Literature Film Quarterly (2003) - Hitchcock's MacGuffin In the Works of David Mamet

Details

• article: Hitchcock's MacGuffin In the Works of David Mamet
• author(s): Mike Digou
• journal: Literature Film Quarterly (2003)
• issue: volume 31, issue 4, page 270
• journal ISSN: 0090-4260
• publisher: Salisbury University

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Abstract

Digou describes Alfred Hitchcock's literary device MacGuffin in the works of David Mamet. Beginning with American Buffalo and proceeding to Glengarry Glen Ross and finally The Spanish Prisoner, Mamet's storytelling relies increasingly on Hitchcock's MacGuffin but less on the rules and standards Hitchcock has established for its use. He opines that the literary device remains an excellent means of scrutinizing characters and exploring the human condition but only when used correctly.