“His wife (Sylvia Sidney) is beginning to suspect something, though, and so is Scotland Yard Detective Sgt. Karl Verloc (Oscar Homolka) is part of the group, but he maintains a cover as a kind movie theatre owner. Official Film Synopsis: “A ring of saboteurs is causing havoc in London with a series of explosive terrorist attacks. For any fan of thrillers and Hitchcock put this on your must watch list. The film is part of a string of flicks that Hitchcock made during his last few years in England and uses the fine work of the great Polish-English writer Joseph Conrad and his novel to provide weight. It might be why it is often overlooked as one of the director’s better pictures and often not remarked on at all. This is a tense, atmospheric thriller, without much humour which makes it different from some of Hitchcock’s other films. However, a thief (Donald Calthrop) with blackmail on his mind complicates matters.” Frank investigates the case and, after realising Alice is the culprit, seeks to help her. Crewe attempts to force himself on Alice, and she kills him to defend herself. Official Film Synopsis: “During a date, Alice White (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her boyfriend, Scotland Yard Officer Frank Webber (John Longden), and decides to leave with an artist named Mr. Not all of this comes off but the film’s many positive features far outweigh these foibles. Hitch kept the experience of Blackmail a unique one by employing silent film techniques while still experimenting with sound. It sees Hitchcock’s subtle creativity begin to find new avenues to explore. It may well be known as the first sound picture Alfred Hitchcock or anyone else in Britain ever produced, there is a great deal more to Blackmail than purely historical evidence. So when he discovers he is being trailed, he assumes it’s for other reasons.” Arthur has had a colourful past, including murder and thievery with girlfriend Fran (Karen Black). “With little information to go on, the pair track down the now-adult man in San Francisco. Official Film Synopsis: “Blanche (Barbara Harris), a less than reputable psychic, and her equally shady boyfriend, George (Bruce Dern), are hired by an elderly lady to find her nephew Arthur (William Devane), who had been given up for adoption as a boy. Starring the likes of Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris and William Devane, Family Plot is a story that revolves around two couples who encounter conflict amid the search for a missing heir. While Canning’s work was the base for the picture, Hitchcock teamed up with writer Ernest Lehman who adapted it for the big screen. The final full length feature Hitchcock ever created, Family Plot, sees the director in a lighter mood as he adapted Victor Canning’s novel The Rainbird Pattern to create a dramatic comedy thriller. “Locating the spy on a train, Brodie and Elsa have second thoughts about their mission just as an American (Robert Young) ingratiates himself with them.” Accompanying Brodie are fellow agents Elsa Carrington (Madeleine Carroll), who is to play Brodie’s wife, and an eccentric assassin known as The General (Peter Lorre). Official Film Synopsis: “British intelligence fakes the death of Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) to send him on a mission in Switzerland, where as Richard Ashendon he is to locate and kill a Germany spy. In typically Hitchcock style, he adapted the work of Campbell Dixon’s play which, in turn, is based on two stories in the 1927 collection Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Secret Agent, starring the likes of Madeleine Carroll, Peter Lorre, John Gielgud, and Robert Young, remains a pop quiz question in the making after Hitchcock handed the great Sir Michael Redgrave a brief and uncredited appearance, cementing the foundations for a brilliant career. Not only do the agents discover that the Soviet’s suspicions are valid, but they also find out that a French spy ring known as ‘Topaz’ is working with the Russians to uncover NATO secrets.” CIA agent Michael Nordstrom (John Forsythe) enlists the help of French spy André Devereaux (Frédérick Stafford) to find out if the official’s claims are true. Official Film Synopsis: “When a Soviet official defects to the United States, he brings with him claims that Russia is using Cuba as a staging ground for nuclear missiles. Topaz, a film which struggled at the box office upon release, is based on the 1967 Cold War novel by Leon Uris and explores the story of a French intelligence agent who is stuck amid a Cold War politics wrangle.įamously starring the likes of Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin, John Vernon, Karin Dor, Claude Jade, Hitchcock was delighted in the casting in this project: “Jade is a rather quiet young lady,” he later said, “but I wouldn’t guarantee about her behaviour in a taxi.” From comedy to espionage thriller in one quick swoop.
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