ESSENTIAL HITCHCOCK

Rip It Up, Issue 81, 1 April 1984, Page 4

ESSENTIAL HITCHCOCK

William Dart

One might criticise the French economy or their almost paranoic xenophobia, but one can’t deny their taste in cinema. It was the French, after all, who started to take Hitchcock seriously. Writer-directors like Goddard, Chabrol, Clouzot and Truffaut found more in the Englishman than just a master of suspense. Their faith was justified. Working within the confines of the thriller format, as well as within the structures of the Hollywood studio system, Hitchcock produced films which retained their integrity and individuality, as cinematically literate a they were eloquent statements on the Human

Condition. For well over a decade, many of the films of the 50s were withdrawn from circulation? France seemed to be the only place where they surfaced, and I know of one . acquaintance who made a special trip ' across the English Channel to see Rear Window in the late 70s. Such is the passion of a true cineaste. Now, five of these classics have been re-released in a season of Hitchcock films. Two of the five are flawed films. The 1948 Rope, based on the LeopoldLoeb murder case of the 20s, was the director’s first colour film. It was also an experiment in using a series of uninterrupted 10-minute takes to convey the "real time" of the film's action. The result is a rather static film, in spite of the fine ensemble playing of John Dali and Farley Granger as the two murderers. Three years later Strangers on a Train would treat a similar subject more incisively as well fas] lashings of Hitchcock's characteristically macabre sense of humour. " The 1955 The Man Who Knew Too Much has Doris Day rather uncomfortably moulded into a Hitchcock heroine even singing 'Whatever Will Be, Will Be’ at one point in the movie. Most of the film's impact lies with the brilliantly : choreographed finale in the Royal Albert'Hall, in which a political assassination hinges upon the crash of a cymbal during a choral performance. Rear Window and The Trouble with Harry, use a humour in completely different ways. Harry. is resolutely tongue-in-cheek, and. autumnal Vermont landscapes prove an ironic background for a plot in which a body

keeps on disappearing and reappearing in the most unexpected places. This marked the debut of Shirley MacLaine and was one of Hitchcock’s favourite films. It was also the progenitor of such later comedies as North by Northwest (1959) and Family[Plot (1978).]BB|eOMB|

The humorous element in Rear Window is rather darker in tone. Whether in Thelma Ritter's wisecracking nurse or the witty banter between James Stewart and Grace Kelly, it forms an effective counterpoint to the more disturbing aspects of the film. Stewart’s apartmentbound photographer becomes a voyeur, escaping from his own frustrations into the lives of the other characters in Hitchcock's carefully manipulated microcosm. One remembers in particular the cool finesse of Kelly as a comedienne and Robert Burks' precise and evocative camera work.

Obsession is the key to the last film of the series, Vertigo, as James Stewart pursues Kim Novak in both her incarnations. Highly stylised, Vertigo has a brooding power that comes from an astute balancing of various aspects of the film from Bernard Herrman's edgy score and Novak’s undeniable presence to the film’s wealth of detail and its shrewd use of colour.

We don’t yet have Repertory Cinema in this country along the lines of those in Europe and America, or even in Australia. Perhaps this selection of film! with their crisp new prints, might pave the way to other similar revivals.