Sibling Cinema

This week we dive into Shadow of a Doubt. This is Alfred Hitchcock's 1943 thriller about a small California town that get shaken up by a visitor from the city.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Universal Picture. Released on January 12, 1943. Produced by Jack H. Skirball and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson and Alma Reville (Mrs. Hitchcock) based on an original story by Gordon McDonell. Starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, Macdonald Carey, and Wallance Ford. Cinematography by Joseph A. Edited by Milton Carruth. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin. Ranking: 8 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Shadow of a Doubt got 2,582 ranking points.

Our Hitchcock series takes us to the master's famous long-take, single-setting, real time macabre thriller Rope. Loosely inspired by the real-life Leopold and Loeb case (depending on who you ask), we follow to cold-blooded students as the host a very unusual dinner party.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Warner Bros. Picture. Released on September 25, 1948. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Arthur Laurents and story by Hume Cronyn, based on the play of the same name by Patrick Hamilton. Starring John Dall, Farley Granger, James Stewart, Joan Chandler, Cedric Hardwicke, and Constance Collier. Cinematography by Joseph A. Valentine and William V. Skall. Ranking: 9 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Rope got 2,547 ranking points.

Our Hitchcock countdown takes us one last time into his British era. This week we discuss the 1938 classic, The Lady Vanishes. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Gainsborough Picture. Released October 7, 1938. Produced by Edward Black. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Line White. Starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, May Whitty, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers, Naunton Wayne, and Basil Radford. Cinematography by Jack E. Cox. Edited by R. E. Dearing. Music by Louis Levy and Charles Williams.Ranking: 10 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Lady Vanishes got 2,519 ranking points.

The Breakfast Club is a movie.

We're taking another break from our Alfred Hitchcock series to bring in our final Chaplin checkpoint: Charlie Chaplin's 1952 drama Limelight. This is Chaplin's swan song, thematically at least--he would still go on to make three more feature films. It features an aging performer and his friendship with a struggling young ballerina. This film is a bit of a departure for the Tramp. It's more melancholy than his normal faire. Yet many of his familiar themes come through, as well as his characteristic sentiment.

This week we take a look into Hitchcock's popular chamber room mystery, Dial M for Murder. Set in a luxurious London flat, a marital drama unfolds that leads into blackmail and murder. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Warner Bros. Picture. Released May 29, 1954. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Frederick know, based on his 1952 play. Starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by Rudi Fehr. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin.Ranking: 11 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Dial M for Murder got 2,510 ranking points.

This week we discuss Hitchcock's 1963 thriller about birds attacking humans.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Universal Picture. Released March 28, 1963. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Evan Hunter based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier. Starring Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Veronica Cartwright, and Suzanne Pleshette. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Edited by George Tomasini.Ranking: 12 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Birds got 2,479 ranking points.

This week, we did into one of the films that helped put Alfred Hitchcock's name on the map to international audiences, the spy thriller The 39 Steps.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Gaumont-British Picture. Released June 6, 1935. Produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Charles Bennett and Ian Hay, based on the 1915 novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan. Starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, John Laurie, and Wylie Watson. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Music by Louis Levy.Ranking: 13 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The 39 Steps got 2,430 ranking points.

This week we discuss Foreign Correspondent, Hitchcock's spy movie set at the outbreak of World War II and released only shortly after. This is Hitchcock's second American movie.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A United Artists Picture. Produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by Charles Bennett and Joan Harrison with dialogue by James Hilton and Robert Benchley. Starring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Harshall, George Sanders, Albert Bassermann, Edmund Gwenn, and Robert Benchley. Cinematography by Rudolph Mate. Music by Alfred Newman. Editor Dorothy Spencer.Ranking: 14 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Foreign Correspondent got 2,052 ranking points.

This week's podcast is all about jewelry theft in the south of France. The lightly comic caper film, To Catch a Thief was released in 1955 and became one of Grace Kelly's last movies. It is her only pairing with Cary Grant.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. A Paramount Picture. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the novel of the same name by David Dodge, Starring Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams, and Brigitte Auber. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Music by Bernard Hermann.Ranking: 15 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines To Catch a Thief got 2,052 ranking points.

