HoldenIsHere Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 Where was Hitchcock's appearance in FAMILY PLOT? I liked Barbara Harris's wink at the end of the movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clore Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 As I recall, he's a silhouette in a doorway window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faceinthecrowd Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Correct. But as to Barbara Harris's wink, I found it jarring. There was nothing to prepare us for an actor addressing the audience, as Michael Caine did in ALFIE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 But holding the audience in confidence WAS done a lot in the silent days, albeit mostly in comedies. It carried briefly into talkies. Groucho Marx often spoke in "asides" to the audience, and how many times did Oliver Hardy look out at the audience in exasperation whenever Stan did something foolish? In fact, many in the Hal Roach studios did this trick. When ALFIE came along, it really wasn't any kind of innovation. Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 In the "Road" pictures Hope and Crosby talk to the audience almost as much as to each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dargo2 Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 The other night I noticed Jean Arthur broke the 4th wall in "The More the Merrier" during a conversion she had early on in the movie with Charles Coburn. It reminded me of that classic look of frustration that Oliver Hardy was so famous for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoldenIsHere Posted September 16, 2013 Author Share Posted September 16, 2013 I think I liked Barbara Harris's wink because it came without any preparation. I was also surprised (pleasantly) when it was revealed that she was faking the effects of the "knock-out" drug. I guess she pretended to faint before William Devane injected her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Could this wink by Barbara Harris have been inserted at the end of the film becuase Hitchcock knew that this was his last film? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I dont think so. He was working on another film after Family Plot, but ill health forced him to shelve it. Hitch is seen as a silhouette talking to someone behind a door when Dern goes to the Registrar (or whoever it was) checking on the death certificate. I really enjoyed seeing Family Plot again. I remember many critics dismissing it at the time as minor Hitchcock, but I think it holds up very well. It's very entertaining and full of humor. I enjoy watching it more than the grisly Frenzy that he made just before that. (that the critics went wild over). Barbara Harris and Dern are very funny....... Edited by: Hibi on Sep 17, 2013 11:15 AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 I think FRENZY was his best post-PSYCHO film, and it goes back to the "wrong man" theme with which he was quite comfortable.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Critics seem to agree on that (Frenzy) But I dont find it as entertaining as Family Plot for some reason. Maybe because the actors are all British and relatively unknown. Plus the graphic nature of it..... Family Plot is more fun (at least for me.....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 It's interesting that he used all unknown actors in FRENZY. I wonder why. He didn't do that in any of his other films that I know of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 Maybe to cut down costs? I dont know. His last couple of films had tanked with audiences and critics. Frenzy was sort of a comeback film for him.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted September 17, 2013 Share Posted September 17, 2013 In thinking about it, FRENZY and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN may be his two most Hitchcockean films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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