New clip of Hitchcock's first film "The white shadow"

Source

Today, the Spanish newspaper El País is exclusively sharing a (very brief) clip of Alfred Hitchcock's first film, The white shadow. Even when the official director was Graham Cutts, it was practically made by Hitch when he was 24.

It was considered lost until this year: a collector had the cans of the film and it was developed and restored. But it wasn't complete: the cans just contained 43 minutes of the movie.

Shown last week for the first time at The Pordenone Silent Film Festival, and according to the surprisingly terrible redaction of the story by this prestigious newspaper, the movie is about two sisters who are identical twins, but one of them is good and the other, bad.

The bad one meets an American man in a ship and he falls in love with her. But she is so bad that sends her sister to meet the guy. Then, at some point, she also escapes from home, causing the death of her mother and the ruin of her dad. The good one goes after her, and finds her in London, working in a club and surrounded by men. 

That's when the movie is interrupted. But it seems that according to the script, the love story continues this way: the good sister falls in love with the man. But he still believes that this woman is the same he met in the ship. The good girl falls sick and before dying she asks the bad one to replace her. It seems that she gives her sister her "white shadow", a good spirit and redemption. Now the bad girl is kind and lives with her man happily ever after.

Or at least that's what I got from this article.

There's no embedding option for this clip, so watch it here.

Video: The Alfred Hitchcock Cookbook

Today I stumbled upon (literally, I was using Stumble Upon) this video. The creators, Felix Meyer, Pascal Monaco & Torsten Strer explain:

"Hitch is our graduation project at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hannover. It’s about The Ultimate Hitch Cookbook, an animated book containing the recipes for Alfred Hitchcock’s classics. It’s made for Hitchcock enthusiasts and every other couch potato out there"

Hope you liked it! I'll be back writing a full post tomorrow or the day after :) Keep rocking!

CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: Torn Curtain (1966)

The event we all were looking forward to is finally here. Yay! At the end of this post I'll add all the links to the other reviews, try to check them all and comment, I'm sure you will be pleased. 

Let me start this review by saying that one of the reasons I became a Classic Movie lover was Mr. Hitchcock. You can read all about that in Hitchcock or how I became a Classic Movie Lover (duh). I've seen more than 30 of his films, even lesser known movies like Family Plot (I don't remember much about it though).

I decided to review Torn Curtain, a movie that critics didn't love and fans don't remember, but I really like. Probably, if it had been made by any other director, it would have a different reception, but hey, it has to compete with films that always are at the top of the lists of best films ever. It's not its fault that it was made by a genius. Maybe you've heard something about it because it marked the end of the collaboration between Mr. Hitchcock and the great composer Bernard Herrmann, but not because it was a correct suspense film.

My dissection of this underrated film, next:

The story:
I know you'll agree with me, Hitchcock was a romantic guy. In my opinion, all his movies are romantic films set in a suspense climate. This one is no exception. In the middle of the Cold War, an American scientist (Paul Newman) and his assistant (Julie Andrews) are in love. They're spending time together in cruise ship heading to Coupenhagen, where he has a scientific conference. She says that they should marry before honeymooning, but they don't seem to care because in the sixties the movie censorship was practically over. Anyway, Julie doesn't know about the "real" plans her fiancé has. He is going to East Berlin (tearing the Iron Curtain) to try to finish his super duper experiment, Gamma 5 aka The MacGuffin of this film, that was cancelled by the American government. With it, the Cold War would be over. The script had many writers and never completely convinced Hitchcock nor Newman.
 I overall liked it because it was never boring.

Suspense:

A lot. Warning, spoilers ahead. Like in every movie from Mr. Hitchcock, there are several sources of tension: the main relationship, the many situations that a normal man has to face in a unknown country, the people they meet, the music, the way Hitch shoots some scenes, etc. At the beginning, from Julie's point of view, we are intrigued by the way Newman starts acting, receiving strange phone calls, lying and being aggressive. Then, when the couple finally arrive to East Berlin (and we learn that Paul was working to steal a formula for the benefit of his own country), he has to face really dangerous situations, even killing a man in one of the most remembered scenes of this movie, plus trying to get vital information for his experiment. Finally Paul and Julie, now reconciled but number one on the most wanted list of the country, have to escape from East Berlin.

