Hitchcock's Birthday Bash: Guest Blogger Kate-Gabrielle on "Breakdown"

OH MY GOSH! Kate(actually doesn't have a hyphen in her name)Gabrielle of Silents and Talkies and NUMEROUS other amazing sites has written a guest post on THE most brilliant Alfred Hitchcock Presents....EVER! Her review is excellent...I want to go watch it again for the zillionth time. AND she posted links to where YOU can join in on the brilliance! *sigh* I love this episode/this post so much.


If I were forced at gunpoint to name my favorite of Alfred Hitchcock's directorial endeavors, I would have to include the seventh episode of his anthology tv series. Now, I wasn't necessarily forced at gunpoint to tell you this, but I did promise Millie I'd write a post, so po-tay-to, po-tah-to ;-D

The episode is "Breakdown" starring Joseph Cotten, and it's one of the most unforgettable 26 minutes I've ever spent watching television. It's a tour-de-force in acting and directing, since almost the entire thing is a series of static shots of Joseph Cotten lying paralyzed, and the plot really only moves forward through his voiced-over thoughts.

The plot seems really simple.. Joseph Cotton is a business executive with ice-water in his veins. But after a freak-accident leaves him completely immobilized and trapped in his car, he finally becomes human. Appears simple, but it's really a heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat suspenseful drama that will stick with you forever.


The plot probably wouldn't have worked as a two hour long movie, but the caliber of the story, acting, direction and writing are definitely the same as any of Hitchcock's feature length films. In fact, they are so superior that I'd say this television episode lands in my top five Hitchcock favorites. And in a portfolio that includes North by Northwest, Vertigo, The 39 Steps, Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window I think that speaks volumes about how extraordinary this little mini movie really is!

It's Hitchcock in one of my favorite forms-- experimental. His forays into the avant-garde are always a delightful treat.. whether it's the Dali dream sequence in Spellbound, the shower scene in Psycho or his documentary-style "The Wrong Man," Hitchcock-as-artist is always a joy to behold. The man was a genius, and this episode is just further proof.

Well, it's about time you quit reading me blabber on about how great it is, and just watch it for yourself! It's available in the Alfred Hitchcock Presents Season 1 box set, or, more conveniently (and immediately), on Hulu and YouTube .

Ok, what are you doing still reading this?? Did you not read the last paragraph? GO! Watch it! I am virtually holding you at gunpoint. Now scram!!


Thanks so much, dahling! This post is beyond Wowzie Kazam!

-Millie

Um, hi, everyone....

Sorry, I sorta abandoned the Hitchcock Birthday Bash this last week!

I was highly busy/depressed. I'm starting college next month, so I have been wandering around trying to save my last few precious hours of freedom-- mainly this has consisted of reading Calvin and Hobbes, watching Wild Wild West, and creating my 50 Utterly and Completely Gorgeous Classic Film Stars list. A bad usage of time, you might say.

ANYWAY, tonight is the 4th Annual Alfred Hitchcock Birthday Party...which never actually ends up taking place on his birthday....

I managed to get a few friends to come over tonight and we're going to be watching The Trouble With Harry, which The Millie utterly ADORES. This is also going to be happening out in my creepy fort in the middle of the woods...A SCARILY LONG DISTANCE FROM MY HOUSE! My fort is actually like a small, inadequately-ventilated guest house without electricity that my dad built for my older sisters billions of years ago. It's slightly wowzie kazam.

ALSO OCCURRING TODAY:

The 95th Birthday of Ingy.

^We're pretending this is birthday cake!

More on that, later! :-D

-Millie

Off to the Crazies Family Reunion...

I'll be back on Sunday! Currently I'm hiding out in my room while my family runs around trying to get ready...any moment now I'll be found and dragged out to the public square... but I just had to post this first!

Read about the reunion last year, Insanity runs in my family...in fact it practically gallops!

I'm taking a pile of Hitchcock's with me (including Lifeboat and I, Confess), so expect report, when I get back!

-Millie

^This has nothing to do with anything. It's just HILARIOUS!

