Reply to Topic
The Hitchhiker is something I just didn't care for at all. Spellbound is a fine film, but not anything special as far as Hitchcock's filmography goes.
The MoFo Top 100 Film Noir Countdown
→ in Movie Reviews
Not a fan of Spellbound. Among the weaker films from Hitch
The Hitchhiker was on my ballot. Can’t remember the number exactly, but it was there. You’re welcome.
The Hitchhiker was on my ballot. Can’t remember the number exactly, but it was there. You’re welcome.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I don't know how many are eligible, but Hitchcock made a whooping 24 films during that period so he's bound to get a couple more. Notorious, Shadow of a Doubt, and probably Rebecca should be shoe-ins.
__________________
"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."
X
Favorite Movies
It's been awhile since I last watched The Hitch-Hiker but I did review it here at MoFo:
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino,1953)
About: Two unlucky fishermen in need of a ride are given a lift in a stolen car by a psychotic escaped murderer. He tells them that he's going to kill them when they get to the end of the ride.
Review: I've seen Ida Lupino in earlier films and knew she had directed, but I had never seen one until now. She does a fantastic job as a director. I love the way she goes with down-angled closeup shots, during the opening credits. It's too bad the credits had to roll over her work as the opening shots of the hitch-hiker's boots & the pavement of the road & the tires of the victim's car...are intense.
I love the way she keeps the film tense with closeup shots in the car's interior...it adds a sense of claustrophobia which is perfect for a story about two men held captive by a psycho. We also get a few beautiful wide shots taken from up above on the rocks, as the car speeds along. The rock location is not only cool looking, but gives a sense of bleakness and isolation as does the stories choice of location in a remote region of Mexico. Written by Ida Lupino and her then husband Collier. This is a stark, no nonsense script and the cinematography matches that to a tee.
I always like Edmund O'Brien, he's particular good here. And William Talman as the psycho hitch-hiker made one helluva bad guy.
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino,1953)
About: Two unlucky fishermen in need of a ride are given a lift in a stolen car by a psychotic escaped murderer. He tells them that he's going to kill them when they get to the end of the ride.
I love the way she keeps the film tense with closeup shots in the car's interior...it adds a sense of claustrophobia which is perfect for a story about two men held captive by a psycho. We also get a few beautiful wide shots taken from up above on the rocks, as the car speeds along. The rock location is not only cool looking, but gives a sense of bleakness and isolation as does the stories choice of location in a remote region of Mexico. Written by Ida Lupino and her then husband Collier. This is a stark, no nonsense script and the cinematography matches that to a tee.
I always like Edmund O'Brien, he's particular good here. And William Talman as the psycho hitch-hiker made one helluva bad guy.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Guess what? I also reviewed Spellbound here at MoFo way back in the day:
Review: I enjoyed this! It's an, interesting, romantic, mystery-thriller, but doesn't feel like a noir. It was ground breaking in being one of the first films to portray psychoanalyze, and it portrays that branch of medicine in a good light. Back in 1945 the mentally ill were still being treated as objects of fear and scorn...and were still be subjugated to barbarous treatments...so this gentle style of care as shown, was important for people to see.
I thought Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck were quite good and very believable as a romantic couple struggling with the mystery of Peck's identity and the logic of love being more initiative than psychoanalysis. The film itself is aware that the love of the doctor for her patient is illogical...so I don't see that as a flaw.
The love conflict is a major theme of the movie and even the elderly doctor in Rochester points out to Ingrid (and to the audience) that her love for Peck is not sensible and not based on good science. But the films premise is that the heart can be more powerful than the mind and love can heal all. And I love that concept!
Spellbound(Alfred Hitchcock, 1945)
About: A woman psychiatrist (Ingrid Bergman) falls in love with her patient, (Gregory Peck) who suffers from amnesia. He's accused of murder, but believing him innocent they go on the lam, while she attempts to recover his memory that might prove his innocence.
Review: I enjoyed this! It's an, interesting, romantic, mystery-thriller, but doesn't feel like a noir. It was ground breaking in being one of the first films to portray psychoanalyze, and it portrays that branch of medicine in a good light. Back in 1945 the mentally ill were still being treated as objects of fear and scorn...and were still be subjugated to barbarous treatments...so this gentle style of care as shown, was important for people to see.
