It's Only a Movie…

It's Only a Movie…

Archive for February 2014

The Incredible Shrinking Hitchcock

Think of Hitchcock and invariably you think of his weight. Although biographer John Russell Taylor notes that the director was “painfully self-conscious about his appearance”, Hitchcock knew that his weight was a strong publicity hook — it was something that made him memorable to the public. Whilst Hitchcock’s weight became a serious problem later in life, particularly when he began to suffer from painful arthritic knees in the 1970s, many of his early collaborators were… (read more)

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock by Dave Pattern
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“Short Girls Are Best”

Another little gem from the National Library of Australia’s Trove site, this time from the the Adelaide Mail (23/May/1931): HEROINES IN FILMS Short Girls are Best It is not much use trying to be a screen heroine if you are tall. Mr. Alfred Hitchcock, the brilliant British director, says a screen actress should not be above medium height; indeed, smallness is a definite asset. “A little actress not only photographs better, particularly in close-up scenes,… (read more)

Posted in actresses, Alfred Hitchcock by Dave Pattern
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Blackmail: Banned in Australia!

Another interesting article from the National Library of Australia’s Trove site, this time from the Brisbane Sunday Mail (27/Oct/1929): BLACKMAIL BRITISH “TALKIE” HIT AUSTRALIAN BAN Something of a sensation has been caused in the British film world by the banning of the British “talkie,” Blackmail, by the Australian film censor. Nobody appears to know why, and the action is regarded as even more strange when it is realised that the British film censor passed the… (read more)

Posted in Blackmail (1929) by Dave Pattern
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“I am whole-heartedly in favor of color films”

Following on from the previous blog post, here’s another article that appeared in an Australian newspaper. This time, the Adelaide Advertiser (04/Sep/1937). Some Thoughts on Color by Alfred Hitchcock “I am whole-heartedly in favor of color films,” said Alfred Hitchcock, British director, who is now making “The Girl Was Young” (Nova Pilbeam), in Pinewood Studios, England. Truly reproduced, Hitchcock says, color is a step towards greater realism in photography, and as such is desirable: but… (read more)

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Young and Innocent (1937) by Dave Pattern
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“Music to Bring Tears”

I recently stumbled across this fascinating article from the Australian newspaper The Daily News (23/Nov/1928) about the production of “The Manxman“. MUSIC TO BRING TEARS Stirring Actors’ Emotions “Please play ‘La Boheme’.” A tall, handsome young man in the dress of a fisherman addressed these words to the conductor of a little orchestra hidden behind the scenery of a cottage interior at the studios of British International Pictures at Elstree, Hertfordshire, recently. He was playing… (read more)

Posted in The Manxman (1929) by Dave Pattern
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“Vertigo”, by Billy Eckstine

In a similar vein to Nat King Cole’s “Marnie”, here’s Billy Eckstine‘s recording of “Vertigo”… The song was written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, who also wrote “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” for The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). I’ve read a couple of claims about the track and its link to Vertigo (1958), but I’m not sure which is the most accurate. As ever, if you have more information,… (read more)

Posted in music, Vertigo (1958) by Dave Pattern
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Hitchcock in Japan

A small selection of Japanese posters for Hitchcock films… Rebecca (1940) Saboteur (1942) Spellbound (1945) To Catch a Thief (1955) The Trouble with Harry (1955) The Wrong Man (1956) Vertigo (1958) North by Northwest (1959) The Birds (1963) Topaz (1969) Frenzy (1972) Family Plot (1976) …you can view more Japanese film posters here.

Posted in Family Plot (1976), Frenzy (1972), North by Northwest (1959), posters, Rebecca (1940), Saboteur (1942), Spellbound (1945), The Birds (1963), The Trouble with Harry (1955), The Wrong Man (1956), To Catch a Thief (1955), Topaz (1969), Vertigo (1958) by Dave Pattern
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The rooftops of San Francisco

The opening chase in Vertigo (1958) was staged on the rooftops of Taylor Street, San Francisco, with a sweeping camera pan from right-to-left. Here’s a composite image of the rooftop sequence (download image)… It’s worth noting that the camera pan starts with Brocklebank Apartments in the background and ends on Coit Tower, representing Madeleine Elster and John “Scottie” Ferguson (or possibly even Midge, whose apartment is half-a-mile closer to the tower than Scottie’s?) respectively. You… (read more)

Posted in locations, Vertigo (1958) by Dave Pattern
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