# Best Hitchcock movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 31, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029 "2003-12-31T23:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/21 "2004-01-05T00:02:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by F. U. Shakespeare \* > \*\*Incidentally, am I the only person on the planet who didn’t like ‘Vertigo’? \*\* Well, Kim Novak’s eyebrows _did_ scare the hell out of me . . . ---
**Author:** ![cichlidiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f9b8f/32.png) [@cichlidiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cichlidiot)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/22 "2004-01-05T00:22:08Z")
_North By Northwest_ is still my favorite. It’s hard for me to look at it critically since I’m pretty sure it’s the first Hitchcock film I saw. I also have a soft spot for Cary Grant. _The Trouble With Harry_ and _The Lady Vanishes_ are tied for second at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Patr100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@Patr100](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patr100)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/23 "2004-01-05T01:09:10Z")
I like The 39 Steps - Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll handcuffed together in a hotel bedroon - quite racy for 1935! Sigourney Weaver’s mother Elizabeth Englis (uncredited played Professor Jordan’s daughter , John Laurie (from Dad’s Army classic BBC sitcom and Wilfred Brambell (from Steptoe & Son - another classic comedy ) (also uncredited) ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/24 "2004-01-05T01:16:36Z")
My favorite would have to be _Rear Window_. But there are a few Hitchcock films I’ve come to appreciate after repeated viewings, for one reason or another. Many have already been mentioned in this thread. One of those not mentioned is _Lifeboat_. When I first saw this I was unimpressed. It’s slow-moving (typical of Hitchcock films) and contains none of the elements that made Hitch famous (suspense, plot twists, etc.). But after watching it several times, I really came to enjoy it. I think the most compelling scene is: When the group wakes up and realizes Gus is gone, discovers water on Willy, and puts 2 and 2 together. Led by the innocent nurse Alice, they attack Willy and throw him overboard. Not terribly realistic (again, typical Hitch), but it works. _The Thirty-Nine Steps_ (1939), _The Lady Vanishes_, and _Frenzy_ also hold up well. ---
**Author:** ![ZebWalton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/fbc32d/32.png) [@ZebWalton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebWalton)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/25 "2004-01-05T02:45:18Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned “Strangers on a Train.” I just saw that over the summer and thought the plot was great and the carousel scene at the end was superb. But, yeah, with “Dial M For Murder,” “Vertigo,” “North by Northwest” and “Psycho” in the mix, how can anyone have a favorite? And I have so many yet to see. The only thing that surprised of his films was how little I enjoyed “The Birds.” I thought the DVD player skipped past the final scene by mistake. My wife and I looked at each other and said “Is that it?!?” ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/26 "2004-01-05T03:08:33Z")
I’m a big Hitchcock fan, so like the obvious classics. Having in my younger years been a fan of Daphne DuMaurier as well, I enjoyed the Hitchcock film adaptations of Rebecca, Jamaica Inn and The Birds. I do have a nostalgic fondness for his last film, Family Plot, with Bruce Dern. And I really enjoyed the black comedy of The Trouble with Harry where Harry’s body kept reappearing. This one has Edmund Gwenn, John Forsythe and Shirley MacLaine. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/27 "2004-01-05T03:36:26Z")
[quote] **splatterpunk** , Henry Mancini was originally asked to write the score for **Frenzy** , but Hitchcock didn’t like what he came up with for some reason. What he chose instead, in my opinion, failed to create the mood that was needed. I didn’t realize what a difference it could make until I was able to compare the opening titles with the Mancini music behind it. I really think Hitchcock blew that one! I probably would have liked **Rebecca** best if the book hadn’t have been even better. So for today only I will go with **Rear Window**. Curtain going up… ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/28 "2004-01-06T04:58:43Z")
> [@](#): > > **splatterpunk** , Henry Mancini was originally asked to write the score for Frenzy, but Hitchcock didn’t like what he came up with for some reason. What he chose instead, in my opinion, failed to create the mood that was needed. I didn’t realize what a difference it could make until I was able to compare the opening titles with the Mancini music behind it. I really think Hitchcock blew that one! Agreed. As I recall, Hitch said he didn’t like the original score because it was “too frightening” (or something). I also heard a side-by-side comparison and thought the original to be far superior. But what are you gonna do? The movie is still one of my favorites. “Mr. Rusk. You’re not wearing your tie.” Classic. ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029/29 "2004-01-06T06:31:10Z")
Stangers on a Train The Lady Vanishes The Trouble with Harry Psycho Family Plot (I love the style of storytelling in this. It’s one of the few films where I was actually trying to give advice to the characters) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-hitchcock-movie/222029.md?page=1)