The last part is the best and contains my favorite scene in the whole movie: the bus scene. The couple is helped by an organization called "Pi", which has a fake bus in which Paul and Julie have to travel in their escape. To make things look real, "agents" of Pi travel in this bus. Well, the whole sequence is great: the real bus approaches and if the officers on the road notice it, they might suspect. It's one of the best examples of Hitchcock's work and just because of it I would recommend this movie.

Newman and Andrews were the studios' choice.

Leading actors:

When I think about improbable casting, I always remember this movie (and well Robert Mitchum + Katharine Hepburn + Robert Taylor in Undercurrent and some others). The thing goes this way: Hitchcock wanted Eva Marie Saint and Cary Grant, but Universal, "suggested"  Julie Andrews who had just released The sound of music and Paul Newman. So, there you have, four incredibly blue eyes put together for the first and only time in a movie. But not everything is great. I've thought a lot about this, and came to the conclusion that maybe some people don't like this movie because Paul and Julie don't seem to have a grrrreat chemistry. They look great together, they're even shown in bed together, but in my opinion their relationship was cold as the Cold War. But I really don't mind, because it works anyway, since they are arguing, being chased or just in different places most of the time. 

With Lila Kedrova who plays one of my fave characters of the movie.

Supporting Cast:

Terrific, they really stand out. We have Wolfgang Kieling as the German agent that follows Paul Newman everywhere. He's tough, solid, menacing, but has charisma. Then there's Tamara Toumanova, who plays a Russian ballerina who's jealous of Paul Newman because he's stealing her all the attention of the press. She's mainly a comic relief at some points, but also represents a menace. Also great was Lila Kedrova as the extravagant Polish woman that needs a "sponsor" to go to America. Lila gave her character such a pathetic quality, that I always remember her.

Plus Ludwig Donath who plays Professor Lindt, the guy who knows the formula and all the "Pi" agents are really great because all of them seem to have a background and not only a being a random character.

Music:

Hitchcock wanted a more commercial score for this movie and didn't like what Bernard Herrmann had done. So he fired him, ending one of the greatest collaborations between a director and a music composer. He hired English composer John Addison, who did a great job in my opinion and it even sounds like something Bernard would have composed. The main theme, a fast melody which features tense violins with some reliefs coming from the clarinets, is one of my favorites and it fits in a great way the bus scene. I also love the Love Theme. 

Some people say that Herrmann's score would have been a great addition to this film; some DVDs include bonus scenes with this score and even people in Youtube have made the experiment with the Intro, After Gromek's death, The Formula, etc. Well, I think it would have been great too, but I don't have problems with Addison's music. You can read more about Herrmann and Hitch in this great article.

Final Thoughts:
This movie should definitely be more appreciated. It contains all the signature elements from Mr. Hitchcock's movies and it's never boring. Maybe Paul and Julie didn't have the greatest chemistry ever but it's not a tremendous con; I've seen Torn Curtain many times and it has never bored me.
I like the fact that Hitch continued using his usual methods even in the mid sixties, like shooting in front of screens.
I don't mind it at all, because his works were from a parallel world, a wonderful world constructed entirely by him and with his own rules.

 CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon: The complete list 

(Updated with the published entries)

Official site: http://clamba.blogspot.com/

1. The Birds – Classic Film & TV Café 
2. Dial M for Murder – True Classics: The ABCs of Film 
3. The Lady Vanishes | North by Northwest | Under Capricorn – MacGuffin Movies 
4. Lifeboat – Classicfilmboy’s Movie Paradise 
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much – Reel Revival 
6. Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Carole & Co.
7. North By Northwest – Bette’s Classic Movie Blog 
8. Notorious – Twenty Four Frames 
9. The Pleasure Garden – Thrilling Days of Yesteryear 
10. Rear Window – Java’s Journey 
11. Rebecca­ – ClassicBecky’s Film and Literary Review 
12. Rope – Kevin’s Movie Corner 
13. Shadow of a Doubt - Great Entertainers Media Archive
14. The 39 Steps – Garbo Laughs 
15. Three Classic Hitchcock Killers – The Lady Eve’s Reel Life 
16. Torn Curtain - Via Margutta 51 
17. The Trouble with Harry – Bit Part Actors 
18. Vertigo – Noir and Chick Flicks 
19. The Wrong Man – The Movie Projector
20. Marnie - My Love for Old Hollywood

Coming on Monday: CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon!

