So You Want to Start Watching Hitchcock Films, an Introduction

So You Want to Start Watching _______is an occasional feature here at Riku Writes. It is a guide to anyone unfamiliar with a particular star, director, genre, or time period in films. After a brief introduction, I will provide a sampling of films to watch. Although I will always strive to include the best possible films for each chapter in the series, I will also look to present representative work. I'll say a little bit about each film, all of which will be provided in chronological order. This is the third of the series. In the first I provided an introduction to the films of Humphrey Bogart the second was an intro to screwball comedies in the third I introduced films of the 1970s and the most recent was an introduction to Westerns.


So you're new to Hitchcock, eh? Unless you're under, oh let's say 22 years old, or have spent most of your life rafting down the Amazon, I'm quite frankly amazed. Then again I'm somewhat envious. You are about to embark a journey which will lead you to many great discoveries. Kind of like that trip down the Amazon.


Hitch was a prolific director who made films from the silent era through the 1970s. Hitchcock began his career in his native England and moved to the U.S. in 1940. Name a film star from 1930-1970 and she or he most likely starred in one of his films. Cary Grant, James Stewart, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Paul Newman, Joel McCrae, Doris Day, Robert Donat, Henry Fonda, Joseph Cotten, Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Sean Connery, Janet Leigh...I could go on. He has been the subject of myriad books (just check out Amazon -- the website, not the river). There are books on his body of work, individual films and straight bios. The one I find indispensable is Francois Truffaut's interviews of Hitchcock. Every film Hitchcock made through 1964 is discussed, some at great length.


Many critics, film makers and cinephiles consider him the greatest director of all time. It's an arguable point but one cannot dispute that he made one helluva lot of feature films and an amazing percentage of them are today considered classics, or at least widely admired. If you've not seen much of Hitchcock's work I hope you're young. There's a lot there and very little to bypass. Plus there are many you'll want to watch again and again. Anyway, I hope this helps get you started. It is not a list of what I consider our even a general consensus necessarily considers his best films, nor is it a list of my personal favorites. The ones I've chosen represent 43 years of film (not the entirety of his career, mind you). I tried to give a variety of types of films, with a variety of stars' locales etc.call it a sampler.

Rear Window (1954) I normally make a point to list films in this series in the order they were released. However in this case I'm suggesting you start with Rear Window. It's classic Hitch. A fair number of folks (not including me) consider it his best, or at least their favorite. I think it's a litmus test though. If somehow you don't care for Rear Window you may as well as forget the whole thing. If you like it...fasten your seat belts. Rear Window is classic Hitchcock suspense. It has most of the trademarks of his films. Specifically suspense, mystery, suspicion, voyeurism and a gorgeous blonde (Grace Kelly). Jimmy Stewart is the wheelchair bound photographer who thinks he's on to a murderer and Raymond Burr is his suspect. Try it, you'll like it.


Blackmail (1929) I start here rather than with a silent film because quite honestly I've not seen enough of them to choose one. This is a good starting point, nonetheless. Indeed it is Hitchcock's first talkie and he got off to a rousing start. Not surprisingly the story centers around a case of blackmail, but as with all good Hitch films, the enjoyment comes from how the story is told. With black and white films Hitch was masterful at using shadows and in his color films, the colors are often deep and lush and accent the story. Blackmail is the first of many Hitchcock films to feature a climactic scene in a famous place, in this case The British Museum.


The 39 Steps (1935) In my not always humble opinion, this ranks right up there among Hitchcock's best. It presages a lot of what you'll see throughout the rest of his career. Innocent man accused of heinous crime, on the run, involved with blonde woman, daring escapes and of course a McGuffin. A McGuffin is a plot device, such as the secret formula, that is the reason our hero is in trouble. Hitch never spent much time working out the McGuffin, he was more interested in how characters dealt with the circumstances they caused. In The 39 Steps Robert Donat is the hero, falsely accused of murder and being pursued by nefarious enemy spies in addition to the police. Here he travels through a large part of Great Britain. Just as Cary Grant would cover a lot of U.S. territory some 25 years later in North By Northwest (1959). Donat brings the kind of wit and charm, along with cunning and daring, that would come to exemplify the Hitchcock hero.

