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Sabotage



Hitch is like Woody Allen for me. He has a few movies that blow me out of the water but he made so many films that many of them are bound to fall flat. Like The Lodger I didn't hate this film but there really isn't enough going on thematically or with the characterizations to hook me into loving it. There is some good stuff though for sure. Probably my favorite part of this film was when they are in the theater. I really love the set design of it for some reason. I love the back halls that look like alley ways and I like how we only spend time in one area which gives it kind of a claustrophobic feel. I like the lead actress and her relationship with the
WARNING: "sabotage" spoilers below
undercover agent
. Overall just kind of meh, especially when I want to love everything he does.

The Man Who Knew Too Much



Liked this quite a bit and a lot more than the remake. Which is surprising since that one has my favorite actor. Unlike Sabotage this one is just full of great characters. I love the opening and how sharp the dialogue is between the husband and wife characters. I love the call back that comes later from the skeet shooting.

Peter Lorre should be in everything and even when he doesn't have much to say at the beginning you can still feel his presence. The sun worship temple is a great set piece and I enjoy the comedy that comes out of that.

What is it about scenes in thrillers that take place in theaters. They are always fantastic. No different here and that is about the only scene I enjoyed in the remake. Mostly all good stuff here even if the plot being under developed keeps it from being a favorite.
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Sabotage

I wish the movie was as cool as that photo suggest! But I found this plenty average. Even by 1930s standards there wasn't anything to write home about. If this wasn't a Hitch film I doubt it would even be remembered. As far as the way the film was put together it all seemed to be pretty cohesive...that is until we get to the boy carry the bomb on the bus scene.

After the movie I listened to a 25 minute interview from the 1960s with Hitch and Peter Bogdanovich. Hitch said audiences at the time hated the boy on the bus scene, and that he would never again show a build up of suspense if the bomb was going to go off. He would only do it, if it didn't go off.

I'm not sure what audiences hated exactly about that scene, but what didn't work for me was the aftermath of little Stevie's death, and the way Hitch tried to show Sylvie Sidney reacting to his death. It just didn't work for me as it didn't feel like she had enough emotional impact on the screen, which then made me fall out of the story and stop believing what I was seeing. All this then caused the ending to be a let down.

The other weak point of the film is the Scotland Yard detective who's a love interest, he had zero chemistry and no screen presciences. I read that Hitch had wanted another actor to play the role but he became sick and so was not available.

Oh I had seen this before but I guess it didn't really stay with me. A nice film, but nothing to special.

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I mostly agree Citizen. I liked the detective well enough though. I hope I find at least one more Hitch to love. Have you seen Man Who Knew Too much before?



Too bad you guys didn't get much out of Sabotage. I don't think it was great or anything but i thought there was some good stuff going on. Now The Lodger, that was great

Probably won't get to Lifeboat or The Man Who Knew Too Much until the new year.



I mostly agree Citizen. I liked the detective well enough though. I hope I find at least one more Hitch to love. Have you seen Man Who Knew Too much before?
No I haven't seen that one, though the 1956 version is one of my favorite Hitch's, so it will be fun to compare the two.




The Lodger

I loved how creative Hitch was with his cinematography and lighting. I found this to be a much more inspired film visually than Sabotage or Lifeboat (I haven't seen The Man Who Knew Too Much yet).

I also loved how lively this film felt, especially for a silent film it was quite fluid and felt alive...Most of all Hitch really kept the tension at a fever pitch. I was blown away by the continual 'taunting' of that sign 'To-Night Golden Curls'. I found that very effective as it literally worked as the killer taunting us about his next victim.

I also was fascinated by how Hitch got his title card to be animated, the answer of course is at the end of the film, which is another brilliant scene. There were many such technical achievements I noticed, I've probably forgotten many of them as I was engrossed in the actual story.

There's a shot of the landlady in a room and there's a light from outside that sweeps across the ceiling illuminating it briefly, that light repeats several times. Brilliant.

Characters turn up a light in the room and the exposure of the film gets brighter. Nice touch.

Eyes, sometimes they have a distinct sparkle in them that had to been done on purpose for effect. Cool.

The fog, of course, is used as one of the characters and adds a lot of atmosphere as Ridley Scott would find out in Blade Runner, half a century later. I could go on, as there was so many innovative techniques that Hitch used. I'm impressed!






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Glad you liked it like me. I thought it was pretty great.

Going to watch my two remaining ones in early January most likely.
I haven't read yours and Sean's reviews, I'll do that now.



Lifeboat



Liked this one right from the start. Very effective having all the debris firm the ship just floating by the camera. Then to bring us into the lifeboat with a character who looks untouched but is annoyed her heels have been scuffed, great character development with very little screen time wasted. I love one location movies like this. It concentrates the whole story on the characters and that usually works very well for my taste. Not everything knocks it out of the park but there is a ton of good, and very little outright bad. Could be a film that I like even more on a rewatch.




The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Peter Lorre was just great in this, so much so that I found myself rooting for him and not for the father of the abducted girl. Lorre was very memorable and even funny in an unintentional, but good way. But the actors who played the mother and father didn't do much for me. They were OK, but they didn't really elevate the movie with their acting. I kind of found the film to be static and not to involving. I thought the shoot out scene with the assassins and the cops was kind of weak. I never knew Hitch did a shoot em up movie.

Not a bad film, but out of the four that I've seen of this group, this is my least favorite. At least it made me appreciate Sabotage a bit more.







I forgot to mention. Best director cameo ever in Lifeboat. So funny, eat your heart out Stan Lee.
Joke's on you! Stan Lee isn't a director!



@Citizen Rules
@Cobpyth

Never really seen you two interact so this will be an additional element .

Citizen suggested: Wellman, Curtiz, Capra & Lubitsch
Cobpyth suggested; S.Ray, Sono, A.Mann & Pasolini



@Citizen Rules
@Cobpyth

Never really seen you two interact so this will be an additional element .

Citizen suggested: Wellman, Curtiz, Capra & Lubitsch
Cobpyth suggested; S.Ray, Sono, A.Mann & Pasolini
I was going for directors who worked in the 1930s to support the upcoming 1930s Top 100 countdown, which I'm going to start in 3 days. I know Camo knows that already, I'm just posting to the general board as why I went with those directors.



I was going for directors who worked in the 1930s to support the upcoming 1930s Top 100 countdown, which I'm going to start in 3 days. I know Camo knows that already, I'm just posting to the general board as why I went with those directors.
Yeah i'll promote that to *****, of course

I'm sure Cob would be alright doing a 30's Director, he's the only person other than you and Mark that i feel i could discuss old films with.