Hitchcock's Birthday Bash: Guest Blogger Joy Henry on "The Lesser Known Works of Alfred Hitchcock"

-->This was a super interesting post from Joy Henry. It covers a lot of lesser-know/lesser-loved/hugely awesome Hitchcock films! Foreign Correspondent and Stage Fright are particular favorite's of mine! This was really just a really well-written and fascinating post! Thanks, Joy! :-D

Alfred Hitchcock made a huge number of films, and a lot of them went on to become successful trademarks of his innovative style. His most famous, like The Birds, Psycho, and Rear Window, are known for a masterful use of suspense and voyeuristic camera angles that draw the audience into the film. Hitchcock's lesser known films, however, offer a different thrill for movie buffs. In early British silent films you can see the master getting his technical footing and experimenting with styles. Other later films such as Foreign Correspondent gathered rave critical reviews but have faded in popularity behind some of his flashier thrillers. Here are ten of Hitchcock's lesser known works that are worth giving a look.

The Pleasure Garden (1926)

Based on a novel by Oliver Sandys, this silent film was Hitchcock's first as full director. It tells the story of two chorus girls who work at The Garden Theater. Though the film is not in the same style as Hitchcock's later more famous pieces, the evidence of his directorial skill shines through.

The Mountain Eagle (1927)

The Mountain Eagle was Hitchcock's second film as a director, and the only lost film directed by Hitchcock, meaning that no original prints of the film are known to exist. Set in small town Kentucky, it revolves around a feud between J.P. Pettigrew and John Fulton. After Fulton marries Beatrice, the woman Pettigrew loves, Pettigrew attempts to have Fulton put in jail for murdering his estranged son.

Blackmail (1929)

After being assaulted by an artist friend in his apartment, Alice Webber stabs the man to death in a frightened rage. Alice's boyfriend Frank, a detective, is assigned to the case, but Alice denies the murder. A local thief, Tracey, is indited. Tracey tries to escape by climbing to the top of the British Museum, but he falls and dies. Alice is compelled to confess, and she is sent to jail.

The Ring (1927)

Hitchcock both wrote and directed this black and white film. In the film, a love triangle forms between two boxers, Jack Saunders and Bob Corby, who both love Nellie. During the boxing sequences you can see some cinematography tricks Hitchcock would later perfect in The Man Who Knew Too Much.

The Farmer's Wife (1928)

This movie was based on a play by English writer Eden Phillpotts. Farmer Sweetland wants to remarry and enlists his maid Aramintha to help him. Only after Aramintha sabotages his efforts with three women does Sweetland realize he is in love with his maid.

Murder! (1930)

Diana, an actress in a travelling dance troupe, is convicted of murdering one of her fellow group members. The court finds her guilty of the murder, but one famous actor, John Menier, is convinced she is innocent. John sets out to prove it, before Diana receives the death sentence.

Foreign Correspondent (1941)

Foreign Correspondent was Hitchcock's second Hollywood film, and though the film was nominated for six Oscars, it is one of his lesser known. In the film, Johnny Jones, a New York reporter, is sent to Europe to investigate a secret treaty. Jones doesn't know what he's in for, however, and he ends up tracking down a group of spies.

Lifeboat (1944)

This film set in WWII is based on a novel by John Steinbeck. Survivors from a ship hit by a German U-boat gather on one lifeboat. Those stranded on the boat all come from different backgrounds, but they work together to survive.

Stage Fright (1950)

Jonathan Cooper is wrongfully accused of murdering his lover's husband, and his friend Eve offers to hide him from the police in her apartment. Jonathan insists that his lover killed her husband, and Eve goes undercover to find out the real story.

Torn Curtain (1966)

One of Hitchcock's last films, Torn Curtain is set in Cold War Europe. Michael Armstrong, A U.S. scientist, defects to East Germany, and his fiancee secretly follows him. Once in East Germany she discovers his defection wasn't what it appeared to be, after all.

Thanks again, Joy! This was great! :-D

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

One of Hitchcock's favorite actresses and...HIM. ;-D

Hitchcock's Birthday Bash: THE CONTEST WINNER!

I used Random.org to randomly choose the winner of the two tickets to The 39 Steps on Broadway!

And the winner is:

KATE!

Congratulations, Kate! Enjoy your prize!

And thank you to everyone who entered! I loved reading about your favorite Hitchcock films! :-D

And thank you again SO much to The 39 Steps for allowing me to host this contest! (Visit their website!) It was a crazy honor!

-Millie

Photo of the Day!

Cary + Ingy.

I love them.