Foreign Correspondent (1940) Joel McCrea is a crime reporter sent by his American newspaper to cover the forthcoming war in Europe. He has all manner of adventure, some of which are carried out with a fair maiden (Laraine Day). There are nasty double agents, attempts to kill our hero and drama aplenty. Any director could make a decent film out of such a story but Hitchcock made a classic. Whether with windmills or umbrellas, he created some indelible scenes and moments. As with most of Hitchcock's films there's a dose of humor. In this case much of it comes courtesy of Robert Benchley. The stellar cast also includes George Sanders, Herbert Marshall and Edmund Gwenn as a hit man (Santa as a hit man?). Don't be put off by this bizarre but apparently true tidbit: Joseph Goebbels loved this film. Go figure.


Notorious (1946) You can't do much better then Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman starring and Claude Rains in the key supporting role. I dare you to try. This is one of the most exquisitely filmed movies ever committed to celluloid. The shot from the top of the staircase that ultimately focuses on a single key in Bergman's hands is the best of many examples. Please see this post of mine from two years ago.

I Confess (1953) Every artist has a production or two that is underrated. That is, it was neither a box office smash nor an award winner. In some cases the film is, like I Confess, highly thought of though seldom seen or talked about. Here again we have a man falsely accused, this time it's Montgomery Clift who plays a priest who is in fact the real killer's confessor. A mind blowing idea for a story. In the hands of a craftsman like Hitchcock, it is at once enthralling and beautiful to look at (filmed largely in Toronto). Here is a classic example of Hitchcock's wizardry at telling a dramatic story all the more dramatically through his choice of camera angles, lighting and perspective.


Vertigo (1958) You'll see this on many greatest films of all time lists. Frankly I can't believe you haven't seen it yet. I've tried to write about Vertigo many times before but for me it always defies description. I suppose this is largely because it is so visually dramatic. Calling it a psychological thriller somewhat downplays the power of the story. If you must know its about an ex police detective (Stewart) suffering from vertigo who is hired by an old friend to track his beautiful young wife (Kim Novak). There is all manner of mysterious behavior and of course Stewart falls in love with Novak. Then it gets complicated or weird or psychedelic. You see and decide for yourself. See it a few more times too. You'll want to.


Psycho (1960) Maybe you've heard of it or maybe you were literally born yesterday in which case your precocity is truly astounding. Let's assume for a second you've neither seen nor heard of it. Psycho follows a young woman (Janet Leigh) who absconds with her employer's dough and hightails in the direction of her boyfriend. This illicit road trip takes her to the Bates Motel which is run by a charming if quite eccentric young man named Norman (Anthony Perkins). Eventually she takes a shower and this is where the film takes a turn into cinematic history. Psycho was ground-breaking over 50 years ago. Today it holds up very nicely.

The Birds (1963) I toss and turn late some nights worrying that Peter Jackson is going to direct a re-make with giant birds descending upon the Golden Gate Bridge. The original is part horror story, part mystery. It features one of the great endings in film history. In the years since the film was released there have been any number of movies about animals gone wild wreaking havoc on poor little ole humans. As far as I can tell most of them, you should pardon the expression, suck. One of the great things about The Birds is that Hitchcock doesn't even bother trying to create some hackneyed explanation for this avian attack. There is no hidden moral lesson just below the surface either. What there is, is seriously scary. The cast includes Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren.


Frenzy (1972) The last really good film Hitchcock made. Lo and behold we have a murder suspect but he's the wrong man. The setting is London (it was shot there) and at large is a necktie killer who's preying on women. There's really nothing terribly special about the story but again it's the way Hitch tells it that matters. The camera work is excellent and serves to builds suspense and illuminate emotion and thoughts. Frenzy also suggests what Hitchcock might have done had he not spent the vast majority of his career inhibited the rigorous censorship of the production code (not that it kept him from making some of the greatest films of all time).


Other Hitchcock films I can recommend are: Seriously, there are like two dozen of them. I got you this far....

So You Want to Start Watching Screwball Comedies, An Introduction

So You Want to Start Watching _______is an occasional feature here at Riku Writes. It is a guide to anyone unfamiliar with a particular star, director, genre, or time period in films. After a brief introduction, I will provide a sampling of films to watch. Although I will always strive to include the best possible films for each chapter in the series, I will also look to present representative work. I'll say a little bit about each film, all of which will be provided in chronological order. This is the second of the series. in the first I provided an introduction to the films of Humphrey Bogart.


One of the surest cures for the blahs is to settle down on the sofa and pop a screwball comedy into your DVD player. These are films that, by definition, are designed to tickle the funny bone. As the name suggests, a "screwball" comedy is one that features oddball characters engaging in what has come to be known as "madcap antics." That is, you should expect the unexpected and all in the name of laughs. 

