MacGuffins: An Alfred Hitchcock Club

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I was reading some trivia about Psycho, and the original book was based on the killer Ed Gein. The real Ed Gein had an older brother (Henry) who died under suspicious circumstances, and it's suspected that Ed Gein may have killed his brother. I don't remember anything in the movie about Norman Bates having a brother, so I wonder if they're going to have something like that happen in "Bates Motel". (I haven't read or heard anything about this, so it isn't a spoiler. It's just my own curiosity and speculation.)
Yah, Gein was clearly Bates. His brother died during an accident, a fire i believe officially. The theory is that Gein's brother had apparently met a woman and was planning on getting away from life on the farm and his overbearing mother (Norma clearly) and that he had been badmouthing her to Ed who was completely under his mothers spell.

Hitch for me so far:

01.North By Northwest
02.Vertigo
03.Notorious (I love these all equally practically)
04.Rebecca (i'm with you Citizen amazing film
05.Dial M For Murder
06.The Wrong Man
07.Shadow of a Doubt
08.Psycho
09.Strangers On A Train
10.Frenzy
11.Suspicion
12.Saboteur
13.The 39 Steps
14.Rope
15.The Lady Vanishes
16.Rear Window
17.The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
18.Marnie (Want to rewatch this)
19.The Birds
20.The Trouble With Harry

I own Torn Curtain, Topaz and Family Plot but still have to watch them.



Save the Texas Prairie Chicken
Yah, Gein was clearly Bates. His brother died during an accident, a fire i believe officially. The theory is that Gein's brother had apparently met a woman and was planning on getting away from life on the farm and his overbearing mother (Norma clearly) and that he had been badmouthing her to Ed who was completely under his mothers spell.
Growing up in Wisconsin I heard a lot about Ed Gein through the years. But I actually never heard that much about his brother, or even his death. I know his mother was terrible. She was just insane. Apparently Gein had some sort of severe mental illness, and I always figured she didn't help his situation any. Anyone with a mother the way that she was wouldn't have much of a chance at living a normal life. And if a person had the tendency to be a little "off", which he did, then the way she was would've made that person hopeless. I don't think there ever would've been help for someone like him.

I know Milwaukee police were called up to help out with it all. My mother went to school with a girl whose father was a detective. He had to go up and I guess he really didn't want any part of it. And there are things, which I won't go into here - too graphic, that I know they found up there. Just horrible things. And I guess, according to that girl that she knew, they tried to keep it "down" what was found up there. So some details are never talked about. And I haven't really ever seen/heard some of it other than what I was told by my mother.
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Growing up in Wisconsin I heard a lot about Ed Gein through the years. But I actually never heard that much about his brother, or even his death. I know his mother was terrible. She was just insane. Apparently Gein had some sort of severe mental illness, and I always figured she didn't help his situation any. Anyone with a mother the way that she was wouldn't have much of a chance at living a normal life. And if a person had the tendency to be a little "off", which he did, then the way she was would've made that person hopeless. I don't think there ever would've been help for someone like him.

I know Milwaukee police were called up to help out with it all. My mother went to school with a girl whose father was a detective. He had to go up and I guess he really didn't want any part of it. And there are things, which I won't go into here - too graphic, that I know they found up there. Just horrible things. And I guess, according to that girl that she knew, they tried to keep it "down" what was found up there. So some details are never talked about. And I haven't really ever seen/heard some of it other than what I was told by my mother.
Yeah i heard about it on this podcast - http://truecrimegarage.podbean.com/e/ed-gein-49/

That's the episode if anyone is interested, obviously it's about a murderer so if you can't handle that sort of thing don't listen to it. It's mainly about his upbringing and mental state though. He killed two confirmed people and that's mostly mentioned at the end. Apparently he claimed there was an old guy called George (or something can't remember his name) who got Ed into gravedigging, that guy would rob the bodies of their valuables according Ed and Ed would use the skin, etc, for his disgusting lampshades or whatever. Ed then said the guy got old and had to go into a care home which meant Ed had to do it himself which is why he ended up killing people as he thought it was easier. Weirdly a few detectives apparently kind of believed him because all of the valuables were missing and weren't found on Ed's property. Most just believed he sold them and that this was either a delusion or a lie. I'm leaning on delusion since while Ed was in the Asylum he apparently wasn't able to comprehend the fact that he was never going to be released, sending letters to his lawyer talking about what he is going to do with his life when he got released. Either way he was seriously mentally ill. The podcast is interesting because it explores the possibility of his parents causing his mental problems rather than furthering already existing problems and explains what his life was like. I mean Ed was in his 40s i believe when this all started after his dad, brother and mum had all died and he was left alone on the farm. That had to have taken a toll on him as well as the abuse from his father and the apparent extreme coddling from his mother.

