The Worst Hitchcock's movie?!

I like the perverse humor in The Man Who Knew Too Much, even though Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day are not my ideal cast.

Hitchcock did much worse: I Confess is a bloody bore. Jamaica Inn, The Paradine Case, Under Capricorn and The Wrong Man are four more of his American films that I don't like. Of his later works, Topaz and Torn Curtain aren't very good. Frenzy is well made but too misogynistic for my tastes. Family Plot is interesting mainly because it's his last.

All the other American films are great.

The only two of his early, British films that I like are The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes. They are superb.

[italic]Under Capricorn[/italic], without a doubt. Michael Wilding's charm is the only redeeming feature. Bad plot, bad accents, no feeling of threat or unease. Hard to believe it's a Hitchcock movie.

[italic]The Wrong Man[/italic] and [italic]I Confess[/italic] are not great, even dull, but they make sense.

I like "Strangers on a Train" a lot except for one thing.

I felt like Hitchcock gave Ruth Roman really bad direction to make his untalented daughter look that much better in a showcase role.

It certainly didn't fool anyone in Hollywood. Even Hitchcock didn't give her another chance like that one.

Que sera, sera.

I think Topaz is more or less considered his worse film. Though even that has some great shots and ideas.

Under Capricorn has some great shots and moments as well. I confess and The wrong man are thematically an integral part of his canon. Though I agree they are not very exciting after some viewings.

The truth is that there is no bad Hitchcock film...

The Trouble with Harry

I've tried several times to get through but just haven't been able to put up with it.

I actually like a lot of Topaz. Yes, it's all over the place, but some of the scenes are very good, and Karin Dior's murder, with her deep purple dress fanning out like a pool of blood as she falls to the floor, is absolutely brilliant.

And I love The Trouble With Harry. It's classic British cheekiness set in New England!

My pick for Hitchcock's worst: Under Capricorn. I agree with the previous poster who said it's hard to believe it's a Hitchcock film.

Notorious. BORING. Not much action and it's slow.

Doris was laughable when she tried hysterics.

Torn Curtain is easily his worst. Topaz was better, as was Family Plot. The Trouble with Harry was a failed comedy but it was an experiment rather than a cliche ridden mess like Torn Curtain. The Man Who Knew Too Much is a bit histrionic, esp. in the Doris Day department but its not awful.

Torn Curtain

Holy fuck it’s bad. I’m sure everyone, including hitch Cock, was saying, “can’t wait for the check to clear”

I love the murder scene in Torn Curtain that goes on and on and ON though, with Paul Newman trying and failing to get that man dead. On that subject nothing starring Paul Newman in the 60s is hard to watch because Paul Newman is right there. There are worse.

Yeah, but he’s about as believable as an astrophysicist as Bea Arthur would be

I hated Marnie. Tippi Hedren cannot act. End of story.

Right now I'm watching old Alfred Hitchcock Presents on youtube. Family Plot was Alfred's worst.

Another vote for Family Plot-it's embarrassing to watch that train wreck.

Conversely, what are your favorites?

Favorites: [italic]North by Northwest, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious[/italic]

I find “Rope” to be rather overbearing and histrionic.

I couldn't disagree more with the OP. I LOVE The Man Who Knew Too Much. Highly entertaining, with lots of red herrings and suspense. Doris more than holds her own against Jimmy Stewart. One Hitchcock film I could watch over and over (and have!).

As for the worst, I'd say either Marnie or Rope. I know it's sacrilege to say anything against Vertigo, but it's not one of my favorites. Not the worst, but not one that springs to mind when you're thinking of a Hitchcock film I'm eager to see.

Rope was more filmmaking masturbation than an attempt to make a good movie.

I hate Frenzy and Marnie the most. Frenzy because of the gleeful violence against women; the Hays Code being lifted should never have applied to Hitch. Marnie is histrionic, and Hedren should never have been allowed in front of a camera.

Rope is just tedious. I've never seen I, Confess or Under Capricorn.