The heyday of the screwball comedy was the from the mid 1930's to mid '40s. American audiences needed a diversion from the Great Depression and ominous events unfolding in Europe, then the war itself. They were given a rich supply of musicals, from the likes of Busby Berkeley and Astaire and Rogers and screwball comedies. Perfect diversions.


If there was a king of screwball comedy it was Cary Grant. His good lucks, charm, physicality and timing made him perfect for any type of comedy, but he excelled in those films in which he could cut loose by executing a pratfall or playing the straight man for a dizzy broad. Screwball comedies always have a wacky woman at the heart of the story. While Grant would bear the mantle of patriarch to the genre, female counterparts abounded. Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy, Claudette Colbert, Irene Dunne and even Katharine Hepburn excelled.


Screwball comedies usually were farcical and included a romance and, oh yes, a happy ending. I've been using the past tense because...well they just don't make 'em like they used to. I could have easily provided a list of well over a dozen rib tickling screwball comedies from the 1930's and 40's alone. However though the genre faded considerably in the years after WWII it did not die entirely. I've thus included a few films from later years. The consequence is that there's only a small sample of the classics from the prime years. There's many many more and I listed some at the end. Enjoy. (Warning: watching these films can result in severe self knee mutilation from excess slapping.)

My Man Godfrey (1936) In my humble opinion Carole Lombard was the best of the Screwball actresses and she positively shines here opposite William Powell. The latter is a hobo (or is he?) taken in as a butler by a wealthy family. The wealthy were invariably at the heart of the genre. One of the troublesome daughters (Lombard) in the household falls madly in love with him. This is a screwball with a social conscience, but all the requisite zaniness.


Topper (1937) The first of three consecutive Grant films that I'll mention, he stars here with Constance Bennett as a very very happily go lucky rich couple who die in a car crash early in the film. Sounds rather grim, I know, but it is their ghosts who provide the fun. They try to loosen up the title character (Roland Young) who's the only person who can see or hear them.


The Awful Truth (1937) Some will argue this is the best of the bunch. Grant and Dunne were an excellent team. Here they play an estranged married couple who can't seem to realize they're still very much in love. Both go to hilarious lengths to woo back the other. Asta, of Thin Man fame, co-stars.


Bringing Up Baby (1938) Here's another that many claim is the best of the lot. The madcap and the wacky are the order of the day as Grant teams with Ms. Hepburn who plays the dizziest dame you'll ever want to meet. The supporting cast includes a leopard. The action features a case of mistaken leopard identity, piecing together a dinosaur, Grant in a woman's night gown and society swells in lock up. You know, the usual.


Midnight (1939) In addition to the leads, Ms. Colbert and Don Ameche, the cast includes Mary Astor (a frequent co star in screwballs) and the great John Barrymoore who's resume, for my money, could have included more screwballs. The setting is Paris, the uber rich are again involved. But this time the love is between a cab driver and penniless ex dancer. Or is it? Some of the funniest scenes in filmdom are featured.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) Talk about something screwy, this is a comedy directed by none other than the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. When it came to directing screwballs he's one-for-one with a resounding hit. It helped that he had Ms. Lombard as the female lead and Robert Montgomery as her on again off again husband. The plot of a happily married couple discovering they were never legally married has since been done to death in sitcoms. This is the original and it's hilarious.


Monkey Business (1952) Not to be confused with the Marx Brothers film of the same name which was made 20 years previous. Grant again, this time with Ginger Rogers, Marylin Monroe, Charles Coburn, a chimp and a potion that makes the older set young again. Howard Hawks directed. All the classic elements of a screwball this time in a post War setting.


What's Up Doc (1972) From director Peter Bogdanovich starring Barbara Streisand and Ryan O'Neal. Let's see there's competition for a musicology grant, rare igneous rocks, government spies, mistaken luggage and a most wacky dame head over heels for a straight-laced and engaged fella. Bogdanovich mixed all the disparate elements together for a classic screwball brew. San Francisco's makes for a perfect back drop.

Arthur (1981) In my mind the very best screwball comedy of the last 60 years. Dudley Moore had a short career as an A list star and this film was the pinnacle. Liza Minelli played the love interest and John Gieguld won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar as his valet. Moore plays a filthy rich and stinking drunk playboy who falls for commoner, the family has other plans for him. Will true love win out? Suffice to say that much laughter ensues.


Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Maybe there's something about the surname Grant, but Hugh, though no Cary, was made for screwballs. Shame he wasn't around in the 1930's because he's not seen a script this good since. 4WAAF was actually a Best Picture contender. It's got all the screwball elements: a romance, quirky supporting players and slapstick silliness. Rowan Atkinson's brief scene as a minister is a highlight.


Others to consider: My Favorite Wife (1940), It Happened One Night (1934), The Lady Eve (1941), Easy Living (1937), To Be or Not to Be (1942), The Major and the Minor (1942), Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), His Girl Friday (1940), Some Like it Hot (1959), There's Something About Mary (1998), Palm Beach Story (1942).

Odds and Ends to Kick Off Another Year of Film Blogging

New Year Quiz (answer at the bottom of this post). What current American actor has appeared in films directed by Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, The Coen Brothers, Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant and Robert Redford?

I can compile a top ten best films list for over a dozen directors. But only for Woody Allen and Alfred Hitchcock can I create a top 20 (I may eventually get there with Ingmar Bergman). Both Allen and Hitch have had a few turkeys, but the overall consistencies of their prodigious careers is truly astounding. Woody is, of course, still going.

Quick, name another movie Keir Dullea was in besides 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).

The missus just asked what I was doing. I replied, "writing a blog post, just a few odd items." Her reply: "you're an odd item." Calls 'em as she sees 'em she does.

Did the U.S. Congress really repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell? It's almost as if the United States has decided to join the 21st century. Now if the country can stop giving the filthy rich tax breaks, reduce military spending....Who am I kidding?

I received the Rossellini War Trilogy for Christmas. I hope to find time to expound glowing on it here at  length in the near future. For now I want to express my gushing enthusiasm for this package which includes Rome Open City (1945), Paisan (1946) and Germany Year Zero (1948). Not only are they three terrific films but Criterion has provided the set with some truly special special features.

I never got around to writing about Tony Curtis after his death a few months ago. I wanted to extoll his acting skills which were more considerable than people sometimes realize. As proof I suggest seeing his performances in Sweet Smell of Success (1957), The Boston Strangler (1968) and The Defiant Ones (1958). Case closed.

Have you ever tried to sit down and watch an American football game from start to finish without any other tasks at hand? Either you need a mind of mush or your mind will turn into one at the end of the three plus hours. Why? The endless commercial interruptions. They speak to a certain vapidity to the American culture that I find particularly disturbing. If I must watch a game I've got two approaches. One is to DVR it and start watching about 40 minutes after the start so I can fast forward through the ads. The other is to have some other tasks at hand such as house cleaning, the crossword puzzle or translating the dictionary into esperanto.

You know who was a really funny actress? Irene Dunne. Just one example is when she pretends to be Cary Grant's sister in The Awful Truth (1937). I've been slow to warm up to Ms. Dunne, but she was an excellent film partner for Grant. They teamed several times and I particularly liked her in My Favorite Wife (1940). I think she deserves a full post. Maybe one of my legion of readers will write one. If so, I'll link it.

Speaking of wives again...I tried to convince mine that I should get Lasik surgery. She said no dice because its elective surgery and we'd have to pay for it. I came up with a perfect solution: she and some big galoot drag me into the optician's office, tie me up and force me to have the surgery. When the bill comes I tell the insurance company I did not "elect" to have the surgery but was forced to, as the doctor will testify. Problem solved.

May I recommend I Knew it Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (2009)? I can? Goody. A short but excellent documentary on the actor who appeared in only five films before succumbing to lung caner. All five movies were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. He's best remembered as the middle Corleone bother, Fredo. The documentary not only offers insight into the man, but into the craft of acting, something at which Cazale excelled. Don't take my word for it, see what his acting contemporaries said of him. The documentary premiered on HBO and is now available on Digital Video Disc (DVD).

Quiz answer: Matt Damon

In Honor of Today Being 10/10/10 I Offer 10 Lists of 10

The last time the date was 10/10/10 I did not have this film blog so this is the first such post I've ever done.  Yes when the calender last featured a trio of tens times were different indeed. The Kaiser ruled Germany, Babe Ruth had not yet debuted with the Red Sox and movies were still more than a decade from fully incorporating sound. The internet was in its infancy....But I digress.

Today I offer what I couldn't 100 years ago in recognition of the date. Ten film lists of ten films apiece. Please note that not all are in order and none are annotated.

