What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Since asking about the best spawns a good debate. How about the worst?

I guess I have to go first. It's hard as I've seen most of them, yet one also has to take into account the times.

I'd probably pick one of the early films, like The Farmer's Daughter, but that's probably not fair.

Family Plot is probably an easy one, but I'll have to go with it.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I can only go based off of what I've seen. So far that is The Man Who Knew Too Much remake.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Well, if it's a Hitch film, it's fair to call it his "worst"... except that I like Family Plot quite a bit. Some of his early flicks are pretty weak, but I think I'll go with the incredibly-dry Topaz, even though it's starting to seem less awful as time goes by.

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I'd go with Topaz.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

probably Psycho. but only because it was a departure from his other suspense films (i.e. north by northwest or vertigo)

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

You're killin' me, urkillinme.

How could you??

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Of the Hitchcock films I've seen, the one I've liked least is probably Frenzy

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

In spite of my obsession with his movies, I still haven't really seen enough of his films to participate. As a matter of fact, all of them are at least 8/10 for me :D

But I suppose I'll pick Dial M For Murder.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I thought Family Plot was fabulous. Out of all the films I've seen of his, I didn't think much of I Confess.

I've only seen part of I Confess, but what I saw of it didn't impress me that much.

Torn Curtain. A film with both Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, I somehow dislike.

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I'd say Topaz

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I'd have to say Family Plot at the moment as it's the only one i remember thinking - "What the hell is this"
However i'm willing to give it another go at some point.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Come on! Dial M is at least in his top 5

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Don't get me wrong, it's still a fantastic film, I'd give it an 8/10. There is no such thing as a bad Hitchcock movie, or even a below average one :D

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Half his movies are at most average. There's only so many ways to shoot an espionage romance thriller, and after doing it 60 times he had left behind about 30 duds, which is one reason most film people haven't seen all his films.

(those numbers are guesses)

I really didn't like The Birds(I like the idea and always want it to come off better than I think it does), but the Manxman would be the worst I've seen because the guy on the left-

http://www.channelguidemagblog.com/w...0/Manxman1.jpg

- is the worst actor in recorded history.

That's baloney. He probably has a higher percentage of excellent movies than any director. Thirty duds? No way. I haven't seen his thirties non thriller movies and the silents, but complete duds, and being generous, I can think of only two from the forties, The Paradine Case And Mr.and Mrs. Smith, two from the fifties, Stage Fright and arguably I Confess, then he hit a bad patch in the sixties with Torn Curtain, Marnie, and Topaz, but recovered with Frenzy, then closed with the uneven Family Plot. To get to thirty you would have to include a lot of well liked movies. And none of his duds are as terrible as some from the late career of some other acclaimed directors. John Huston made some really awful ones in the sixties and seventies. Otto Preminger turned out turkey after turky from the late sixties on, and Billy Wilder's last movie, Buddy, Buddy, was so awful Hollywood would never let him make another movie again. And Hitchcock made many, many different types of suspense films, not just romantic espionage thrillers. And even those are not all variations of the same story. There is a huge difference in treatment and tone from Notorious and North by Northwest. Yes, there are some similarities, both have a blonde woman spy working undercover, but one is a drama about redemption and one is a comic send-up of a genre Hitchcock practically invented, the innocent man on the run chase thriller, which he did just three times previously.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Alright I'll be more exact here:

I didn't care for any of his films up to The 39 Steps, so there goes 12 already. Secret Agent isn't bad but not something I'd recommend. Sabotage through Rebecca are all great sans Jamaica Inn, and after Rebecca were 4 average films. Shadow Of A Doubt through Strangers On A Train are all great, I Confess was ok but lacked a lot of possibilities, Rear Window speaks for itself, actually haven't seen Dial M For Murder, two more skippable ones, haven't seen his TV shows, and then The Wrong Man through Psycho are all great. Nothing after that drew any interest from me.

