Hitchcock’s Haunted House Party Who better to kick off our Halloween weekend celebrations with than the master of horror and suspense himself, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock. In 1953, as he was about to embark on his next film, The Wrong Man, Hitchcock decided to throw a “Ghost-Haunted House Party” at his rented New York pad on East 18th St. (READ MORE)
Hitchcock’s ‘Foreign Correspondent,’ Updated for the Mideast War Europe talks of a ceasefire and peace before the fighting even begins. the New York Globe’s foreign correspondent, played in the film by Joel McCrea. "Europeans calling to convene a Middle East peace conference may become more tethered to reality if they watch an Alfred Hitchcock 1940 masterpiece, “Foreign Correspondent.” The movie, a work of fiction, is far more realistic than Brussel’s Quixotic attempt at using diplomatic means to counter Israel’s strategy of dismantling Hamas militarily." Over a two-day summit of European leaders at Brussels this week, officials agreed to hold a peace conference that, they hope, would end decades of conflict between Israel and Hamas. Initially introduced by Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain, the idea is to launch a peace push six months from now, Mr. Sanchez says. "Mr. Sanchez and his European colleagues can learn a thing or two from the experience of the New York Globe’s foreign correspondent, played in the film by Joel McCrea. Sent to Europe to cover a looming World War II, he falls in love with the daughter of the leader of the Universal Peace Party, played by Laraine Day." READ MORE
HITCHCOCK IN NOVEMBER...... Alfred Hitchcock’s Lesson For Radio Director Alfred Hitchcock was known for planning. Famous for suspenseful movies like The Birds and Psycho, Hitchcock storyboarded each shot in detail before shooting and even planned the audience’s emotions with a technique called blue scripts and green scripts. Hitchcock’s blue script was the standard dialogue, scenes, and action. The green script plotted out what the audience should feel at a certain point like claustrophobia, fear, unease, or fright. With the green script as a guide, the actors, crew, cinematographers, and lighting techs could work together to evoke powerful reactions at the right moments. READ MORE
The Real-Life Reason Psycho Had To Take Place In December "On Psycho's DVD commentary track, Stephen Rebello, author of Alfred Hitchcock and The Making of Psycho, points out Christmas decorations adorning Phoenix, Arizona's city streets. These decorations can be seen when Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) begins her drive out of town that eventually leads her to Psycho's Norman Bates and the Bates Motel. According to Rebello, "That was a glitch that occurred during second unit filming in Arizona", which took place during the Christmas season. As stated by Rebello, "Hitchcock hadn't planned on the movie being set during the holidays" and the presence of the decorations led to Hitchcock setting Psycho in December." "Principal photography on Psycho took place from November 11, 1959 to February 1, 1960. Psycho's well-known shower scene itself was also filmed from December 17th to the 23rd of 1959 before the holiday break. With that kind of production schedule late in the year, it is not surprising that Christmas decorations would be caught on camera during location filming for Psycho." (READ MORE)
"Santa Claus and the 10th Avenue Kid." Hitch is hoping to keep Santa from entering his home this year!