# What's your favorite Hitchcock film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480 "2003-01-14T06:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3bc359/32.png) [@Shana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shana)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/1 "2003-01-14T06:07:24Z")
Hi there…I’m new here so if this topic has been done before please just ignore it…lol;). I just saw _Vertigo_ the other night for the first time. It really disturbed me. To the point where I was thinking about it the next day. Hitchcock really puts you in that uncomfy place…I think I still like _The Birds_ best though. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/2 "2003-01-14T06:26:54Z")
Psycho. Yeah, I know, I’m unoriginal, so sue me. ---
**Author:** ![Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/dc4da7/32.png) [@Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rider)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/3 "2003-01-14T07:12:52Z")
Secret Agent (1936), for a young John Gielgud, and Peter Lorre going nuts in the bathroom when he discovers that he is not to be supplied with a female counterpart for their mission. The Lady Vanishes (1937) comes a close second, mainly for the dry comedy duo of Caldecott and Charters (“Americans…no sense of proportion”). ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/4 "2003-01-14T07:38:15Z")
My favorite is _Rear Window_. The best, I think,is _The Birds_. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/5 "2003-01-14T12:00:36Z")
Another vote for Rear Window… \…Hitchcock is suppose to have a cameo in all of his movies, ie. in the school picture in “Dial M for Murder”, walking the dogs outside the pet shop in “The Birds”. I have yet to find him in the movie “Rear Wndow” no matter how many times I look for him Anyone know when and if he is in it? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/6 "2003-01-14T12:22:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by eenerms \* > \*\*Another vote for Rear Window… > > \…Hitchcock is suppose to have a cameo in all of his movies, ie. in the school picture in “Dial M for Murder”, walking the dogs outside the pet shop in “The Birds”. I have yet to find him in the movie “Rear Wndow” no matter how many times I look for him Anyone know when and if he is in it? \*\* In one shot, he’s in the pianist’s apartment. This is my favorite too. I love that set! ---
**Author:** ![Pythagras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/45deac/32.png) [@Pythagras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pythagras)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/7 "2003-01-14T12:33:53Z")
Though the only two Ive seen are **Vertigo** and **Rear Window** , Vertigo blew my mind away moreso than Rear Window. Id vote Vertigo, realizing I have little credibility on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/8 "2003-01-14T12:57:34Z")
North By Northwest. I want to come back as Cary Grant in my next life. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/9 "2003-01-14T13:56:28Z")
I’d vote for “North by Northwest” by a hair over “Rear Window.” As a further guide to finding Hitchcock in “Rear Window,” he’s winding a clock. BTW, the pianist in that apartment was played by Ross Bagdasarian, better known as David Seville of Alvin and the Chipmunks. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/10 "2003-01-14T14:16:13Z")
It’s either Rear Window or The Lady Vanishes. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/11 "2003-01-14T14:20:58Z")
North by Northwest. I’ve seen it about a thousand times, and I never get tired of it. My favorite showing was when I watched it on 16mm in my dorm room. I think I need to get it on DVD. 2nd place would be “The Trouble with Harry.” ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/12 "2003-01-14T14:54:24Z")
It’s too close to call between _North by Northwest_ and _Vertigo_. NxNW wins points on pacing and dialoge; Vertigo wins points on twist and suspense. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/13 "2003-01-14T15:06:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miss Mapp \* > \*\*In one shot, he’s in the pianist’s apartment. > > I love that set! \*\* _Rear Window_ is my favorite too. Amplifying a bit, he’s winding the guy’s clock for some reason.[Here is a handy list](http://www.videouniversity.com/hitchcok.htm) of his appearances. It _is_ some set. I found it fascinating that although the set is huge by soundstage standards, almost every shot was inside Jeff’s apartment, really making the movie claustrophobic. The exceptions: When the dog’s murder is discovered and when the cops arrive at the end. DD ---
**Author:** ![lauramarlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a5b964/32.png) [@lauramarlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lauramarlane)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/14 "2003-01-14T15:06:59Z")
Hitchcock has always been a favorite film maker of mine. I love Strangers on a Train–probably because it was the first of his movies that I ever saw. The set for Rear Window was amazing and reminded me of walking through my home town on hot summer nights when everyone had their windows and door open and you could catch bits of their lives–this makes me sound like a peeping tom, but I think those of you who like this movie get my meaning here. Another favorite of mine was Shadow of a Doubt. Where a young girl discovers that her beloved Uncle Charlie is really a serial killer. This is a cool site to get a full filmography of his work [http://nextdch.mty.itesm.mx/~plopezg/Kaplan/Hitchcock.html](http://nextdch.mty.itesm.mx/~plopezg/Kaplan/Hitchcock.html) ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/15 "2003-01-14T15:08:49Z")
Plus, I want a whole wardrobe made out of the indestructable material that they used to make Cary Grant’s suit in NxNW. It probably should have had a right up in the Peterman catalogue: “I’ve been chased through an Indiana cornfield, ridden the 20th Century Limited and slept in an overhead compartment, and even scaled Mount Rushmore, but nothing gets the best of my gray, glen plaid suit made from WonderFabric.” ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/16 "2003-01-14T15:23:57Z")
Yet another nod for Rear Window – but a second-place film for me that no one’s mentioned: Rebecca. I love that movie. Mrs. Danvers gives the chills every time I see it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/17 "2003-01-14T15:26:45Z")
I wish I could pick something totally original and charmingly insouciant, like _Blackmail_ or _Jamaica Inn_, but **North by Northwest** is the one I chose to subject my children to at early ages in order to get them properly hooked. Can’t beat the pacing in that one, even if you have been raised on Cartoon Network, and I love the Herrmann score. Also extremely fond of **Strangers on a Train** (mainly for Robert Walker’s perf) and **Shadow of a Doubt** (mainly for the “horrible, faded, fat, greedy women” monologue). Those would be my top three, in that order. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/18 "2003-01-14T15:51:09Z")
_Rear Window_. Grace Kelly takes my breath away when she swirls into the apartment in that [black and white gown](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/3812/gkelly.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Humble\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/47e85d/32.png) [@Humble\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humble_Servant)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/19 "2003-01-14T16:04:38Z")
I can’t pick just one, so here are my modified categories: 1. Scariest: **The Birds**. Yeah, if you look at a bird closely, it’s a little, alien lifeform. Beady eyes, scaly claws, flock mentality. Brrr. 2. Recipient of Best Parody Homage: **Vertigo** , spoofed by Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman, Cloris Leachman et al at their best in **High Anxiety**. 3. Best Doris Day movie: **The Man Who Knew too Much**. _Que Sera, Sera_. 4. Best Chicago connections: **Rope**. 5. Best of the Best: **North by Northwest**. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480/20 "2003-01-14T16:12:19Z")
“Can’t beat the pacing in that one, even if you have been raised on Cartoon Network, and I love the Herrmann score.” Let’s not forget Eva Marie Saint. Grrrr… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-hitchcock-film/148480.md?page=2)