Lotta Tense Moments

Dad's been on an early Hitchcock kick the last week. You could do worse.

I didn't care much for The Lady Vanishes. The sound quality wasn't great, so I only heard about half the dialogue. Plus, every character managed to either be a jerk, or at least irritating to me within the first 15 minutes. Maybe I was just in a bad mood. There were two English fellows in the movie who also showed up in Night Train to Munich. In both cases they're a bit self-absorbed and oblivious, but they do rise to the occasion each time. I wonder if Hitchcock was making a comment on the British in the time running up to World War 2. That it took awhile for them to pull their heads out of their rear ends, but once they do, they're stalwart sorts. Though you could describe the Americans that way, since they were even more self-absorbed in the 1930s.

I liked Foreign Correspondent quite a bit. Mr. Jones, er, Mr. Haverstock (Joel McCrea) was an amusing lead character, though I grew a little tired of his insisting he was out for a story. At a certain point, when you pursue something through all the challenges he had, I refuse to believe he's only doing it for the story. The ending giave me the impression Hitchcock agreed, so perhaps it was that Haverstock hadn't realized the truth abou himself. Trying too hard to remain cynical. The bit where van Meer rants about the fascists felt a little overdone at first, but when he fixes his eyes directly on the camera, it's hard to deny the force of scene. Certainly you can feel the strength of his convictions, which have enabled him to resist days of interrogation.

I find it hard to believe Rebecca is the only movie Hitchcock made which ever won Best Picture. It's a fine movie, I just can't believe Rear Window or Vertigo couldn't manage it (I'm not actually a fan of Vertigo, but I still know it's a high quality movie). A young girl (Joan Fontaine) meets an older gentleman (Laurence Olivier) standing at the edge of a cliff in Monte Carlo. He's there, to escape memories, or perhaps to drown in them. She's there working as an assistant to an older wealthy lady. Whirlwind courtship and they return to his large estate. Where the specter of his deceased wife hangs over everything, with no small assistance from her personal maid, Ms. Danvers (Judith Anderson).

The first half of the movie didn't particularly engage me, though it's necessary for the romantic plot development. Showing how insecure and out of her depth Fontaine's character is, Maxim's mood swings, Danvers' disturbing devotion to her dead mistress. The second flies by in comparison as Danvers twists the screws, and we learn that what we think we know about Rebecca and her demise isn't true.

Judith Anderson gives a heck of performance. The house itself, being so large and empty helps, but she has that quiet certainty to her movements and her speech. Never perturbed, never ruffled, just grinding away slowly with her unshakeable certainty that Rebecca was the greatest woman who ever lived. Which lead to several exchanges between Dad and I.

Me: OK, that that's settled, time to slip a little something in Danvers' drink.
Dad: or slip a little something into her back. Like a pickaxe.
Me: I don't think that qualifies as "little". But I like where your head is at.

It does highlight, to me anyway, the importance of honesty in relationships. If Fontaine and Olivier would talk more openly about what's bothering them, Danvers wouldn't be able to mess with Fontaine so effectively. Of course, as my dad pointed out, Fontaine could always just fire Danvers.