We're plugging along with our Alfred Hitchcock countdown. This week, we are up to number 16, Hitch's second-to-last movie, Frenzy. Perhaps his most R-Rated movie, this one has Hitchcock returning to his London roots with a grisly serial killer thriller. Enjoy!***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Universal Picture. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Anthony Shaffer, based on the novel Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Arthur La Bern. Starring Jon Finch, Alec McCowen, Barry Foster, Anna Massey, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Vivien Merchant, Billie Whitelaw, Bernard Cribbins. Cinematography by Gilbert Taylor and Leonard J. South. Music by Ron Goodwin.Ranking: 16 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Frenzy got 1,992 ranking points.

This week we return to our Hitchcock countdown with his remake of his own The Man Who Knew Too Much. The 1934 original, which we reviewed here about 2 1/2 months ago, was a pleasant, very British kidnapping espionage movie. Here we have a glossy Hollywood remake with big stars, big locations, and big hit song to boot. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Paramount Picture. Produced and Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Screenplay by John Michael Hayes. Starring James Stewart, Doris Day, Bernard Miles, Brenda de Banzie, Daniel Gelin, Ralph Truman, Christopher Olsen. Cinematography by Robert Burke. Music by Bernard Hermann. Ranking: 17 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Man Who Knew Too Much got 1,992 ranking points.

We are taking a short break from our Alfred Hitchcock count down in order to check in with Chaplin. This time, we're taking a look at his early classic, The Gold Rush. It's celebrating it's centennial anniversary. This 1925 silent gem follows our hapless hero into the wilderness as the tramp braves the harsh Alaskan winters in a desperate attempt to strike gold.

This week we psychoanalyze Spellbound, Hitchcock's 1945 film noir mystery dominated by Freudian psychotherapy. Gregory Peck plays an amnesiac doctor and psychiatrist Ingrid Bergman races to unlock his past as z murder investigation threatens to derail his progress.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A Selznick International Picture. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Produced by David O. Selznick. Written by Angus MacPhail, based on the novel The House of Dr. Edwardes by Hilary Saint George Saunders and Francis Beeding. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Norman Lloyd.. Cinematography by George Barnes. Music by Miklos Rozsa.Ranking: 18 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Spellbound got 1,989 ranking points.

For this week's podcast we set sail for Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 WWII parable, Lifeboat. Set entirely on a lifeboat occupied by several survivors of a U-boat attack in the Atlantic ocean, it's a morality tale set entirely at sea.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.A 20th Century Fox Picture. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and Kenneth Macgowan. Written by Jo Swerling from a story by John Steinbeck. Starring Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, Henry Hull, Hume Cronyn, John Hodiak, Heather Angel, Canada Lee. Cinematography by Glen MacWilliams. Music by Hugo W. Friedhofer.Ranking: 19 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Lifeboat got 1,961 ranking points.

We cover Marnie this week. Hitchcock's controversial 1964 psychodrama about a thief and the man who loves her...err perhaps that should be desires her. Or covets het. We get into it.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.Details: A Universal Picture, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Jay Presson Allen, based on the Winston Graham novel. Starring Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Martin Gabel, Mariette Hartley, Bruce Dern, Lousie Latham. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Music by Bernard Herrmann. Ranking: 20 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Marnie got 1,957 ranking points.

This week we take a look at the only Alfred Hitchcock movie that was based on fact. The Wrong Man stars Henry Fonda as a night club musician who gets mistakenly identified as an at-large armed thief.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.Details: A Warner Brothers Picture, produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Written by Maxwell Anderson and Angus MacPhail, based on The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero by Maxwell Anderson. Starring Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Esther Minciotti. Cinematography by George Tomasini. Music by Bernard Herrmann. Ranking: 21 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Wrong Man got 1,881 ranking points.

This week, we talk about Alfred Hitchcock's 1941 mystery Suspicion. Joan Fontaine plays a woman who suspects her husband, played by Cary Grant, may be more sinister than she may have at first realized.***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.Details: An RKO Radio Picture, produced by Alfred Hitchcock and Harry E. Edington. Screenplay by Samson Raphaelson, Joan Harrison, and Alma Reville, based on the novel Before the Fact by Francis Iles. Starring Joan Fontaine, Cary Grant, Nigel Bruce, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Dame May Whitty. Cinematography by Harry Stradling Sr. Music by Franz Waxman.Ranking: 22 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Suspicion got 1,881 ranking points.

***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes.Details: A General Film Distributors Picture released on December 2, 1936. Produced by Michael Balcon. Screenplay by Charles Bennett, based on the 1907 novelThe Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. Starring Sylvia Sidney, Oskar Homolka, John Loder, and Desmond Tester. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Music by Jack BeaverRanking: 23 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazinesSabotagegot 1,732 ranking points.

