by James Wallace Harris, 9/6/23
The other day my friend Annie said she liked Alfred Hitchcock films. I told her I’ve caught a few over the past year and have been meaning to systematically watch the best of them. We decided to do that together. We quickly agreed to watch Notorious tomorrow at 2pm because neither one of us had seen it, and it’s well considered.
I wondered about starting with his first movie and going through to his last, but Annie thought that was too much trouble. One reason I started watching Hitchcock films is I saw this video on YouTube about Hitchcock that described his storytelling techniques.
What are Hitchcock’s best films and is there an order we should consider? What are your favorites?
I did find these rankings of Hitchcock’s films:
- Rotten Tomatoes (51 films — 100% down to 27%)
- IMDB.com (30 films — 8.5 down to 7.6)
- ThroughTheClutter (62 films — include shorts)
- Far Out Magazine (52 films — surviving feature films)
This should give Annie and I plenty to argue over about what to watch next week. I’m reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and wanted to watch the 1940 Hitchcock version first, but Annie has seen it recently. So, I’ll watch it by myself this week after I finish the book.
Jim Harris
Auxiliary Memory 
My two favorites are Notorious and North by Northwest.
I used to love Alfred Hitchcock.
But not anymore?
It’s been too long since I’ve seen a Hitchcock movie.
My favorite is North by Northwest, and the cropduster scene is my favorite scene in any movie, ever. It’s been a bit over-exposed on TV, but I rewatched it in full recently, and it still shines.
Also great are the magnificently atmospheric Rebecca, Notorious (despite the abrupt ending which I sometimes find jarring in old movies), Rear Window (of course), The Man Who Knew Too Much (fifties version, with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day (who sings “Que sera, sera”). I haven’t seen the 1930s version, which some say is even better.
And: Suspicion (another odd ending), Strangers on a Train and The Lady Vanishes. Oh, and how could I forget The Thirty-Nine Steps? Also great.
Basically anything with Cary Grant or Jimmy Stewart—except Rope, which starts well, but turns out to be a one trick pony (“Look! This is all one take!”). It manages to feel long despite a short runtime of about 80 minutes. Frenzy is sometimes said to be the last good one, but it was a bit meh for me. I saw Dial M for Murder and The Birds too long ago to assess it fairly—I hadn’t developed my love for old movies yet.
Psycho is another one that’s overexposed, and all that explanium at the end! My goodness.
Maybe there are others I’ve forgotten, but my recommendations are definitely the ones mentioned above up to The Thirty-Nine Steps.
Piet, you sound very familiar with Hitchcock movies. Over the decades I’ve seen all you mentioned except Suspicion, Notorious, and Rebecca. And I may have seen them but just forgotten.
I forgot Vertigo! Obviously a must. I hadn’t seen all that many Hitchcock movies, but thanks to the Internet Archive, I’ve caught up a lot in the last two years.
North by Northwest!
My favorite Hitchcock film is REAR WINDOW.
One of my favorites too, but then I’m partial to Jimmy Steward movies.