed perfectly complements poor Manny's bewilderment and fears. The cinematography is simple and almost frill-free but it's effective. I really like a scene after Fonda moves into his jail cell and the camera follows him through the tiny rectangular hole in the door. I also think a scene in the courtroom where Fonda's character looks around and notices that nobody is paying attention is really good. This is far from a Hitchockian masterpiece though. Whether it actually happened that way or not, I really dislike the wife-goes-crazy subplot. I just didn't buy that whole thing. I also thought parts of the story were a bit rushed, causing it to lose a little of the effect. And there are a few scenes with children that are just brutal, especially one involving a couple girls announcing that the previous owner of an apartment has died and then laughing hysterically. And back to Hitchcock's trickiness: Is The Right Man seen in this movie before the big revelation at the end? That'd be cute, Alfred. Real cute.