Best Allred Hitchcock

The Doris Day and Rex Harrison film was Midnight Lace, but it wasn`t one of Hitchcock`s, can`t remember who directed it.

Yes, the original 1930s one is with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll with ‘Mr Memory’. The last 1970s remake was with Robert Powell with him hanging off the minute hand of Big Ben, and is on talking pictures channel 81 as I am typing. The first 1950s remake was with Kenneth Moore. They are always showing the 1970s remake on talking pictures and it is pretty good, but I think Robert Donat’s the best Richard Haney.

Was the original the one with Robert Donat as Richard Hannay? That one was on recently, I think.

What about the best black & white Hitchcock films? I’d plump for Spellbound, Psycho, The 39 Steps, and The Lady Vanishes. (There’s remakes of 39 Steps and Lady Vanishes on tele this afternoon, but they’re not the originals.)

I could, and have, watched Philadelphia Story over and over and over again Greyduster! Timeless classic, fabulous cast and fab music!

Eva Maria Saint in North by North West

But what a pleasure to have them both together in Philadelphia Story, Chewbacca! Now there was a film!

James Stewart was definitely the best leading man. Not just in Hitchcock films but in every film he ever appeared in. A true Hollywood star!

Leading man? Definitely Cary Grant. He was a far more versatile actor than James Stewart.

Leading man: definitely James Stewart in Vertigo, Rear Window and Man Who Knew Too Much.

Wonderful films, all of them. It's hard to choose...

North by Northwest,
Rear Window,
Dial M for Murder
etc.....
Grace Kelly for best leading actress.
Cary Grant best actor..... although also James Stewart.

Though she was not my favourite actress, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant gelled very nicely in To Catch a Thief (and who would not like to ‘gel’ with Cary Grant?).

I thought Tippi Hedren was very good. She says that because she didn't go along with Hitchcock's sexual advances he very badly damaged her subsequent acting career.

Apparently Grace Kelly was having an affair with co-star Ray Milland during the filming of Dial M for Murder!

Grace Kelly in Dial M For Murder. Stylish!

Who is your favourite leading lady in a Hitchcock film?

I’m torn between Ingrid Bergman in Spellbound and Notorious, and Kim Novak in Vertigo.

And ‘Suspicion’.

Rebecca
North by Northwest
To Catch a Thief
Rear Window

Sorry Tony, I took too long to type!

It was The Man Who Knew Too Much with James Stewart Terribull, and it was an excellent film. Doris Day sang Que Sera Sera in it? It was on tv quite recently, I think.

But my all time favourite was Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. Mrs Danvers was the best female villain ever!

The one with Doris Day was 1950s version of The Man Who Knew Too Much with James Stewart from 1956. Their son was kidnapped. Although the phone sounds like it could be Dial M for Murder with Grace Kelly and Ray Milland where he arranges for her to be murdered but it all goes wrong which was also set in London in the 50s.

I can't narrow it down to three:

Marnie
The Birds
Shadow of a Doubt
Rebecca

I think "Rebecca". Rebecca is also one of my favourite books and I often return to it.

Rebecca.

I like a lot of them, they are certainly classics, The ones already mentioned, plus Psycho if that was one of his. Another I remember, I think starred Doris Day and maybe Rex Harrison, set in London when we had what was known as "pea soupers" swirling fog I believe. Not sure what it was called though. I remember the phone seemed to figure quite a lot.

He didn't treat his leading actresses very well though