Oh, you can’t make it? What a shame!
Well, since you can’t, you can be with me in spirit by way of some recommendations as to which films I should watch.
I’m very picky, though… I’ve seen all the popular ones and I want some really old stuff, like from the 40’s. Everything else is “strictly for the boids”.
“Do you still say that in America? ‘For the boids’?”
Quasi
Who says I can’t make it? I don’t see why I couldn’t.
I recommend Rebecca and the original voision, er, version of The Man Who Knew Too Much.
I’d go with “The 39 Steps,” “The Lady Vanishes,” “Notorious,” and “Strangers on a Train.” (I know, “Strangers” was made in 1951, but you can’t see it too many times!)
If you like North By Northwest, try Foreign Correspondent or Sabotage–both great adventures in a similar vein.
By all means, check out “Rope.”
Stay away from “The Paradine Case”–unless you’re looking for an insomnia cure.
Shadow of a Doubt (along with Notorious) remains Hitch’s best film of the 40s. Written by Thornton Wilder, it’s Hitch-meets-Our Town, with a great performance from Joseph Cotton (though the whole cast is very good)
I’d also recommend his first sound film, Blackmail and his best silent, The Lodger