I thought Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck were quite good and very believable as a romantic couple struggling with the mystery of Peck's identity and the logic of love being more initiative than psychoanalysis. The film itself is aware that the love of the doctor for her patient is illogical...so I don't see that as a flaw.
The love conflict is a major theme of the movie and even the elderly doctor in Rochester points out to Ingrid (and to the audience) that her love for Peck is not sensible and not based on good science. But the films premise is that the heart can be more powerful than the mind and love can heal all. And I love that concept!
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
One I voted for!
#67 The Hitch-Hiker - This had been on my watchlist for years, and as I've been knocking films on my watchlist down one at a time it came up in time for the film noir countdown. Like many noir films, it's nice and lean at 71-minutes in length and straightforward - being about a hostage situation where a murderer trying to elude capture from law enforcement gets into the car of two buddies, Roy Collins (O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Lovejoy) going on a fishing trip. From there on out it's one barked order after another, as the smarmy, narcissistic, rough and murderous Emmett Myers (William Talman) pushes them ever-onwards. At what point would you risk death or injury and go for the gun? In what kind of situation would you deem it a good enough bet to make a run for it? All of those questions are constantly being asked as the two men realise that Myers will probably kill them in the end. In the meantime, the audience hates Myers more and more as he runs his mouth off and makes as if he's a wise sage and knows best. Everyone who doesn't take what they want and damn the rest is a sucker according to him. To us though, he's an idiot. Blunt and to the point, The Hitch-Hiker won't mess you around - what you see is what you get, out in the sun-drenched deserts of California. I had it at #18 on my list.
The other film is unfamiliar to me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seen : 5/34
I'd never even heard of : 26/34
Movies that had been on my radar, but I haven't seen yet : 3/34
Films from my list : 1
#67 - My #18 - The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
#67 The Hitch-Hiker - This had been on my watchlist for years, and as I've been knocking films on my watchlist down one at a time it came up in time for the film noir countdown. Like many noir films, it's nice and lean at 71-minutes in length and straightforward - being about a hostage situation where a murderer trying to elude capture from law enforcement gets into the car of two buddies, Roy Collins (O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Lovejoy) going on a fishing trip. From there on out it's one barked order after another, as the smarmy, narcissistic, rough and murderous Emmett Myers (William Talman) pushes them ever-onwards. At what point would you risk death or injury and go for the gun? In what kind of situation would you deem it a good enough bet to make a run for it? All of those questions are constantly being asked as the two men realise that Myers will probably kill them in the end. In the meantime, the audience hates Myers more and more as he runs his mouth off and makes as if he's a wise sage and knows best. Everyone who doesn't take what they want and damn the rest is a sucker according to him. To us though, he's an idiot. Blunt and to the point, The Hitch-Hiker won't mess you around - what you see is what you get, out in the sun-drenched deserts of California. I had it at #18 on my list.
The other film is unfamiliar to me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seen : 5/34
I'd never even heard of : 26/34
Movies that had been on my radar, but I haven't seen yet : 3/34
Films from my list : 1
#67 - My #18 - The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
__________________
Remember - everything has an ending except hope, and sausages - they have two.
We miss you Takoma
We miss you Takoma
Latest Review : Le Circle Rouge (1970)
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Director: Otto Preminger
Production: Twentieth Century Fox
Cast: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill
54 Points, 7 Lists
'Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?'
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 3 weeks ago at 02:49 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Director: Fritz Lang
Production: International Pictures
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey
56 Points, 8 Lists
'When a conservative middle aged professor engages in a relationship with a femme fatale, he's plunged into a nightmarish world of blackmail and murder.'
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 3 weeks ago at 02:50 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Woman In The Window was really fun. I love Robinson, he was great here. Felt very Hitch as well. Landed at 24 on my list.
Where The Sidewalk ends falls into two stereotypical Sean categories. Don’t remember it and I gave it a low score so it should be rewatched but probably won’t be.
Where The Sidewalk ends falls into two stereotypical Sean categories. Don’t remember it and I gave it a low score so it should be rewatched but probably won’t be.
__________________
Letterboxd
Letterboxd
X
Favorite Movies
Seen both. Where The Sidewalk Ends is great, but just missed my ballot. The Woman in the Window is pretty good, but was not a contender for my ballot.