This week, we are back to Hitchcock's silent era for the first time in months, with the long-awaited 1927 thriller, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. It's the story of a mysterious tenant at a family-run inn, who may or may not be an at-large serial killer. The film launched Alfred Hitchcock's career. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Gainsborough Picture released on February 14, 1927. Produced by Michael Balcon, Carlyle Blackwell, and C. M. Woolf. Screenplay by Eliot Stannard, based on the 1913 novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes. Starring Ivor Novello, Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, and Malcolm Keen. Cinematography by Gaetano di Ventimiglia. Ranking: 24 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Lodger got 1,693 ranking points.

We are taking a brief break from our Alfred Hitchcock series for our fourth Chaplin Checkpoint. We take a look at Charlie Chaplin's 1936 industrial comedy Modern Times. The tramp goes in and out of work and prison while falling in love and making ends meet during the Depression-era urban hustle and bustle.

Bonnie is out this week, but her daughter Juliana does an amazing job filling in for her. The subject is Saboteur, Alfred Hitchcock's 1942 adventure spy movie. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Universal Picture released in England on December 9, 1934. Produced by Frank Lloyd and Jack Skirball. Screenplay by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison, and Dorothy Parker. Starring Robert Cummings, Priscilla Lane, Norman Lloyd, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter, Alma Kruger. Cinematography by Joseph A. Valentine. Music by Frank Skinner. Ranking: 25 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Saboteur got 1,690 ranking points.

For this week's episode we take a look at the 1934 version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, the story so nice that Hitchcock made it twice. The 1956 version with Jimmy Stewart and Doris Day is now better known, but this was one of the key early hits that established Hitchcock's career. It's a kidnapping thriller about a British family who gets accidently mixed up in some international intrigue while on vacation in Switzerland. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Gaumont-British Picture released in England on December 9, 1934. Produced by Michael Balcon. Screenplay by Charles Bennett and D. B. Wyndham Lewis, based on a scenario by Edwin Greenwood and A. R. Rawlinson. Starring Peter Lorre, Leslie Banks, Edna Best, Nova Pilbeam and Frank Vosper. Cinematography by Curt Courant. Music by Arthur Benjamin. Ranking: 26 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Man Who Knew Too Much got 1,681 ranking points.

This week we talk about the 1953 priestly thriller, I Confess. This is the first movie in our Hitchcock series that Bonnie had seen before, at least in part. It's the story of a priest who is suspected of a murder. He knows who the real killer, but the seal of the confessional prevents him from clearing his name. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Transatlantic Picture released February 12, 1953. Produced Hitchcock. Screenplay by George Tabori and William Archibald, based on the 1902 play Nos deux consciences by Paul Anthelme. Starring Montgomery Clift, Karl Malden, Anne Baxter, O. E. Hasse, and Brian Aherne. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Music by Dimitri Tiomkin. Ranking: 27 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines I Confess got 1,587 ranking points.

What better way to start off the new year than with a podcast? Join us this week as we discuss Alfred Hitchcock's polarizing 1955 black comedy, The Trouble with Harry. Set in rural Vermont, an eclectic ensemble bonds over their dealings with a dead body that keeps popping up at the most inopportune times. Our hot takes with come at you when you least expect it, not unlike this film's eponymous corpse. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Paramount Picture released September 30, 1955. Produced Hitchcock. Screenplay by John Michael Hayes, based on the novel by Jack Trevor Story. Starring Shirley MacLaine, John Forsyth, Edmund Gwenn, Mildred Natwick, and Jerry Mathers. Cinematography by Robert Burks. Music by Bernard Hermann.

Merry Christmas! Our stocking stuffer for you, our dear listeners, is this wildly entertaining podcast on Alfred Hitchcock's last film, Family Plot. And as an added bonus, we bring you an extra sibling! ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Universal Picture released April 9, 1976. Produced Hitchcock. Screenplay by Ernest Lehman, based on the novel The Rainbird Pattern by Victor Canning. Starring Barbara Harris, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, and William Devane. Cinematography by Leonard J. South. Music by John Williams. Ranking: 29 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Family Plot got 1,421 ranking points.