Interesting anecdotes there. It's a messed up yet intriguing story.



Rebecca would be my number 1 Hitch film, though I haven't seen them all......yet
For me, it's hard to decide, I like even Family Plot, but little bit less. Good excuse for me to watch them all again and decide
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Has anyone actually watched all of Hitch's available films? @mark f ? There's 52 i believe. I know a guy who has watched about 40.
I watched all from THe man who know too much upto Family Plot



I watched all from THe man who know too much upto Family Plot
Yah, that's only 11/52 though. Think most people have seen those ones (as well as Rear Window, Dial M, and Strangers from the 50's) i've only got three of those left and i own them all. I'm most curious if anyone has seen the majority of his silent/british films.



Actually were you talking about the 30's or 50's one? I just assumed the 50's, impressive if it's the 30's one.
Yeah, mid 30'. I think it is 38 films all together that I've seen from HItch. I didn't mature enough to watch silent films, beside Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy



Yeah, mid 30'. I think it is 38 films all together that I've seen from HItch. I didn't mature enough to watch silent films, beside Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy
Yeah, fair enough then that is alot. I've seen the 20 i mentioned at the top of the page, i want to see them all including his silents at some point.



I've watched 23 Hitchcock films so far.

The ones I've seen, ordered by release date:

The 39 Steps (1935)
The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Rebecca (1940)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Saboteur (1942)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Spellbound (1945)
Notorious (1946)
Rope (1948)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
I Confess (1953)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
The Trouble with Harry (1955)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
The Wrong Man (1956)
Vertigo (1958)
North By Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)
Marnie (1964)
Frenzy (1972)


My current Top 5 would probably be:

1) Vertigo (1958)
2) North By Northwest (1959)
3) Rear Window (1954)
4) Dial M for Murder (1954)
5) Notorious (1946)

There are a few I'd love to rewatch, though, because most of his films have become better for me after I watched them for a second time. The sign of a great filmmaker!
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If so, then I much prefer this over the way the Hall of Fame threads run. I hate doing reviews. I love discussing a movie. That I can do all night long.
I don't get that. Reviews turn into, or should turn into, discussion. That's what his Psycho thread is. He posted his review and others comment on it. That's supposed to be the way it works. If I've seen the movie another person reviewed, I almost always comment on it and spark some discussion. Even if what I have to say is negative, I still say it.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I haven't seen most of Hitch's early silent/British films, but I've seen most of his later movies.

My top five tends to change every once in a while, but right now, it is:

North By Northwest (1959)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Suspicion (1941)
To Catch a Thief (1955)


Rebecca (1940) would probably be in my top 5, but I haven't seen it in a while. It will most likely crack into my top 5 after a rewatch.
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I don't get that. Reviews turn into, or should turn into, discussion. That's what his Psycho thread is.
Yep, they should, but if you total all my reviews from the Hall of Fame threads, and compare them to the chit chat I did in the new Psycho thread, the Psycho chat wins, hands down. Not to mention the fact that I had a lot more fun shooting the ***** with those guys. That's the type of person I am. I can shoot the ***** all day, but I hate writing reviews. Of course I've said that a few times, I'm sure. Now, as far as the Hall of Fame threads go, reviews are at least asked for, and usually expected. I was just very recently told (by sweet Ed!) to just write a line or two. I still feel that the bulk of people want to see a review, because they do reviews. However, in the Hitchcock thread, Sean simply posted about us starting some conversations. That he hoped to see some reviews, and then he said he'd give each film two weeks for viewing and conversing about. He didn't give me the feeling that I "had" to do a review. I've been on this board 11 years, and you probably don't need anything more than your hands and feet, to count the number of reviews I've done . . . Well, up until these Hall of Fame threads. It shouldn't matter anymore, anyways. As I've said, I'm not going to bother with them anymore. Well, unless they have something to do with scary movies.



Neiba joins pretty much every hall of fame and this is his average comment in the hall of fames (this one is about one of my noms) - http://www.movieforums.com/community...16#post1615916

Not everyone does reviews and there's no requirement for you to do so, you'd only know that if you took part in the thread though.



Just a couple more days left for Psyco if you want to follow the club schedule. I am very pleased that a bunch of you have wanted to participate, I really enjoyed that thread.

Camo and I have already watched Vertigo, although I still need to write a review. I will put up the thread Tuesday night.
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Been crazy busy, but should find time to talk a bit about Psycho tomorrow.

How long for Vertigo? I really want to watch it again but am tied up for awhile.
From the first post:

Schedule I

Psycho (1960) Feb. 15-28
Vertigo (1958) March 1-14
Rear Window (1954) March 15-28
North By Northwest (1959) March 29- April 11
Dial M For Murder (1954) April 12-25