Seen: 35/36
Seen: 35/36
X
Favorite Movies
Sean isn't the only one...I just had to look up Where The Sidewalk ends to remember what the story was. I rated it average and felt it missed the mark, still a deceit watch.
The Woman in the Window is great fun, thanks to Eddie G. It's a satisfying movie 'world' to spend time in. I think it's under appreciated, but not at MoFo. Glad both noirs made the countdown.
The Woman in the Window is great fun, thanks to Eddie G. It's a satisfying movie 'world' to spend time in. I think it's under appreciated, but not at MoFo. Glad both noirs made the countdown.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Where the Sidewalk Ends is a great classic film-noir and was in contention for my ballot, ended up at #30 on my list. Haven't seen The Woman in the Window, yet. Edward G. Robinson and Fritz Lang, looks like a must watch.
SEEN 9/36
BALLOT 00/25
John-Connor's Film-Noir Top 50:
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
The Woman in the Window is a very solid noir. Edward G. Robinson is always great, but my favorite part of the film is Dan Duryea, who steals the second half of the film. There is an obviously tacked-on ending, but I can let that slide. This was a fun one, and it was my #23. (You can read my full review here)
I haven't seen Where the Sidewalk Ends.
SEEN: 5/36
MY BALLOT: 2/25
I haven't seen Where the Sidewalk Ends.
SEEN: 5/36
MY BALLOT: 2/25
My ballot
__________________
Check out my podcast:
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Two more for me (#19 and #14)
Where the Sidewalk Ends I believe at one point I had on my yearly favorite movie list, but I have to agree with others that have said they forgot most of what it's about after not seeing it for a long stretch. The downside I would say for noir is forgetting most of what a certain one is about because most of them are quite alike with maybe a sprinkle of something different.
The Woman in the Window I would say is one of those "a little different" enough for me to remember it as other have mentioned it's closer to Hitchcock.
Where the Sidewalk Ends I believe at one point I had on my yearly favorite movie list, but I have to agree with others that have said they forgot most of what it's about after not seeing it for a long stretch. The downside I would say for noir is forgetting most of what a certain one is about because most of them are quite alike with maybe a sprinkle of something different.
The Woman in the Window I would say is one of those "a little different" enough for me to remember it as other have mentioned it's closer to Hitchcock.
X
Favorite Movies
I am not sure if I have seen these. They are definitely not on my list. I will have to check them out. They tick a lot of boxes for me:Otto Preminger, Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Edward G. Robinson and Nunnally Johnson
Last edited by beelzebubble; 03-22-24 at 08:04 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
By the way, Otto Preminger becomes the first director to have three films in the countdown:
1. Angel Face (1952) - #86
2. Fallen Angel (1945) - #80
3. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) - #66
Meanwhile, with The Woman in the Window, Fritz Lang joins the group of directors with two films. He had Ministry of Fear at #75.
1. Angel Face (1952) - #86
2. Fallen Angel (1945) - #80
3. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) - #66
Meanwhile, with The Woman in the Window, Fritz Lang joins the group of directors with two films. He had Ministry of Fear at #75.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Woo hooo! Two from my list.
I had Brute Force at number 8. Liked everything about it but a special shout out to Hume Cronyn. What a despicable character and he nails it. One of my favorite kind of bad guys. The kind that you hate so much that you think that whatever happens to them isn't enough. You just want to lock 'em in a cage with a hungry bear or have Cliff Booth give them a tour of the living room.
Also had Woman in the Window down at number 21. The ending was just about perfect and then it kept going. Ugh! I wasn't going to knock it down a peg or two because of that ending but it happened, so I did. Up to three movies seen.
I had Brute Force at number 8. Liked everything about it but a special shout out to Hume Cronyn. What a despicable character and he nails it. One of my favorite kind of bad guys. The kind that you hate so much that you think that whatever happens to them isn't enough. You just want to lock 'em in a cage with a hungry bear or have Cliff Booth give them a tour of the living room.
Also had Woman in the Window down at number 21. The ending was just about perfect and then it kept going. Ugh! I wasn't going to knock it down a peg or two because of that ending but it happened, so I did. Up to three movies seen.
X
Favorite Movies
X