This week, we cover a relatively early Alfred Hitchcock thriller, Young and Innocent (also known by The Girl was Young. A young man finds himself accused of a crime he didn't commit, and in his efforts to clear his name, he finds an unlikely ally in the constable's daughter. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Gaumont-British Picture released 11/1/1937. Produced Edward Black. Screenplay by Charles Bennett, Edwin Greenwood, and Anthony Armstrong, based on the novel A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey. Starring Nova Pilbeam, Derrick De Marney, Percey Marmont, John Longden, Edward Rigby, and Mary Clare. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Ranking: 30 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Young and Innocent got 1,341 ranking points.

We're returning to Hitchcock this week with a murder mystery set amidst the London theatre world. From 1950, it's Stage Fright. An aspiring actress tries to clear her boyfriend's name by inserting herself into a highly publicized murder investigation. Check out this film and come hear our take on it. ***SPOILER ALERT*** We do talk about this movie in its entirety, so if you plan on watching it, we suggest you watch it before listening to our takes. Details: A Transatlantic Picture released 2/23/1950. Produced by Hitchcock. Screenplay by Whitfield Cook, Alma Reville, James Bridie, based on the novel Man Running by Selwyn Jepson. Starring Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd, Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, and Patricia Hitchcock. Cinematography by Wilkie Cooper. Score by Leighton Lucas. Ranking: 31 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Stage Fright got 1,232 ranking points.

We have another Chaplin checkpoint this week. This time it's none other than City Lights, arguably Charlie Chaplin's masterpiece. Bonnie saw it for the first time! Come hear our takes on this magnificent film. Next week, we will continue with our Hitchcock countdown with 1950's Stage Fright.

This week we take a look Hitchcock's 1966 Cold War thriller, Torn Curtain, starring two of the biggest stars of the Sixties, Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. : A Universal Picture released 7/14/1966. Produced by Hitchcock. Screenplay by Brian Moore. Starring Julie Andrews, Paul Newman, Hansjorg Felmy, Lila Kedrova, Wolfgang Kieling, Ludwig Donath, Carolyn Conwell, Mort Mills, Tamara Toumanova, and Gisela Fischer. Cinematography by John F. Warren. Score by John Addison. Ranking: 32 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Torn Curtain got 1,225 ranking points.

This week we return to Hitchcock's very early sound era. In fact, our focus this episode is on the very first British talkie: Blackmail. It's a terrific little picture--I don't want to spoil it for you here. Go watch it and come back and listen to our take on this surprisingly topical, nearly-century-old picture. Details: A British International Picture released 7/28/1929. Produced by John Maxwell. Screenplay by Hitchcock and Benn W. Levy, based on a play by Charles Bennett. Starring Anny Ondra, John Longden, Joan Barry, Cyril Ritchard, and Sarah Algood. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Score by Jimmy Campbell and Reg Connelly. Ranking: 33 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Blackmail got 1,202 ranking points.

Secret Agent is a 1936 espionage thriller set during World War I. We did into this little-seen spy movie from Hitch's British era in this week's podcast. Details: A British International Picture released 5/11/1936. Produced by Michael Balcon and Ivor Montagu. Screenplay by Charles Bennett, Alma Reville, Ian Hay and Jesse Lasky Jr., based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham and a play by Campbell Dixon. Starring John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, Peter Lorre, and Robert Young. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles. Score by John Greenwood. Ranking: 34 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Secret Agent got 1,013 ranking points.

This week we jump ahead to 1969, one of Alfred Hitchcock's last movies, Topaz. Based on the Leon Uris novel that itself is loosely based on events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, the film features a French agent who tries to uncover Cold War developments in the US, Cuba, and France. Details: A Universal Picture released 12/19/1969. Produced and Directed by Hitchcock. Screenplay by Samuel Taylor, based on Leon Uris' novel. Starring Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon, Karin Dor, Claude Jade, Michel Subor, Philippe Noiret, Roscoe Lee Brown, and John Forsythe. Cinematography by Jack Hildyard. Score by Maurice Jarre. Ranking: 35 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Topaz got 955 ranking points.

Jamaica Inn was Alfred Hitchcock's last British movie before going to Hollywood. It's a rare period piece and the first of three adaptations of a Daphne du Maurier book. Set in the wild moorish landscape of 19th Century Cornwall, Maureen O'Hara plays the young heroine with Charles Laughton chewing the scenery as the colorful magistrate. Details: Produced by Erich Pommer, released in 1939. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Joan Harrison. Starring: O'Hara, Laughton, Leslie Banks, Marie Ney, Emlyn Williams. Cinematography by Harry Stradling and Bernard Knowles. Ranking: 36 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Jamaica Inn got 930 ranking points and is in last place.