Family Plot was at least funny and it includes peak Barbara Harris and Karen Black.

Marnie is a masterpiece.

The Paradine Case, with a miscast Gregory Peck. DOA.

Topaz. It was too slow paced for a Hitchcock film

Marnie is my least favorite.

I can't stand Vertigo, except for Herrmann's score.

Torn Curtain, Topaz, The Paradine Case, Under Capricorn are all blah.

One of his British films that I love but that is relatively obscure is Young and Innocent. Yes, I know, it's a terrible title, but a great movie.

I remember in high school, wanting to see all his movies. 39 Steps is one I hadn't seen, I waited up excitedly to see it, and everyone thought it was a huge bore. I'm not so sure about his early movies, after a certain point Alfred blossomed and then made all his true classics.

I really thought Under Capricorn and Jamaica Inn were disappointing. I love most of his films though.

....

I felt so bad for Sean Connery having to prop up the poor plot and Tippi’s “acting” in Marnie. Janet Leigh would have been better.

R27

Hollywood money probably helped. And, as much as "artistes" grief Hollywood suits for constraining their creativity, the suits aren't always wrong. Most of the time they just want the movie to make money and that requires making a movie that's fun to watch.

What was the very early movie he did where Mr. Memory was a key part of the plot? I remember loving that film and also Foreign Correspondent .

Family Plot is a mess.

Hitch's favorite was Shadow of a Doubt, and it's my fave too. I also love Rear Window, North by Northwest, Strangers on a Train, Rebecca, Suspicion, Psycho, Marnie and The Birds, all of which I can watch over and over again.

Jimmy Stewart almost ruins Vertigo for me, although I realize it's a great picture. Also great are Dial M for Murder, The Trouble with Harry, To Catch a Thief, Notorious, Spellbound, The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes.

Just looking at this list makes me wonder why Hitchcock never won a competitive Oscar for best director, although he was nominated 5 times. He received only an honorary one near the end of his life. What was up with that?

The Worst Hitchcock's movie?!

Is still better than the best Jerry Bruckheimer production?

Is that how we play this game?

One of his best early British films was Sabotage starring Sylvia Sidney. A very suspenseful 1936 production that foreshadowed what was to come in the next few years. Very entertaining.

Hitchcock has some of the best titles for his films. Titles I like:

Dial M for Murder.

The Man who Knew too Much.

The Lady Vanishes

Torn Curtain

The Trouble with Harry

Strangers on a Train

Foreign Correspondent

This?

I thought Family Plot was his worst movie. It did not have the Hitchcock feel to it. Dull and poorly paced.

Hitchcock had made an earlier version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" in his British period, with Peter Lorre.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a snoozefest. And it starred Carole Lombard, for God’s sake! Non-suspenseful, smirky attempt at comedy, about a married couple who discover, due to a bureaucratic glitch, they’re not really married. Yawn.

Paradine Case is pretentious and overlong.

[R32]: Mr. Memory appears at the climax of The Thirty-nine Steps, a movie which took only the title from the masterful suspense novel it’s based on.

Under Capricorn seems to just meander.

Though you’d think Jamaica Inn sounds great, it ends up seeming leaden. Not even Charles Laughton or the debut of Maureen O’Hara can lift the mood. And all the extant prints seem to have murky sound, which doesn’t help.

Though Suspicion has its moments, I still find a little of Joan Fontaine goes a long way. Seems more like she’s repeating her wishy-washy ingenue from Rebecca. So passive.

Likewise, Stage Fright is just too convoluted. Hitchcock was quoted as saying the main mistake he made was to show a flashback based on a lie. Dietrich and hunky Richard Todd are sexy, but frumpy Jane Wyman is just out of her league, and it looks like she knows it.

Topaz and Torn Curtain seem to be constructed of mismatched building blocks. They just don’t gel.

Marnie was a big flop in its first release, but has been getting more respect over time.

Frenzy is very good, but just unsettling, as you realize Hitch was a suppressed psychopath.