Ten Great Films From Italy
1. Amarcord (1973)
2. 8/12 (1963)
3. Open City (1945)
4. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
5. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
6. Paisan (1946)
7. Umberto D. (1952)
8. Two Women (1960)
9. La Dolce Vita (1960)
10. La notti bianche (1957)

Ten Terrific Westerns
1. The Searchers (1956)
2. Stagecoach (1939)
3. Red River (1948)
4. The Wild Bunch (1969)
5. Westward the Women (1951)
6. Ride the High Country (1962)
7. The Naked Spur (1953)
8. The Big Trail (1930)
9. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1960)
10. The Westerner (1940)

Ten Movies That Crack Me Up
1. Animal House (1978)
2. Duck Soup (1933)
3. The Palm Beach Story (1942)
4. Stripes (1981)
5. Some Like it Hot (1959)
6. Trading Places (1983)
7. Safety Last (1923)
8. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
9. Bananas (1971)
10. The Gold Rush (1925)

My Ten Favorite Hitchcock films
1. Vertigo (1958)
2. Foreign Correspondent (1940)
3. Shadow of a Doubt (1942)
4. Psycho (1960)
5. Strangers on a Train (1951)
6. The 39 Steps (1935)
7. Notorious (1946)
8. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)
9. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
10. I Confess (1953)

Ten Films I Like a Lot That Have A Person's Name For the Title
1. Annie Hall (1977)
2. Rebecca (1940)
3. Barry Lyndon (1975)
4. Arthur (1981)
5. Ninochka (1939)
6. Ed Wood (1994)
7. Ali (2001)
8. Vera Drake (2004)
9. Milk (2008)
10. Mildred Pierce (1945)

Ten Best American Films From the First Half of the 1970s
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Cabaret (1972)
3. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
4. The Exorcist (1973)
5. The Godfather Part II (1974)
6. The Sting (1973)
7. Mean Streets (1973)
8. The Last Picture Show (1971)
9. The Conversation (1974)
10. Little Big Man (1970)

Ten Fantastic French Films From the 1960s
1. Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
2. Le Samouri (1967)
3. Band of Outsiders (1964)
4. Jules et Jim (1962)
5. Breathless (1960)
6. Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
7. Army of Shadows (1969)
8. The Two of Us (1967)
9. The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
10. The Fire Within (1963)

Ten Great Films Based on Actual Events
1. Goodfellas (1990)
2. Raging Bull (1980)
3. Schindler's List (1993)
4. The Great Escape (1963)
5. JFK (1991)
6. Zodiac (2007)
7. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
8. Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
9. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
10. The Social Network (2010)

Ten Movies With Trial Scenes
1. The Verdict (1982)
2. Inherit the Wind (1960)
3. Paths of Glory (1957)
4. Wild Boys of the Road (1933)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
6. Midnight Mary (1933)
7. Philadelphia (1993)
8. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
9. Two Seconds (1932)
10. Amistad (1997)

Ten Films in Which People Watch a Film
1. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
2. Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
3. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
4. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
5. Shoe-Shine (1946)
6. The Last Picture Show (1971)
7. Gods & Monsters (1998)
8. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
9. The Aviator (2004)
10. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

The Many Stories Within Hitchcock's Lifeboat

Okay so upon first viewing Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944) is the story of a group of disparate characters fighting for survival on a lifeboat during World World II. But as with a lot of good films it's got a lot more going on.

It is of course a rabidly anti German propaganda film. There were many such movies made immediately preceding and during the war as I discussed at length earlier this year. One shouldn't assume that the term propaganda in relation to a film is pejorative. First of all not all propaganda is bad. Secondly one can choose to ignore the overt message and simply enjoy the story. Lifeboat features Walter Slezak as a particularly odious type of Nazi: the duplicitous and arrogant kind. Slezak as Willy epitomizes a lot of what the Nazi represented to Americans during the war and indeed ever since. He's unquestionably intelligent, resourceful and strong but uses his talents for his own purposes which are as twisted as a swastika. Lifeboat is very clear that Nazis are not to be trusted and must be summarily wiped out. Towards the end of the movie we meet a younger more innocent German and it is clear that his innocent young mind has been corrupted by Nazism. The allies are doing the Germans a favor by defeating Hitler and his cohorts. It's impossible to argue with such sentiments. So Lifeboat is particularly heavy handed in dealing with the Nazis. But then, they deserved it.

