Top 5 of Hitchcock

I came to the same conclusion.

James Mason would have been awesome as Rupert! But I guess I just accepted Steward in the role, and didn't really think much of his persona on it. I guess one reason I feel I might like Rope possibly better than Rear Window is that Rope, has a real morality play in it, on the Rupert character having to decide if he is going to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak... Where as in Rear Window, the good guy is 100 percent good, and there is no moral conflict there, which is fine, but possibly a little less compelling in some ways, compared to Rope?

I like both Rope and Rear Window...James Stewart's character in Rear Window isn't 100 percent good, he's a peeping tom and Thelma Ritter warns him of the dangers of that action. That's what drives the story forward his lust to spy on his neighbors.

That's true actually good point!

I hadn't realized that Clift had been considered for Rope. He would have been great in either criminal role. There was always an underlying neurosis in Clift's on screen persona, so he'd have been ideal for Phillip.

I agree that Granger was not perfectly suitable for this role. OTOH he was fine in Strangers on a Train, because he didn't have to seem unusually bright.

~Doc

I thought Granger was good in the role, and I think Rope is better than Strangers on a Train anyway.

I watched Rear Window again and perhaps I do give slight edge to it over Rope on this viewing. So I guess my Hitchcock top 5 are now:

1. Vertigo
2. Lifeboat
3. Psycho
4. Dial M for Murder
5. Rear Window

I wrote this a year ago, and this list hasn't changed. There's still a few Hitch films I need to see and even more that I'd like to revisit.

That's a good point, CR. For example to my taste Lifeboat was a very well made picture, but it's not one of my favorite Hitchcock's.

Foreign Correspondent is one of his great films that's often overlooked. It was a superb production-- his next after Rebecca. And it was one of my personal most enjoyable films of his. It was up for best picture in 1940, along with Rebecca, receiving 6 category Oscar nominations.

He stated that he wanted big stars for the leads, but he didn't have the reputation yet to attract the biggest of the big. But Joel McCrea and Laraine Day were first rate in their roles, and there were wonderful supporting performances by Herbart Marshall, George Sanders, and Robert Benchley.

~Doc

I still have to finish Foreign Correspondent. I tried watching the first half a couple of years ago, but I felt it was too popcorn-ish, and bit corny, and maybe a bit too escapist, but maybe I need to finish it to the end.

How come Frenzy never took off as big as other Hitchcock movies? I feel that as far as serial killer thrillers go, than in some ways Frenzy was more suspenseful than Psycho, yet it never took off the same way. Why is that, out of curiosity?

These are my top 5 Hitchcock films so far, there are a fair few of his films that I haven't seen though.

1. Notorious
2. North by Northwest
3. The Lady Vanishes
4. Vertigo
5. The Birds

This is tough, but I'll try!

North by Northwest
Lifeboat
Rear Window
Strangers on a Train
Psycho

You make a good point. I think by 1972 Hitchcock's appeal had faded somewhat, following several comparatively lackluster films (Marnie, Topaz, Torn curtain). I distinctly recall feeling that way myself at the time, but hoping for another Hitch masterpiece.

Yet Frenzy is a very fine film, which I'd certainly put in the middle of his finer productions. It had all of his famous tenets: suspense, humor, and revealing the perpetrator right at the beginning. But it didn't have a big star.

In fact it's time for a re-watch....... tonight.

~Doc

I haven't seen enough of Hitch's work to come up with a legit top five, but I will say that Psycho is probably his masterpiece, The Birds has enormous re-watch appeal, and I was impressed with Vertigo and Rear Window. I would also mention that Notorious features my favorite Ingrid Bergman performance.

Have you seen The Trouble With Harry (1955)? You'd like it and that's my Hitch recommendation for you.

I think mine would look something like this...

1. Vertigo
2. Psycho
3. Dial M for Murder
4. Rear Window
5. Strangers on a Train

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This is true of me too. Even though I made my top five, I've only seen about a third of his movies.

I've seen most of his movies, and he didn't make any bad ones.

The only movie I saw of his so far, where I found it to be quite disappointing, and I thought he was off his fame, was The Wrong Man.

I liked that one, but it was quite different than his usually movies, more like a docu-drama I'd say. What didn't you like about it?

Well I didn't like how the main character's problem was solved so easily mainly. He has all the cards stacked against him and then the real guy gets caught so easily, and then the main character is free as a bird, so it felt very anti-climatic to me. It's not a bad movie per say, and the first half was actually quite solid, it's just so far beneath Hitchcock's other efforts it seems for me.