The Family Plot (1976)

Following Hitchcock's triumphant (in my view) return to the screen with Frenzy after three years away, my hopes were high for Family Plot (no "The," by the way) after another years-long absence. Upon my first viewing (incidentally, at its world premiere at the Los Angeles International Film Exposition, aka: FILMEX), it was decidedly disappointing, and I don't think I saw it again for nearly another decade.

Since then, I've watched it well over a dozen times, growing fonder of it with each viewing, and able to appreciate the good things it has to offer without the unexpected disappointment of that first one. There are sequences in which Hitchcock is really on his game, but it is true that his health and stamina were failing during production. "Phoning it in" is a figure of speech, but he did quite literally sleep through portions of it, having to be awakened by the A.D. to call "Cut" at the end of a take.

Having a strong aversion to a major player as you do is a roadblock to enjoyment that it's hard to get around, and one with which I can sympathize. Although Harris isn't among them, there are a small handful of performers who set my teeth on edge and diminish my ability to enjoy certain films. That's just the way it goes sometimes, and it's therefore doubtful you'll ever come to the level of Family Plot appreciation I have, regardless of how many future chances you might be generous enough to grant it.             

Alfred Hitchcock (40 films seen)
#1 Rated Director


Family Plot (1976) 4/10 ... Not for me.
#32/40 Alfred Hitchcock films

One of Hitchcock's underrated films. While sections of it are very poor (The first 12 mins or so especially), it is overall a nice light hearted story. 7/10

Have you watched Family Plot?

Yes to your question ... I have seen 40 Alfred Hitchcock films ... he is my #1 rated director
Family Plot (1976) is my #32 favorite Alfred Hitchcock film. I did not enjoy it ... others may 
But it is not made for me ... that's why I rated it a 4/10.

Hitchcock’s 53rd and last film doesn’t have any of the weight or horror that is found in his output from the ‘50s and ‘60s or even from his TV show. It is, instead, a throwback to the comedy-chase thrillers of his English period – with even more emphasis on the comedy. As in his last few films, Hitchcock found himself working with young, rising stars instead of his Old Guard like Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. The new, young Method actors had tendency to annoy him. However, of the two couples that were involved in the story, Hitchcock came to like the two actors in the hero roles (Barbara Harris and Bruce Dern), but dislike William Devane and Karen Black who played the villains. Personally, my opinion is the exact opposite. I thought Devane and Black were wonderful. Harris and Dern did OK, but were given too much unrealistic slapstick to do. Even though Hitch always claimed to hate long talky scenes, the movie begins, shockingly, with two long conversations of plot exposition. First, Harris is hired by the rich Mrs. Rainbird to find the now grown illegitimate son of her sister. Then, Harris gets into a cab with Dern and explains the plot all over again to him. However, the camera soon leaves the taxi to follow a person who crosses the street in front of it – a brilliant touch - and soon we are in the middle of some delightful Hitchcockery. He may have been trying to duplicate the successful slow beginning and build up of “The Birds.” Compared with Hitchcock’s greatest achievements, “Family Plot” surely does seem minor. But this kind of comparison is really unfair. On its own merits, it is a charmer that should not be neglected. He may not have ended on the high note we all would wish, but he does return to his roots, the genre that first made him famous, to deliver a very watchable and entertaining comedy thriller. P.S. the script evens lightens up the original source (“The Rainbird Pattern” by Victor Canning) in which one of the Good Guys – who lives in the movie - meets a gruesome death.

I liked it when I first saw it (on the same day as Taxi Driver) but it didn't hold up so well when I watched it for the first time in years around Christmas. Enjoyable fluff but should have been a lot better.

Gee, this is gonna be repetitive, but, uh... What he said!

Doghouse's thoughts are essentially the same as mine regarding this little flick, which is fun and enjoyable but never particularly serious or, to use a word I've employed elsewhere re: Hitchcock, satisfying. Frenzy represented a fine cumulation for Hitch's career, and Family Plot seems to serve only as a nice cherry on top. 

As Mike wrote,


I definitely agree; I too thought Devane and Black were wonderful and Harris and Dern were but OK; Barbara Harris was, however, terribly annoying in this, and the scene with the cut break lines was just strange, almost surreal in its unreality (so far removed from how real people would respond!). Indeed, the person with whom I was watching it and I were cracking up at that scene and were far more interested in the mysterious business at Abe and Mabel's!

Wth the exception of that scene, however, it is an enjoyable, if very minor, way to pass an hour and a half.