In just three days, the master of suspense will be invoked from wherever he is by a crowd of worshipers via their blogs. This event is organized by the Classic Movie Blog Association and already has 20 participants. I'll be reviewing underrated Torn Curtain starring Paul Newman & Julie Andrews; you can see the rest of the registered blogs and films in this official list:

1. The Birds – Classic Film & TV Café http://classic-film-tv.blogspot.com/
2. Dial M for Murder – True Classics: The ABCs of Film http://trueclassics.wordpress.com/
3. The Lady Vanishes – MacGuffin Movies http://macguffinmovies.wordpress.com/
4. Lifeboat – Classicfilmboy’s Movie Paradise http://www.classicfilmboy.com/
5. The Man Who Knew Too Much – Reel Revival http://reelrevival.blogspot.com/
6. Mr. and Mrs. Smith – Carole & Co. http://community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/
7. North By Northwest – Bette’s Classic Movie Blog http://bettesmovieblog.blogspot.com/
8. Notorious – Twenty Four Frames http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/
9. The Pleasure Garden – Thrilling Days of Yesteryear http://www.thrillingdaysofyesteryear.blogspot.com
10. Rear Window – Java’s Journey http://javabeanrush.blogspot.com/
11. Rebecca­ – ClassicBecky’s Film and Literary Review http://www.classicbeckybrainfood.blogspot.com/
12. Rope – Kevin’s Movie Corner http://kevinsmoviecorner.blogspot.com/
13. Shadow of a Doubt - Great Entertainers Media Archive http://greatentertainersarchives.blogspot.com/
14. The 39 Steps – Garbo Laughs http://garbolaughs.wordpress.com/
15. Three Classic Hitchcock Killers – The Lady Eve’s Reel Life http://eves-reel-life.blogspot.com/
16. Torn Curtain - Via Margutta 51 http://www.via-51.blogspot.com/
17. The Trouble with Harry – Bit Part Actors http://bitactors.blogspot.com/
18. Vertigo – Noir and Chick Flicks http://dawnschickflicks.blogspot.com/
19. The Wrong Man – The Movie Projector http://movieprojector.blogspot.com/
20. Marnie - My Love for Old Hollywood http://myloveofoldhollywood.blogspot.com/

So, don't forget,   January 17 = CMBA Hitchcock Blogathon . 

Poll Results: guess which director won :)

I wonder if my readers received any kind of pressure from Team Hitchcock.

"Hitchcock is going to win this one, hands down. His style was so unique, that most of his films wouldn't even need to have his name on them to recognize who the director was." 

So next time you need to bet on something, ask Emm. She wrote that comment right after I opened the poll.
First of all, THANKS, this is the first time a poll in my site has so many votes (34). About the results: I really thought that John Ford, John Huston and David Lean would get at least one vote, but no, but no. George Cukor and Ernst Lubitsch beat Howard Hawks by just one vote. Capra's delightful movies and style almost tied him with master Billy Wilder, but remained third. There was a point were Wilder and Hitch were very close in popularity, but then Hitch took off unbeatably, reaching the 38% of the votes.

So the guy Miss Bergman is pointing won this one...

...and he want to thank all his supporters....

...with a (very creepy) dinner.

Day 16- Favorite director

This survey is terribly mean. First asking for my favorite movie from my favorite actor and actress. I thought that one was complicated, but then it wanted me to pick my favorite movie. No kidding. And now asks for my favorite director. Why don't you better ask if I prefer my mom or my dad?

Anyway. Let's see.

Hitch sick and tired of being called a genius.

Uhm, Hitchcok got me interested in Classic Hollywood. You know that. When I want to see a good film, there's a lot of chances I choose one of his films. He's a genius. Uhm, you knew that too. He's one of my favorite directors because he combines romance, suspense, comedy, drama perfectly. Because I forget everything when I see his movies. Because he had amazing writers, actors, artists and musicians working for him. Because I've seen around 30 films from him and almost loved them all (there's nothing to do, "The Paradine Case" was boring). Because he loved to surprise the public and I love when directors love to surprise me. I love Hitch (just yesterday I re-watched "The lady vanishes"...what a terrific film. I *adore* Michael Redgrave.)