Lifeboat also deals with issues of class. Tallulah Bankhead is Constance Porter. She's an internationally renowned journalist who hobnobs with the upper class, which gladly opens its doors to her. Connie has pulled herself up by her high heeled boot straps and is most comfortable with the rich and famous having become both herself.  Also aboard the lifeboat is Henry Hull as Rittenhouse, a shipping tycoon worth a fortune. Though possessive of a common touch, he positively reeks of the dough that he has in bushels. Meanwhile there are several crew members from the ill fated ship and, is the case with virtually every mariner, are of humble origins. They're proud of it too. John Hodiak is Kovac a Chicagoan who is pure working class grit. Like Gus, a Brooklyn native (judging from WWII films a third of America's fight forces hailed from that New York borough) he believes in simple values and simple solutions. Both are sorely lacking in education, refinement and any appreciation for nuance. It's inevitable that these representatives of opposing social stratas will butt heads. You may or may not be surprised at who is depicted as having the sharper instincts when it comes to dealing with the enemy.

Adding to the tension is Connie's supposition, which she merely hints at, that Kovac is a commie. Because this notion is only lighted touched upon it hardly seems worth exploring. Of far more significant is the romance that develops between the two. They are an odd couple to say the least. Kovac accuses Connie of "slumming." She raises no objection to the charge and merely snuggles up against the big lug. Never mind that they have nothing in common. Maybe the moral is that lifeboats in the middle of the war torn Atlantic Ocean make strange bedfellows or that Yanks of all stripes can find happiness together, never mind their stations in life.

Sadly, Lifeboat has a very paternalistic depiction of its one African American character (that it has one at all is laudable) Joe. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck who intended Joe to be a much stronger personality than he ultimately was allowed to be in the film. Yes, he has a sort of earthy wisdom and is well versed in the good book. But he is deferential to whites (acting surprised and ultimately demurring when asked to vote on an issue). Moreover he is a reformed pick pocket. This ends up being useful in the story but why did it have to be the Black guy who is the ex thief? (I suppose the answer is because the movie was made in the 1940s.) At least he doesn't play dice.

Ultimately it is the ability of all on board to unite that allows them to defeat the Nazi. The symbolism is clear and not far off from reality. After all the Nazis were ultimately out numbered and ganged up on by the allies (not that they didn't have it coming).

The cast is wonderful. Bankhead is positively perfect and one sexy dame. She did middle age real well. The cast also includes Hume Cronyn as an Englishman (one with only a wisp of an accent). William Bendix is the ill fated Willy and though an actor of decidedly limited range, was made for the part. Hull is also perfectly cast and Canada Lee makes the most of his role as Joe.

Lifeboat was shot on a backlot but if you know that in advance you'll forget it once the opening credits role. Watching Lifeboat you'll find yourself wondering how they managed to film out in the ocean. The fog is low and ever present except when sun or rain is needed. In terms of weather there's nothing to suggest you're not seeing the real deal. The constant bobbing of the waves, interrupted only by their rampaging during storms, is quite effective.

On most lists of Hitchcock's best films, Lifeboat wouldn't crack the top ten. This speaks to what a prodigious career Hitch had. It's a helluva story well told. It can be enjoyed at many levels in many ways. There's a lot going on and it's all compelling viewing.

Some Shadows but no Doubts in a Hitchcock Film With a Most Unlikely Hero

It's not what happens to us that's important but how we respond to what happens to us.
At one time or another life will deal us an unfair hand. Will we whine and moan, or make the best of it?

Take Charlie Newton, a young woman living in small town America. She's very bright, out-going and innocent, the personification of the girl next door. Charlie finds herself in the doldrums. Everything is just too cozy, too obvious. Charlie reckons her family, which includes your typical mom and pop along with two much younger siblings, needs some shaking up. What could be better than a visit from her favorite uncle, the man she is named for, mom's brother, Charlie?

What magic is this? As she goes to send her Uncle a telegram begging him to come to town, she receives the news that a telegram has arrived from him announcing a forthcoming visit. What joy for Charlie!

Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943) is an exploration of evil entering a small American town. The evil is Uncle Charlie, as avuncular, charming and fun-loving a fellow as you should ever like to meet. And oh-by-the-way, he likes to marry rich widows and strangle them to death then abscond with their money. This is the Merry Widow killer.

