|
|
Post by BATouttaheck on Jul 6, 2018 16:56:36 GMT
Good and / or bad.
|
|
|
|
Post by koskiewicz on Jul 6, 2018 17:34:48 GMT
...in Foreign Correspondent, Edmund Gwenn (of all actors) plays a ruthless assassin...
|
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 6, 2018 18:56:49 GMT
Kind of a toughie, but coming to mind (and in chronological order):
Secret Agent - Peter Lorre as the effusive "General"
Young and Innocent - Derrick DeMarney as genial, never-say-die George Tisdall
Foreign Correspondent - George Sanders as the unflappable Scott fflolliott
Lifeboat - Tallulah Bankhead as witty and erudite Connie Porter and, yes, Walter Slezak as the resourceful and complex Willie
Notorious - Claude Rains as the alternately pathetic and menacing Alex Sebastian
Stage Fright - Alastair Sim as colorful and impish Commodore Gill
Dial M For Murder - John Williams as Chief Inspector Hubbard
Rear Window - Thelma Ritter as the no-nonsense Stella
To Catch A Thief - John Williams (again) as dedicated H.H. Hughson and Jessie Royce Landis as earthy Jessie Stevens
North By Northwest - James Mason as elegant Phillip Vandamm
Psycho - Martin Balsam as crafty but doomed Arbogast
Frenzy - Alec McCowan as droll Chief Inspector Oxford (carrying on in the tradition of John Williams's equally droll Hubbard)
Family Plot - Bruce Dern as always-just-out-of-his-depth "regular guy" George Lumley
|
|
|
|
Post by mattgarth on Jul 6, 2018 19:04:01 GMT
Robert Donat in THE 39 STEPS
Michael Redgrave in THE LADY VANISHES
Joel McCrea and George Sanders in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
Robert Cummings in SABOTEUR
Michael Chekhov in SPELLBOUND
Thelma Ritter in REAR WINDOW
|
|
|
|
Post by kijii on Jul 6, 2018 20:44:46 GMT
I liked the ornithologist from The Birds
 |
|
|
|
Post by Doghouse6 on Jul 6, 2018 22:48:29 GMT
I liked the ornithologist from The Birds
Ah yes, the crusty Mrs. Bundy, with her precise diction and certitude, played by the great Ethel Griffies, who either never seemed to age over the course of 30-odd years or was simply born old, and appeared as everything from stuffy society matrons or fussy old biddies to down-at-heels Cockneys as far back as the dawn of talkies (her hard-drinking Mrs. Whack is a highlight of 1935's The Werewolf Of London; she and her drinking/gossiping buddy Mrs. Moncaster have almost nothing to do with the plot, but their extended mid-picture interlude is so much fun that it's impossible to begrudge). |
|
|
|
Post by mattgarth on Jul 6, 2018 23:14:28 GMT
Also recalling Ethel as the village gossip in HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY
But BIRDS was her crowning achievement
|
|
|
|
Post by politicidal on Jul 6, 2018 23:51:54 GMT
Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant)
Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins)
ffolliott (George Sanders)
Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint)
Philip Vandamme (James Mason)
Bruno Antony (Robert Walker)
Lisa Carol Fremont (Grace Kelly)
Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton)
Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette)
Brandon & Philip (John Dall & Farley Granger)
|
|
|
|
Post by kijii on Jul 7, 2018 0:28:50 GMT
Hume Cronyn was sort of serious pesky little guy in Shadow of a DoubtHere he is explaining something to the ever-kind Henry Travers  |
|
|
|
Post by jervistetch on Jul 7, 2018 0:31:08 GMT
Regarding THE BIRDS, I agree with politicidal Mitch is a fool. I would choose smoldering Annie over vapid Melanie any day of the week.  |
|
|
|
Post by marianne48 on Jul 7, 2018 2:24:17 GMT
The Birds--Probably the first non-kiddie movie I ever saw when I was little (about 3 or 4), it didn't seem scary to me even at the time, and I still remember laughing at that little boy in the diner who asks his fearful mother, "Are the birds gonna eat us, Mommy?" with that hopeful tone in his voice. A tiny role, but still memorable. Also Cathy, Mrs. Bundy and the cheerful drunk in the diner.
Strangers on a Train--Barbara. Patricia Hitchcock was always such a sweet, amiable actress, I wish she'd made more appearances in movies besides the few she did.
Frenzy--Chief Inspector Oxford and his wife. Oxford could be droll, and his poor wife only wanted some attention from him. Maybe if he didn't keep falling asleep on her, she wouldn't have to resort to all those bizarre meals.
Psycho--Sheriff Chambers, just because I liked the way he said "Ar-bo-gast."
Foreign Correspondent and Rebecca--ffolliott and Favell, just because they were both played by the inimitable
George Sanders, who never gave a bad performance. And as ffolliott, he actually played a good guy, even though his specialty was playing oily, lip-curling cads.
Stage Fright--Commodore Gill, the best thing about the movie, because he's played by Alastair Sim.
To Catch a Thief--Hughson, because he's played by John Williams. I've liked Williams ever since he used to do those classical music record compilation commercials on TV, which ran for about a decade or so in the 1970s, in which he would advise viewers, in that rich British accent, "Heah's how to orrrrr-der youuuurrs!!"
Dial M for Murder--Chief Inspector Hubbard, for the same reason as above. Also the best thing about the movie.
Suspicion--Beaky.
The Lady Vanishes--Charters and Caldicott.
Shadow of a Doubt--Ann Newton, the smartest character in the movie, if only anyone would pay attention. Not only was she booksmart, she also instinctively knew Uncle Charlie was questionable and refused to sit next to him at dinner, and I like the way she hugs her sister after she's dragged from the garage, as if she's the one person in the family who is sensitive enough to be distressed by what has just happened.
The 39 Steps--Hannay and Pamela. Hannay because he's played by Robert Donat, whom Hitchcock wanted for several more of his movies (The Secret Agent, Rebecca, and The Lady Vanishes), but sadly, lost out on these roles because of health issues. Hannay and Pamela make a cute
couple; I hope they kept the handcuffs for fun.
|
|
