Hitchcock Retrospective - Part One - Family Plot, Frenzy, Topaz and Torn Curtain

Hitchcock is known for some of the greatest movies in cinematic history with films like "Psycho", "The Birds" and "North By Northwest" getting a regular mention. Recently a friend lent me his boxset of some of Hitchcock's latest works and I had the idea of working my way back from his last film to his earlier (and ever more elusive) films. Hitchcock's career spans around 50 years, his last film being Family Plot released (according to IMDB) in 1976 and his earliest being a film called Downhill released in 1927. I don't expect to get that far back, but I think seeing all the films back to The 39 Steps (released in 1935) might be a more reasonable challenge to set.

So for the first installment of these reviews, here's the last four films Hitchcock released: Family Plot (1976), Frenzy (1972), Topaz (1969), and Torn Curtain (1966). These are all films which I had never seen before. Below I provide my reviews in order of preference, starting with the best.



Topaz (1969)

A film actually often dismissed, however this may be partially because there are a variety of possible endings to this film. (From the sounds of it, I got the best one and certainly the one Hitchcock preferred.) Another reason is because the film was rather rushed initially and has been nicely tidied up for the DVD release.


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Family Plot (1976)

There's a very odd start with an extended sequence of Barbara Harris contacting a male spirit and putting on an odd voice (to represent being contacted by this man in the beyond) as she takes on the role of a psychic/medium. At the end of the session she is given a task by the rich lady who has employed her. She is tasked with finding the long lost heir of the rich lady's estate in exchange for a sizeable reward. The initial scene of contacting the spirits is a rather poor way to set up the plot as it's quite hard to follow. What's more, those who found what was said during the seance clear and comprehensive will be getting quite bored during the later part of the scene where it is explained precisely what was revealed during the session.


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Frenzy (1972)

I'd been recommended this one quite highly, but when another friend said it contains "the funniest rape scene you will ever see" I was a little worried. If a rape scene will trigger you, you should steer well clear of this film, and probably this review too.


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Torn Curtain (1966)

Okay so I wasn't exactly gushing with praise for the last one, so what didn't I like about this one then? Well actually I enjoyed it a lot to start with. Julie Andrews finds that her fiance, Dr. Armstrong, is acting a little strangely. With a bit of snooping she discovers that he is taking a flight to East Berlin. She follows him there to find him announce quite publically that he wishes to defect, with reasons in relation to his nuclear research no less... Naturally things get very difficult for their relationship, but Julie Andrews cannot seem to bring herself to simply leave. But how can they express their feelings clearly when they are under constant observation by the Stasi?


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