Amph The Films of Alfred Hitchcock: Disc: ]Alfred Hitchcock's Secret of Happiness

I haven't seen this one, either; it's very hard to find.

 

Is that a challenge?

 

Sure.

 

What do you mean, you can get it easily on Netflix


-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Gee, how much of Hitchcock's film catalogue is actually available?
Surely Netflix doesn't carry everything he ever did!

 

There was a series of about four box sets that contain almost all of his body of work - The Hitchcock Collection, I believe.

 

Certain ones are difficult to see: "Lifeboat" and "Under Capricorn" for two.

 

I managed to catch Lifeboat on TCM one time.

The Skin Game (1930)
IMDB summary: A rich family, the Hillcrests, is fighting against the speculator, Hornblower, who sends away poor farmers to build factories on their lands. When Mrs. Hillcrest finds out that Chloe Hornblower was a prostitute, she uses this secret to blackmail the speculator and force him to stop his business.



Well I've certainly never seen it. It has some Hitch elements- the prostitute, the blackmail. But it doesn't really interest me. It is on DVD, though.

We're 5 films away from the first one I've seen. Thankfully, after that I've seen most of them. Sorry for the long abscence. It's been a mad semester in more ways than one.


-sj loves kevin spacey

 

Haven't seen this one either, but it sounds interesting.

 

Hooray for this thread getting back on track!

 

Last week, I got my copies of The Masterpiece Collection and North By Northwest delivered from Amazon. This weekend I watched Vertigo (also the commentary on the restored version - very interesting) and North By Northwest. I hope to watch as many of the ones I haven't seen yet ASAP.

 

Very nice, GK.

I also bought "Strangers on a Train" recently, one of the only "big" Hitch's that I haven't seen yet.

 

Oh, you should enjoy that one.

 

Given my love for the Ripley series, anything combining Hindsmith with Hitch should be perfect in my book.

 

It's not an explicit as the book; the production code, you know. But Hitchcock gets a lot of perversity into it in other ways.

 

Have you read the novel? The film is substantially different and better, if you ask me.

 

No, I haven't read the novel. I saw the film last night, though. It was very good. Hitchcock certainly takes great enjoyment out of putting the viewer in tense situations. But there were so many plotholes! Gah! Still, I could ignore them and enjoy the film for what it is.

 

I won't spoil the book for you. You should definitely read it.

 

So this isn't one of those "The movie is way better than the book, so never ever read Jaws!" situations?

Mary (1931)
This is a shorter version of Murder with a German cast. Which strikes me as really bizarre. That Hitch directed it in the first place is puzzling to me. I don't really understand why they couldn't just translate the original into German...



I've also decided that for some of these last few ones that most likely no one's seen, I'm going to post two at a time. Which is probably what I should have been doing all along So, also...


Rich and Strange (1931)
From IMDB: Fred and Emily Hill are leading a boring life in London. They receive a big inheritance by a rich relative and now they can realize all their dreams. They leave for a cruise behaving as rich people....but this is the beginning of the end. Richness makes they soon forget their love and family.



Apparently this is mostly a comedy but with some dramatic aspects... Haven't seen it, needless to say. There are two more I haven't seen and then we get to The Man Who Knew Too Much. And from then on I've seen probably 3/5 of them.


-sj loves kevin spacey

 

"Rich and Strange" is supposed to be quite good, but it's very hard to see, and I haven't.

 

Patricia Highsmith is always worth reading; I tend to think the film versions of her novels are improvements, and her novels never quite cross over into real, pure greatness, but they're definitely worth the time.

 

Yeah, about that time thing...


Number 17 (1932)
IMDB: A gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery, but a detective is on their trail.



Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
IMDB: Schani, Johan Strauss Jr., is forced by his father to forget music and to work in a bakery. Here he falls in love with Resi. The girl gets very jealous when a rich and beautiful contessa asks Schani to write a waltz for her. Schani writes and plays it, but he is always loyal to his girlfriend.



Yeah, I've not seen either of these... but with the next one, we pick things up for me


-sj loves kevin spacey

 

"Walzes From Vienna" was Hitchcock's one and only musical. I can only imagine what it must have been like.

 

Musical?!?!

 

Musical.