Billy.

But I also like very very very much Billy Wilder. You little guy with an accent and glasses you. I have an accent too, but not your talent (or your glasses). Wilder is one of the directors whose films I can order in a top 10, without including great movies like "Stalag 17", "The Major and the Minor" or "Irma la Douce".  Haven't I said enough? Well, he was a genius too.

Joseph imagining how delightful would be to hit Liz with a vase. 

But I can leave out one of the greatest directors AND writers ever, Mr. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. I mean, the guy directed his movies and wrote his scripts ALONE. "A letter to three wives" blew my mind. The flashbacks are great, the performers give the best of themselves, the situations are so well developed. And what about "People will talk", "Sleuth", "No way out", "Suddenly last summer", "The barefoot contessa", "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" and, for heaven's sake, "All About Eve"?! Not to mention that he almost die shooting the never- ending "Cleopatra", the movie about he 'didn't talk'. 

These guys are geniuses. I can name a few more: William Wyler, David Lean, Frank Capra, Ernst Lubitsch,  George Cukor, John Ford, Leo McCarey, but what would be the point? This survey is mean.

Day 02- Film that got you interested in Old Hollywood

You can read the whole story in "Hitchcock or how I became a classic movie lover".

Previous days of this meme: 1 |

Rear Window's Guide to Properly Spying on your Neighbors

There are probably a lot of grammar mistakes, sorry for that. Anyway, it was fun to make :)

Hitchcock or how I became a classic movie lover

I just finished watching "Rear Window" for the umpteenth time and I had to comment something about it. I started writing about how cool Hitchcock's movies are, but I realized that what I really wanted to say is how grateful I am to Hitch and how nostalgic watching his films makes me.

I think the first time I heard about Hitchcock was at high school. Our philosophy teacher made a test in which you had to interpret some drawings and write what it was. I was a very good student but when this thing came up I just didn't know what to answer. I mean, really, what the heck is this?

No one at my class knew. I was very angry with my teacher. She said: "well, that's Hitchcock, you really haven't heard about him?? Ever??". Of course not!

He made his second apparition at university, second journalism year, when we had to watch a movie called "Rear Window" for our weekly media test. Like pretty much all our homework it was just that, another thing to do. So maybe that's why I don't remember the first time I watched a Hitchcock film. Or maybe I didn't watch it at all and I just asked a friend what was it about. Yeah, that's what happened. 

Then I took a course called "Audiovisual Review". Since I was a child, I watched with my family classics like "The Sound of Music" & "Gone with the wind". But I preferred modern movies and I thought I knew a lot about cinema. In that class I learned I didn't.

We had this teacher who was talking about many films, things and people I hadn't heard about. Like Billy Wilder and a French magazine called Cahiers du Cinema. We saw an old movie starring some guy called Cary Grant and a lady called Ginger Rogers. And Marilyn Monroe was there too. At least I knew who she was. Kind of. We saw "Ace in the hole" and we had to review it. I really liked it, but I remember I wrote an awful text, kind of "the movie is in black and white, so that reflects its mood" or something***. 

We were in one of the last classes, we had seen movies like "The Royal Tenenbaums" (I liked it), "Raging Bull" (too violent for me...says the girl who loves "Kill Bill") and "Dead Ringers" (too gross for me).

Then, we saw "Vertigo".

Wow.

The class was quiet, it was a winter afternoon.

It was dark.

I was immersed in Hitch's oneiric world. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. 

I'd never seen Jim Stewart or Kim Novak before. But their performances trapped me. 

And that was it. 

I think I bought like 20 of his movies to a guy who also loved Hitchcock. I liked them all.

I also remember this fan said "I think the girls in classic movies are much prettier and classier than modern actresses". Now I now what he meant. And that goes, of course, for the boys.

Then came Audrey to finish what Hitchcok had started. 

But that's another story.

*** I've been looking for that class notepad, but I haven't found it. I wish I could read the things I wrote 4 years ago and how I probably misspelled all these names that now are so familiar to me.

Filming/Filmando "To catch a Thief"

Cary + Grace + Hitch

Qué loco grabar ante tanta gente.