Okie dokie then adding it all up: 25 films that I personally find exercises in monotony. I guess I wasn't far off.

Again, my only point was that this:
doesn't hold up. I think his legacy can speak for the rest of his good - brilliant films.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

So what about his films after Psycho, like The Birds and Frenzy?

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I have never seen a reason The Birds has the popularity it's garnered. If someone can help me out there, by all means. Frenzy just seemed anonymous to me.

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I have to go with Vertigo, I just really never have liked it at all,IMO.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rtigomovie.jpg

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

If people think Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, or North by Northwest are Hitchcock's worst, they need to see more Hitchcock.

I know, I know. Such was my point in saying that its not really fair of me to participate in this thread :D

But how can anyone think Vertigo is the worst Hitchcock movie?! That's his BEST one!

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Vertigo, while good, is overrated.

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Best movie ever made, IMO. The engrossing story, the incredible performances (the role of Jimmy Stewart's career), the hypnotic music, the gorgeous cinematography... it's flawless. Plus it is a statement on Hitch as a person AND as a director.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I didn't see an engrossing story in it. It's too long and gets boring, this coming from a huge Hitchcock fan.

Many people love The Birds because it has terrifying moments concerning primal fears. Hitch tried to top himself in the scare department after Psycho and the actual attack by the Birds at the end is nerve-wracking. Plus the scene with Suzanne Pleshette is super freaky.

I thought Frenzy was quite heartfelt. It had the classic "wrong man" plot intertwined with one of the funniest series of scenes of domestic non-bliss (the inspector's wife's cooking) ever put on film. I'll admit that some of the more blatant sexual scenes make it an uneasy viewing experience at times, but rape and murder aren't pleasant things to depict or experience so maybe Hitch was attempting to be more honest about that subject.

-----------------

Vertigo is a film which greatly divides people. Many believe it's the apotheosis of everything Hitch ever did and reveals himself more than any other film. Then there are those who like it up to a point but are baffled by some of the plot, plot twists, and character revelations. They just think it gets stupid and/or silly.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I've never been a fan of Frenzy, but it is not a dud. A dud to me doesn't mean average, it means an actual bad movie. I have never seen a Hitchcock movie that is actually bad. A dozen at most are mediocre (I have not seen the non genre movies from the thirties). The following are outstanding: The 39 Steps, Sabotage, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Lifeboat, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Nortwest, and Psycho. Foreign Correspondent just misses being in the outstanding category because of a bland female lead and a really silly plot. But a movie that received begrudging praise from Joeseph Goebbels ("excellent propaganda") sure isn't a dud or merely average. This is a remarkable average that I doubt any other fillmmaker could match.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Yeah, I would say The Birds is much scarier than Psycho. And I always thought of Frenzy as a combination of North By Northwest and Psycho.

Which one are you, mark?

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

From my post in the "favorite Hitch" thread:

Between North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train I prefer the latter by a little bit, but I don't hate either and will check them both out again. I've probably only seen about 15-20 of his films and feel like I've probably skipped his worst so far (with the exception of Topaz, which really is pretty dull -- I made it about halfway through late at night and couldn't find the motivation to finish it the next day).

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I owe Vertigo another chance so I'm not going to give my answer yet BUT...

Bruce Dern suggested to Hitchcock that he (Hitch) be the one to walk down the stairs at the end of Family Plot and wink into the camera. He ended up not doing it though. Since Family Plot was ultimately Hitchcock's last movie, I think that would have saved the movie and been an awesome goodbye to one of the best directors ever.

I've seen only four Hitchcock films (in order: The Birds, Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo) but I hated the first one so much that it very nearly kept me from watching any others.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

http://www.osirisent.com/productphotos/259-1-l.jpg
Number 17 is a very bad one

The only other ones I can think of that I gave less than 3 stars is Murder! Whicth I gave 2.5

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

i thought the trouble with harry was woeful!

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Stage Fright is pretty flimsy.

