During senior year high school English class, when we were studying the John Keats poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”, we had a substitute teacher. Alas, I can’t recall her name, but she was an enthusiastic lover of poetry and her enthusiasm became infectious. When she got to the lines— Heard melodies are sweet, but … Continue reading Thou Still Unravish’d Bride
Hitchcock
An Unlocked Window
I know with absolute certainty what the opening topic of discussion was in Mrs. Spitler’s Latin II class on February 16, 1965. I’ve mentioned previously how Mrs. Spitler would sometimes let us rant or discuss something that was on our minds for the first few minutes of class, and I know what was on our … Continue reading An Unlocked Window
Set a Thief…
The first time I saw Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief was when it was broadcast on national television in the mid-60s. I was not impressed. In fact, I got sleepy and went to bed before it was over. The next day I asked a classmate how it ended, and while she related the ending correctly, I … Continue reading Set a Thief…
Second Tier Hitch
The preview audience hated Topaz, especially the duel that ended the film Recently I’ve re-watched four Hitchcock films that I consider part of his second tier output. For example, Topaz, his 1969 cold war film based on a Leon Uris best seller. Hitchcock reportedly wasn’t pleased with the script, but the studio wouldn’t allow him … Continue reading Second Tier Hitch
Grounds For Justifiable Homicide
I just listened to a 2015 episode of The Incomparable Old Movie Club where the good fellows discussed two of Alfred Hitchcock’s less appreciated films, 1943’s Shadow of a Doubt and 1948’s Rope. View fullsize You have to be looking pretty closely to see Hitch’s cameo right after the opening credits I needed no convincing … Continue reading Grounds For Justifiable Homicide
The Man Who Knew Too Much
In which I recall the 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film The Man Who Knew Too Much.