The law is onto to him so he flees the Eastern Seaboard for Santa Rosa, California and the home of his big sister's family. A nice, safe middle class dwelling where his beloved namesake lives.

Young Charlie is blissfully happy when Uncle arrives. Life is exciting again. With Uncle Charlie around there's a break from the predictable routine that had her in the dumps. Her wish has come true.

Be careful what you wish for....

Teresa Wright was perfect casting for the role of Charlie (nee Charlotte). She's smart, but not pretentiously so, and pretty, though not beautiful. She is no ordinary girl but not eccentric. Neither a party girl or a stuffed shirt. She's all energy, enthusiasm and bright-eyed optimism.

In the role of Uncle Charlie is Joseph Cotton. He more typically played sympathetic even heroic characters, but he's such a wonderful combination of charming and menacing in Shadow of a Doubt that one wishes he could have been more frequently cast as the cad.

Aside from the two Charlies, the rest of the family is quite ordinary. Henry Travers as the Dad is a bit quirky but only in the way of old comfortable fathers. The younger siblings include the brainiac little girl and the quintessential little boy. Patricia Collinge as the mom seems such a familiar face and manner. That's odd considering how little film work she actually did. It's likely because Collinge so perfectly captures the World War II era mom. A dedicated housewife and doting wife and mother who's easily flustered. This mom is vacuous but so good hearted one doesn't care a wit.

So it's not surprising that it is left to young Charlie to unravel the bad Uncle's secret. In fact, no one in the family or within the town ever so much as suspects the truth about the Uncle. Irony of ironies, he becomes something of a hero in the community and even meets a well-to-do widow within it as his next potential spouse/victim. Well who wouldn't be taken in by so charming (not to mention wealthy) a man. One whose many attributes includes philanthropy.

But Young Charlie gradually pieces together clues that are so obvious to one, like her, who pays attention. What a burden to have bitten of the apple, however unwittingly, especially when you're the only one possessing the knowledge. And most especially when that truth is so horrible.

Young Charlie is left with the twin responsibilities of trying to persuade her Uncle to leave town and keeping her family from knowing the truth. Her innocence is lost and gone forever. What has happened to her by discovering the awful truth is a dirty blow. But she handles it all magnificently.

Hitchcock's films are seldom recognized for their heroic female roles, but there are plenty of examples. Consider Ingrid Bergman in Spellbound (1945), Vera Miles in Psycho (1960), Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (1959), Grace Kelly in Rear Window (1954) and Margaret Lockwood in The Lady Vanishes (1938). All were women unafraid to take risks and unwilling to be the victim. Wright in Shadow of a Doubt is perhaps the most heroic of the lot. She, after all, is not playing second fiddle to a male hero. Also, like Lockwood and Kelly, Wright knows the truth of something and won't be stopped in seeing justice done or at least the natural order restored.

Like many Hitchcock leading women, Wright is in grave danger. As much as he may love his niece, the elder Charlie will stop at nothing, even murdering her, to protect his own slimy hide.

Unlike many of Hitch's leading women, Wright was neither a blonde nor a great beauty. It wouldn't do for a small town everygirl to look like a fashion model. No, Wright as Young Charlie was a symbol of wholesomeness, just as the town of Santa Rosa was. The town was not besmirched by the Uncle's evil presence because Charlie wouldn't let it be, even at the risk of her own life.

Anyone familiar with the film is aware that I've not made mention of the two investigators who come to town in search of the Merry Widow Killer. They are key to the story only in how they help Young Charlie and the plot progress. Anyway, she alone plays the hero.

Young Charlie is a great cinematic hero because she starts out so naive. But as information becomes known, as facts change, as things happen, she adjusts, adapts and grows from girl to woman.  This is someone who will not crumble under the weight of a horrible reality. This is not just a survivor but one who protects others.

Of all the great films Hitchcock directed this is said to be his personal favorite. He loved the idea of evil invading a small town and he was doubtless pleased with how the story played out. It's interesting then that the hero in his favorite film is not a suave Cary Grant, or a determined James Stewart or a resourceful Robert Donat. Nor is there any cavorting about London or South America or San Francisco. No, this hero is basically a kid. And a female at that. In a small town.

This hero was self made. An ordinary person who rose to the occasion under most unordinary circumstances.

