Alfred Hitchcock

                                                                 Part 2

Now for the second group of good Hitchcock films, numbers 15 through 11. 

15. The Trouble With Harry (1955) is Hitchcock at his most whimsical. A corpse unknown to the locals turns up in a small town. People keep losing him, digging him up and moving him around to suit their own particular fancies. Shirley MacLaine is fine in her first role. Also along for the ride are Edmund Gwenn, John Forsyth, Mildred Natwick and Mildred Dunnock.  

14. Saboteur (1942) is an off-the-wall wartime film about a munitions worker who is falsely accused (a favorite Hitchcock theme) of sabotage and has to run for his life. Robert Cummings is about the only familiar face in the cast. The final scene atop the Statue of Liberty is heart-thumping and justifiably famous. Here’s aTrivial Pursuit winner: Dorothy Parker worked on this screenplay! 

13. Foreign Correspondent (1940) has Joel McRae as Hitchcock’s innocent abroad who unwittingly uncovers a Nazi spy ring. Great cast includes George Sanders, Herbert Marshall, Laraine Day, Robert Benchley and Edmund Gwenn. What’s going on in that windmill, and do people really disappear into thin air? More Trivial Pursuit: Thornton Wilder worked on this screenplay! 

12. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) stars Teresa Wright as a young girl who gradually begins to suspect that her beloved Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) is a serial killer. In typical Hitchcock style, we have her point of view, and we don’t know the truth either!  

11. You will be Spellbound (1945) as psychiatrist Ingrid Bergman tries to untangle amnesiac Gregory Peck’s subconscious. Peck is accused of murder, but he can’t remember a thing! The famous dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali is just one of the delights in this one. More twists and turns than a mountain road. 

If you are new to Hitchcock films, find a picture of him and watch for him to walk through a scene in almost every one of his films. This adds to the fun. All of the films in this column are available on DVD. All are suitable for ages 10 and up. Next time: More Hitchcock goodies.