I don't feel like writing a description.

We head to court this week for Hitchcock's 1947 courtroom drama, The Paradine Case. Gregory Peck leads the cast as a famed London lawyer who defends a notorious widow accused of poisoning her husband. Charles Laughton costars as a lascivious judge, and a very young Louis Jourdan appears as a French heartthrob who was valet for the victim. Details: A David O. Selznick/Vanguard Film. Released in 1947. Produced by Selznick. Screenplay by Selznick, based on Robert Hitchens' novel. Starring Gregory Peck, Ann Todd, Valli, Charles Coburn, Charles Laughton, Louis Jourdan, Ethel Barrymore, and Joan Tetzel. Cinematography by Lee Garmes. Ranking: 38 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines The Paradine Case got 854 ranking points.

For our second Chaplin Checkpoint, we dig into Charlie Chaplin's 1940 World War II satire, The Great Dictator. Chaplin has dual roles as a fascist dictator and a humble Jewish barber. Paulette Goddard and Jack Oakie costar.

This week we jump ahead to Under Capricorn, which practically feels modern after having spentabout14 weeks in the 20s and 30s. This 1949 period drama stars Joseph Cotton and Ingrid Bergman as a married couple in 19th Century Australia. An Irishman comes Down Under and begins unravelling the mysteries of their relationship. Details: A Transatlantic Picture, produced by Hitchcock and Sidney Bernstein. Screenplay by James Birdie, with adaption by Hume Cronyn based on the novel by Helen Simpson, via the play by John Colton and Margaret Linden. It stars Joseph Cotton, Ingrid Bergman, Michael Wilding and Margaret Leighton. Cinematography by Jack Cardiff. Ranking: 39 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranked lists from critics, fans, and magazines Under Capricorn got 799 ranking points.

We're nearing the end of Alfred Hitchcock's early period. This week, we take a look at his third sound film, Murder!. The film involves a murder among a travelling acting troupe. One young actress is convicted, but a juror begins to have second thoughts and takes up his own investigation. Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock and Walter Mycroft, based on the novel Enter Sir John by Helen Simpson. Starring Norah Baring, Herbert Marshall, Esme Percy, Edward Chapman and Phyllis Konstam. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 40 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines Murder! got 761 ranking points.

For the fourth consecutive week, we review an early silent film by Alfred Hitchcock. For those out there who are tiring of silent movies, don't worry there's only one left after this! The Ring is another love triangle as a sideshow boxer gets a big break, but at the expense of his relationship with his girlfriend. Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Carl Brisson Lillian Hall-Davis and Ian Hunter. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 41 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” The Ring got 675 ranking points.

For our third straight silent Hitchcock film, we discuss The Manxman. This 1929 melodrama is the story of two childhood friends from the Isle of Man whose bond is pushed to the limits by their affections for the town barmaid. Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Eliot Stannard based on the novel of the same name by Hall Caine. Starring Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen, Anny Ondra, and Randle Ayrton. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 42 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” The Manxman got 616 ranking points.

We continue to plug our way through the lesser-known entries in Hitchcock's filmography. Downhill was new to both of us. It's the story of an idealistic young and wealthy college student who falls from grace after he takes the blame for the misdeeds of his friend. Details: Gainsborough-Emelka Pictures, 1927. Produced by Michael Balcon. Written by Eliot Stannard, based on the play by Ivor Novello and Constance Collier. Starring Novello, Robin Irvine, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter and Lillian Braithwaite. Cinematography by Claude McDonnell. Ranking: 43 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Downhill got 583 ranking points.

We turn our attention to Alfred Hitchcock's first feature film, The Pleasure Garden. This movie follows two nightclub dancers whose careers and love lives take starkly different directions. There's also a very wise dog. Details: Gainsborough-Emelka Pictures, 1925. Produced by Michael Balcon. Written by Eliot Stannard, based on the novel by Oliver Sandys. Starring Virginia Valli, Carmelita Geraghty, Miles Mander, and John Stuart. Cinematography by Baron Ventimiglia. Ranking: 44 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” The Pleasure Garden got 426 ranking points.

