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March 16, 2012
28. The Lodger (1927)
To really appreciate the first true "Hitchcock film," you have to take into account the context, knowing how fresh and exciting it was for its time. It's amazing how, even this early in his career, so many of Hitch's favorite themes (wrong man, suspicious neighbors) and visual innovations are on display.
27. Stage Fright (1950)
Perhaps best known in cinephile circles as one of the first examples of the "lying narrator," this Jane Wyman/Marlene Dietrich film is a humorous whodunit set in the theater world. There's not so much that's "Hitchcockian" about it, but it's solid nevertheless.
26. Young and Innocent (1937)
The first seventy-five minutes of Young and Innocent are basically just an excuse for the extremely long and intricate tracking shot that reveals the killer at the end. But what a shot it is.
25. Saboteur (1942)
This classically Hitchcockian tale about a wrongly-accused man on a cross-country journey to prove his innocence can be seen as a precursor to the superior North by Northwest. It even ends with the hero dangling from an American monument — this time, the Statue of Liberty.
24. Blackmail (1929)
This was Hitchcock's first "talkie," and it features many of his trademarks: a rollicking chase sequence in a famous locale, darkly comical cuts, and a blonde in peril. It also features one of Hitch's greatest cameos — he assaults a young brat on a train.
23. The Trouble With Harry (1956)
One of the only "non-suspenseful" Hitchcock stories that actually works, this film follows the citizens of a sleepy Vermont town as they attempt to figure out who killed one of their brethren and, more importantly, what to do with the body. Think Weekend at Bernie's, but classier.
22. Spellbound (1945)
Co-starring Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman, this ahead-of-its-time psychoanalytic thriller tried to visualize the human dreamscape via a sequence designed by none other than Salvador Dali.
21. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
A remake of his own 1934 British film, this version featuring Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day should be a step up, but the whole thing's more unwieldy than the original. (Hitchcock himself agreed.) The climactic Albert Hall sequence, however, is worth the mess that precedes it.
20. To Catch a Thief (1955)
Featuring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, both in their prime, and filmed in the French Riviera, To Catch a Thief has all the elements of an all-time classic. As it stands, it barely cracks Hitch's top twenty; maybe it's the lack of happy ending. As Hitch points out, "the final note is pretty grim."
Commentarium (21 Comments)
Vertigo is everything
Frenzy before Notorious? That's risible.
Thank you so much for creating this list! Alfred Hitchcock was the first director I admired. By the time I was 17, I had seen about 20 of the movies on this list! (I do realize that that I'm a crazy film geek). Anyway, thanks again!
totally random and arbitrary list... putting Marnie - one of hitchcock's absolute worst - that high is just plain ridiculous... and Frenzy? Is that a joke? horrible list.
Your attempt to rehabilitate the reputation of "Marnie" is ill-advised. It's dreadful. And you rate it better than "North by Northwest? Seriously.
[outraged comment about the order of the films on this list]
For the most part I really do like the list. I'm thrilled to see The Lady Vanishes placed so high, even as I'm tempted to winder whether it quite deserves it. And Vertigo is without a doubt his best film.
But Dial M for Murder places a little high in my estimation, and Marnie places EXTREMELY high. No. 17 places a little low, because that chase sequence at the end is riveting and should definitely place it above both versions of The Man Who Knew Too Much, which could really finish dead last as far as I am concerned.
Your mileage may vary, but I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone who wanted to sit through either version of The Man Who Knew Too Much. Except film students. Hipster film students.
I love these lists! I've always thought Vertigo was a tad bit over-rated. Lifeboat was better than I thought it'd be.
The fact that you think that The Trouble With Harry is about "citizens of a sleepy Vermont town as they attempt to figure out who killed 'one of their brethren' and, more importantly, what to do with the body." shows that you did not actually watch the film.
I share Sarel's sense that the author of this piece hasn't watched very many of the films. (The dismissal, without a real comment, of the underrated Mr. and Mrs. Smith, for instance, seems suspicious.) These lists are obviously doing their job, though; even though they seem arbitrary and badly informed, I seem to end up reading them all.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a snore-fest.
Young folks who think they don't like black and white films should still see "Shadow Of a Doubt" which I'd heard was Hitchcock's favorite of his own films, and "Strangers on a Train."
Film students and such cherish "Vertigo" for all of its technique and symbolism but for the uninitiated, "Rear Window" is probably more rewarding viewing.
Haven't seen some of the very poorly rated old ones here, but "Topaz" really was a meandering bore, and I've never been able to get through "Torn Curtain." Not even close.
North by Northwest should be much higher, and Rear Window should be at number one. Sorry, Vertigo is great, but a bit overrated.
I agree with many others about the odd order here. But I want to make a point I never hear anyone mention: the climax of Strangers on a Train is one of the most unintentionally risible action scenes ever filmed by a major director. Culprits enter fairground full of kids, trailed by cops. Suspects jump on a getaway vehicle: a merry-go-round. Oh no! Cops begin firing wildly through crowd, plug merry-go-round operator, causing him to push lever to "centrifugal" setting. All merry-go-rounds have them. And of course they also explode. Must re-examine that feature.
Shadow of a Doubt would have been my number 1, but only cause I got a thing for Cotten.
"While the story has been stolen countless times since, the original version is the best and still most effective. "
Actually, Rear Window is not "the original version". Hitchcock borrowed the story from Cornell Woolrich.
Bravo! This list rocks. Vertigo IS everything.
Frenzy as one of his best?
Um, no.
More evidence of lazy author: it is not the hero who dangles from the Statue of Liberty in "Saboteur," but the villain -- which Hitchcock agreed was one of his major mistakes.
A list that's close to many of my own sensibilities. Vertigo is Hitchcock's best, North by Northwest is a tad overrated and Shadow of a Doubt belongs very high on any list.
If I were to quibble about the list, I'd knock Psycho down a few pegs, move Rope way up and also put Lifeboat higher. But hey, they're all great movies. People can have their own opinions.
Vertigo is a masterpiece, not just Hitchcock's best but all time best.