R14 Yes, I forgot to add Marnie to Hitchcock worst movies.

I think Under Capricorn is underrated. Not a typical Hitch film but I liked it.

The only Hitchcock film I've seen that I didn't care for was Jamaica Inn.

R34, suspense was never the Oscar's favorite genre

The best Presents was Keenan Wynn and the wager for the arrival of the ship.

One of the best is to catch a thief.

Suspicion was a really good movie until the studio-imposed cop-out at the end. Regardless, it's still a watchable movie. It could have been a great one though.

I agree about Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Certain directors are good at comic relief in their dramas, but just can't do straight-forward comedy. I include Stanley Kramer, Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorcese on that list.

I also agree with Stage Fright. I've tried a number of times to get through it, but I can't. It just lies there.

Stage Fright is worth watching for Marlene in one of her best roles late in her film career. It's a real diva performance.

Jane Wyman isn't so bad as some say. And Alistair Sim is amusing. Although there's no way they could be father and daughter.

The problem is the story, which isn't interesting. There's little suspense. '

Rope. The "gimmick" of filming in continuous time is anti-cinematic, the characters are unlikable and the sub-text is homophobic. John Dall is wonderful in a thankless part.

[quote]I also agree with Stage Fright. I've tried a number of times to get through it, but I can't. It just lies there.

Hmm, lies there. Like the laziest gal in town?

I don't mind Stage Fright, though it's far from Hitchcock's best. On the other hand, I could barely sit through The Wrong Man and I Confess.

I agree with ROPE. It's really stagey and dull. John Dall overacts, Farley Granger barely acts at all, and the obvious painted backdrop is distracting. Not the masterpiece it's touted as imo.

Actually, Jimmy Stewart gives, hands down, his worst performance ever in Rope. I dont mind him in Vertigo, though I dont love the movie. Sorry, but Kim Novak is just dreadful in it.

Stage Fright.

I'd forgotten how bad it was. Just awful. Leaden, nonsensical. Pity you just can't click for a selection of Dietrich scenes and ditch the rest. Sadly though - not even the divine Marlene can save this mess.

Jamaica Inn is absolutely unwatchable, as is Under Capricorn.

Poor Jimmy Stewart just couldn't handle the role in ROPE. It's a good film, I enjoy it immensely, but he absolutely botches the final speech he makes. James Mason would have been fantastic in the part.

What about the Presents? I have been watching old ones on You Tube and I love them. But too many commercials.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents was great, I think he directed 20 or so episodes himself

Too bad for you, R8.

NOTORIOUS is one of film’s greatest romances.

No r17. Stick to the worst Hitchcock. It's more interesting. Start your own converse thread.

She's.....pooped!

No hate for Family Plot? Which I actually like because Karen Black and Barbara Harris.

My problem with Family Plot is that it looks like a TV movie.

rtet

Family Plot is far from a great movie. It does have its charms, though. I like it a lot better than Stage Fright, Jamaica Inn, and Under Capricorn. I would also rank it above Topaz, Torn Curtain, I Confess, and quite a few of his early British films.

R66, That is the best part of Topaz. It's so well done. Beautiful Cinema!

I like Stage Fright more than The Paradine Case; or maybe I just dislike it less. Jamaica Inn is hopeless.

I read in the Hitchcock bio by Donald Spoto that Julie Andrews was forced in him for Torn Curtain. She was a box office attraction then. Under Capricorn was his first independent production and Bergman was box office then, too. I like the bit where Joseph Cotton hides the ruby necklace after Bergman rejects his jewelry suggestion not realizing he’d purchased the gems.

Rope was an experiment for Hitchcock. Each scene lasted 10 minutes and the camera had to move through the scene without any break. Hitchcock liked to create challenges for himself.

Not that, R38, but I really enjoyed that movie. I was surprised.

Am I the only one who liked Rope movie?! I liked and enjoyed it.

R72, I liked Rope. It was flawed but interesting

He spelled his name Joseph Cotten, with an e.