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Definitely Vertigo! I couldn't sit there and watch it all...

What.

I actually have to agree with this, for the exact same reason. However it's a hundred times funnier when somebody else points it out, and uses THAT specific picture to illustrate it.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Just watched 39 Steps and it's my worst that I've seen of Hitchcock so far. Story just didn't grab me.

Havent seen it quite yet though I do own it.
I heard required Atleast three watches though

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It won't get a 2nd viewing from me in awhile. Just didn't find it all that entertaining. Too much talk, not enough action. And the talk wasn't too spectacular either. Just my opinion of course.

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Those early Hitchcock movies leave something to be desired. Not much to them. I think the worst later ones were Marnie and the one he made before he died, Family Plot.

I've seen a couple of early Hitchcock and The 39 Steps is the best.

I'd actually agree with you on that. Of all the Hitchcock films I've seen so far (about 20 now I think) 39 Steps has been my least favourite. Just could not get into it whatsoever. And then probably The Birds in second last position, then Marnie.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I've seen about 13 Hitch movies, so I'm sure there are worse, just the worst I've seen thus far.

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I liked 39 Steps, but it has definitely aged in time.

For some reason I really thought I had already though I had posted in this thread, anyway as a massive fan of Hitchcock here are what I'd rate his films at from what I've seen, attaching ratings and reviews so you can understand why I rate them what I do.

I know this thread is meant to discuss his worse but thought I might as well just give my thoughts on why I don't think some films listed in this thread are his 'worst' at all.

Psycho - - Full Review
North by Northwest - - Full Review
Vertigo -

You might question me awarding him three 5 star ratings, but I really think these are three fantastic films in their own rights. All are completely different, "Psycho" is one of my favourite horrors, North by Northwest is just such a fun action thrilled film and Vertigo is simply a masterpiece in filmmaking, if you don't like this film I think you've watched it expecting something else, it's a really tragic and romantic film that deals with a number of issues such as obsession and it's one of my all time favourite performances from James Stewart.

Dial M for Murder - - Full Review
Strangers on a Train -
Rear Window - - Full Review

Three extremely strong films, all of them different. Dial M feels different for Hitchcock and is more like a murder mystery but it's great, Strangers on a Train is more dark and sinister but great and Rear Window is another fantastic performance from Stewart who deals with more important themes (isolation) and it has a great suspense.

Shadow of a Doubt -
The Birds -
Rope -
To Catch a Thief - - Full Review

All decent/good films. Shadow of a Doubt from a technical viewpoint is great and some of the scenes are made extremely well, Cotten is really good as the villain but I felt it just lagged a bit towards the end. The Birds again from a technical viewpoint is great, and I really enjoyed the film up until the end which left me with more frustration than enjoyment, some scenes are spectacular though such as the one outside the school where the birds unknowingly gather ready to attack. Rope is also a good film.

To Catch a Thief you might disagree with and give a lower rating, but its a more enjoyable, light hearted film in which Cary Grant is an enjoyable lead. Don't expect much and enjoy the French Riviera, I wouldn't call it a bad film but not one I'd watch over and over again.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, remake) -

Probably my least favourite. It starts off well in Morocco with James Stewart, Doris Day and their family but it goes downhill after their son is kidnap with some of Hitchcock's most preposterous scenes. Two of the biggest highlights are music related, the appearance of the great Herrmann and Day's famous song 'Que Sera Sera'.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

I've seen Vertigo,Rear Window,Psycho,North By Northwest,The Birds,Notorious and out of those I think The Birds was the worst.

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Strangers on A Train was very bowdlerised so I'm not a fan of that.

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Strangers on a Train strengthened for me with repeat watches. I wasn't as fond of it on the 1st watch.

Re: What's the Worst Alfred Hitchcock Movie?
 

Jamaica Inn is Hitchcock's worst for me. Especially when put against his other du Maurier adaption, Rebecca.

The novel/play of the novel is much much better.