Alfred Hitchcock

A mysterious avenger is putting fear into Londoners, as he has already made seven victims. Daisy is a young, blond model who is the girlfriend of the detective (Joe) investigating the case. Daisy's mom is renting out a room to a mysterious stranger, who slowly works his way into Daisy's favor. Joe doesn't trust the man for obvious reasons.

The intertitles were surprisingly fun, the restoration was slick and the more modern score added a bit of flair. But it's the fact that this is a silent film, which prevents characters from being over-talkative, that puts it above most of Hitchcock's other films. It's still pretty basic, but at least it was an easy watch.

London is haunted by a serial killer. When Richard Blaney's ex-wife is killed, all clues seem to be pointing in his direction. Blaney claims he's innocent, but in order to prove it he can't rely on the police. He starts his own investigation to reveal the killer while trying to avoid getting caught.

Like most Hitchcock films, there's too much dialogue, the thriller elements are overaccentuated and the pacing is excruciatingly slow. There's hardly enough material to fill 90 minutes, somehow the film ended up with 30 more. It's nice to see Hitchcock returned to the UK, that added a tiny bit of flair, but it's not enough to turn this into a worthwhile film.

Uncle Charlie comes to visit his niece, also named Charlie. He moves in with them for the time being, but soon enough two other fellas come around asking about Charlie's business. Charlie's niece can't believe her uncle could be wrapped up in some shady business, but when she starts her own investigation she quickly starts doubting his stories.

Stilted acting, an overbearing soundtrack and a mystery that really isn't all that exciting. My main problem with Hitchcock though is that he is so obvious about his mysteries, dropping hints and winks whenever he can. At least the film stay well below the 2-hour mark, but it's far from a great film.

Richard Hannay tries to help a counter-espionage agent after a row in a theater, but when she gets killed he suddenly becomes the prime murder suspect. He decides to flee into the Scottish Highlands, but soon finds himself chained to a blond vamp who believes she's dealing with a real killer.

Performances are decent but a little stiff, the comedy isn't tremendously funny but acceptable. The story is pretty bland though and the intrigue didn't really capture my attention. It's a good thing this is a pretty short film, if it'd run closer to 120 minutes then I sure would've disliked it a lot more.

Manny and his wife are living a happy life, though money is scarce. When Manny goes to a bank to find the money for his wife's dental surgery, the clerk mistakes him for a bank robber. The police take Manny into custody and due to some unfortunate coincidences, they think Manny is in fact the real culprit.

Hitchcock isn't a very capable drama director. The pacing is sluggish, the performances lack nuance and the plot really isn't as interesting as Hitchcock would make you believe. This might've worked a little better at half the runtime, but even then it would've lacked something to make it stand out. Bland's the word.

John Robie is a retired thief who paid his dues. When a copycat criminal commits several crimes in Robie's neighborhood, he becomes the obvious suspect. To clear his name, Robie will need to figure out who the real thief is. Then he bumps into Frances, a young lady who is intrigued by Robie.

There's no real chemistry between Grant and Kelly, and the ugly colors don't do justice to the stupendously beautiful setting. What remains is a film that fails as mystery as well as a romance. I didn't even care about the resolution of the plot, I was just glad this Hitchcock was finally over. At least the film doesn't take itself too seriously, its only saving grace.

When the Trans Europ Express stops because of bad weather, Iris gets to talking with misses Froy in a small hotel alongside the tracks. Once the train is back on its way, Iris notices Mrs Froy is absent from the train. She sounds alarm, but people pay little attention to her claims that and old lady is missing.

A missing old woman and endless conversations that ponder the mystery of her disappearance. The train isn't a very exciting setting either, not in the least because Hitchcock loves working with cheap projections. There are some twists in the final part, but even that was a given 5 minutes in. I found this incredibly dull, par for the course for my journey through Hitchcock's oeuvre I'm afraid.

Dr. Petersen, a psychoanalyst, falls in love with her now boss, Dr. Edwardes. One day she discovers he suffers from a strange phobia, and upon investigating further, she discovers he is an imposter. Petersen has reason to believe he may be a murderer, and so she continues her investigation to find out the truth.

As is often the case with Hitchcock, the film drowns in endless dialogue, and it isn't exactly subtle about its mystery. Blatant visual cues and an overbearing soundtrack turn this into quite the ordeal, the runtime just adds insult to injury. I really don't care for Hitchcock's mysteries and characters, and that's all there is to Spellbound.