Throughout his career, Hitchcock returned again and again to stories of wrongfully accused men desperately trying to prove their innocence. From The Lodger to The 39 Steps and even Strangers on a Train, this theme is a specialty of Hitchcock’s. In The Wrong Man, Hitchcock would once again return to this theme, but what sets […]
Frame of Mind
The Three Flavors Of ‘The World’s End’
The World’s End is a film that cannot be summed up succinctly or without meandering off into a tangent or two. A face value it’s a story about reuniting with old friends and squashing, or rehashing, decades-old squabbles, but just underneath the surface is an homage to the body-swapping flicks of the ’50s. Buried even […]
Touch Of Noir: Hatred, Murder, Blackmail, And Humanity Plague Hitchcock’s ‘Strangers On A Train’
In his second film with Warner Bros., Alfred Hitchcock created what is arguably his best contribution to film noir. Dense and dark, Strangers on a Train (1951) was his most expressionistic and germanic picture in years, thanks to the moody, atmospheric cinematography of Robert Burks. Building on his success with psychopath Uncle Charlie in […]
Touch Of Noir: Romance Collides With Film Noir In Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Notorious’
As Alfred Hitchcock explored film noir further into his career, a distinct darkness would overtake his film’s outwardly wholesome Americana, and shadow would engulf his ill-fated characters. Breaking with the idealistic characters of Shadow of a Doubt, Hitchcock weaves a tale of deeply troubled people in Notorious. The film blends elements of melodrama, romance, spy […]
Touch Of Noir: Alfred Hitchcock’s Descent Into Film Noir Begins With ‘Shadow Of A Doubt’
Alfred Hitchcock, renowned for his thrillers, has never been prominently associated with film noir. Certainly, he was never linked to noir as directors such as Fritz Lang and Otto Preminger were, yet his style is preeminently, demonstrably noir. Hitchcock’s first film noir, and fifth film made in the United States since his arrival in 1939, […]