The subject of this week's podcast is Rich and Strange. Emphasis on the strange—though that's not necessarily a bad thing. Also known as East of Shanghai, this follows a middle-class couple who get to travel the world in luxury, thanks to a sudden inheritance. But it turns out their journey takes them on test of their relationship. Bonnie and Dennis break down this early sound Hitchcock movie. Details: Rich and Strange was released in 1931 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell. Script was written by Mrs. Hitchcock, Alma Reville. Starring Joan Barry, Henry Kendall, Percy Marmount, Betty Amann, and Elsie Randolph. Cinematography by John M. Cox and Charles Martin. Ranking: 45 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Rich and Strange got 419 ranking points.

We take a brief pause from our Hitchcock countdown this week with our first Chaplin Checkpoint. Bonnie had never seen a Chaplin movie before. We start with his hit 1921 comedy The Kid. The Tramp takes in an abandoned baby, who grows into an adorable child, played by Jackie Coogan. Counsin Jenny joins us as our special guest co-host!

In this episode we discuss Hitchcock's early talkie, The Skin Game. Based on a popular play at the time, this 1931 drama deals with the feud between two wealthy families in England. Details: The Skin Game was released in 1931 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell. Script was written by Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville based on John Galsworthy's play. Starring Edmund Gwenn, Helen Haye, C.V. France, Jill Esmond, and Phyllis Konstam. Cinematography by John M. Cox. Ranking: 46 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” The Skin Game got 411 ranking points.

In this episode we discuss another silent Hitchcock movie, Easy Virtue, a 1927 (maybe 1928?) melodrama about a free-spirited woman who marries into a judgmental family that probes into her past. Details: Easy Virtue was released in 1928 by Gainsborough Pictures. Produced by Michael Balcon. Script was written by Eliot Stannard based on Noel Coward's play. Starring Isabel Jeans, Franklyn Dyall, Robin Irvine, Violet Farebrother, and Ian Hunter. Cinematography by Claude McDonnell. Ranking: 47 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Easy Virtue got 401 ranking points.

This week we return to Hitchcock's silent era with The Farmer's Wife, a comic romance set in the rural English country side. Details: The Farmer's Wife was released in 1928 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell. Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock, adapted from Eden Phillpotts' play. Starring James Thomas, Lillian Hall Davis, Gordon Harker, Maud Gill, and Louise Pounds. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 48 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Number Seventeen got 397 ranking points.

This week we talk about Hitchcock's shortest movie, Number Seventeen. This 1932 crime movie is set in an abandoned house where a criminal enterprise is up to some shenanigans. Details: Number Seventeen was released in 1932 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell from a screenplay by Alma Reville (aka Mrs. Hitchcock), Alfred Hitchcock, and Rodney Ackland, based on J. Jefferson Farjeon's play. It stars John Stuart, Anne Grey, Leon M. Lion, Barry Jones, Donald Calthrop, Ann Casson and Henry Caine. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 49 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Number Seventeen got 373 ranking points.

We make our first visit to Hitchcock's silent era with Champagne from 1928. It's a star vehicle for British silent film star Betty Balfour. She plays an heiress who defies her father with an on-again-off-again romance. There's also a mysterious gentleman who keeps crossing her path. It's a riches to rags to riches story of sorts. Hitchcock himself hated it, listen in to hear what we thought of it. Details: Champagne released in 1928 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell from a Screenplay by Eliot Stannard, story by Walter C. Mycroft. Stars Betty Balfour, Jean, Bradin, Theo von Alten and Gordon Harker. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 51 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Champagne got 327 ranking points.

In the mid-1930's, Alfred Hitchcock picks a rather unusual assignment: Waltzes from Vienna, an adaptation of an operatic musical about Johann Strauss Jr.'s composition of The Blue Danube. Although Hitch took out most of the play's music, it's still the closest we'll ever get to a Hitchcock musical. We watched this obscure film and actually have a pretty fun discussion about this movie we were both kinda dreading. The Details: Waltzes from Vienna, released 1934 by Tom Arnold Production. Produced by Tom Arnold, screenplay by Alma Reville and Guy Bolton, adapted from Bolton's play. Starring Esmond Knight, Jesse Matthews, Edmund Gwenn, Fay Compton, and Frank Vosper. Ranking: 51 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It's also fun. And it's a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock's films from “worst” to “best.” Walzes from Vienna got 313 ranking points and is in second-to-last last place.