Ahoy Movie! 10 Seafaring Film Adventures For Old Salts and Landlubbers Alike

Among the growing list of film types in the they-don't-make-em-like-they-used-to category is the seafaring adventure story. Over the last half century adventure stories have been mostly set in outer space or featured other worldly magic. Far as I'm concerned you can't get much more magical than men at sea in often flimsy vessel  in close quarters. Add other people with fearsome weapons and you've got yourself some rip roaring adventures. Magic wands and space aliens not required. The ship is its own universe with the captain as God. Sometimes he is a harsh and capricious master, on other occasions he is wise, benevolent and reliable. Sea life is one of extremes. Weather can range from freezing, to sultry with gale force winds or not a wisp of  breeze at all (a dreaded state for sailing ships). There are also extremes in routine with day after day of tedium interrupted by terrifying peril. Shipmates may be the best of friends or sworn enemies. Ports of call can be exotic, offering gorgeous beaches and flora with exciting nightlife and women aplenty. Or they can be rife with enemies or hostile natives. In other words sea voyages are ideally suited for movies and Hollywood used to take full advantage. Used to. I offer a list of ten outstanding films set at sea with only one from the past 50 years.

"We joined the navy to see the world

And what'd we see?

We saw the sea

We saw the Pacific and the Atlantic

But the Atlantic isn't romantic

And the Pacific isn't what it's cracked up to be."

        From the song 'We Saw the Sea' by Irving Berlin.

The Long Voyage Home (1940). This is a recent discovery of mine and it was a case of love at first sight. From the standpoint of depicting life at sea it may be unparalleled. Okay John Wayne as a Swede is a little odd but the rest of the cast is near perfect. Forget plot points, this is a story of men at sea, their bonds, their conflicts, their fates. Director John Ford focused on the faces. The first five minutes of the film has no dialogue, just the visages of the crew, some busy and expressive,others blank and apprehensive. The cast features Thomas Mitchell, John Qualen,Ward Bond, Barry Fitzgerald, Arthur Shields and Ian Hunter. There is boozing, fist fights, enemy planes, heart breaking loss and surprising truths revealed. It's a story rich in metaphor and life lessons.

Master and Commander (2003). The only film from the past 50 years to make this list. It recalls much of the best of efforts from Hollywood's Golden Age. There is a bit of swash in the buckle. Disparate personalities pitted against one another, opposing forces and Ma Nature. Russell Crowe is tailor made to take the helm of the ship and the movie. The action (and there's plenty of it) is aboard a British naval vessel during the Napoleonic wars. One heart breaking scene of men lost at sea is particularly memorable capturing as it does the cruelty of the briny mass.

Action in the North Atlantic (1943). One reason I really appreciate this film is that it's an ode to the allied merchant marines of World War II. My dear old dad was one such hero (my older brother was also a mariner though in considerably more peaceful times). Any discussion of merchant marines during the war must be accompanied by the word unsung. Their contribution to defeating the Axis was inestimable and they made their contribution at great risk and gained little glory. This film, from director Lloyd Bacon, has a stellar cast led by Humphrey Bogart, Raymond Massey and Alan Hale. It was clearly war time propaganda, but like a lot of such films it not only served its purpose but was a good yarn in the bargain.

In Which We Serve (1942). This is rather an odd duck. Imagine a film co-directed by David Lean and Noel Coward. Now further imagine Coward as a ship's captain (no cocktail hour for witty repartee) in war time. Also ponder that this is a tribute as much to a ship itself as it is to those who serve on it. But peculiarities aside this is a cracking good film about men at war on ship, in the water. We know from the outset that the ship does not survive the war. We can guess that neither do all the men. It all adds up to a surprisingly effective look at the war at sea, especially considering that is was made while that very war raged on.

The Sea Wolf (1941). Edward G. Robinson is fantastic as the biggest stinker to ever captain a ship. The time is 1900, the port of call San Francisco. The crew includes a nasty Barry Fitzgerald, a drunken and pitiful Gene Lockhart and a brusque Howard DaSilva. But this is a Edward G vehicle all the way. He's a martinet and a sadist and surprisingly complex one at that. Based on a Jack London story, The Sea Wolf is utterly uncompromising and unsentimental in its portrayal of ship board life.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). Based on the true story of an 18th century mutiny aboard a British ship in the South Pacific. In addition to powerful performances from its stars, Charles Laughton as the notorious Captain Bligh and Clark Gable as Mr. Christian, MOTB is a veritable primer on ship board life 200 years ago.

Follow the Fleet (1936). Why not include some dancing, music and light romance at sea? Especially when the the dancing is being done by the likes of  Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. While not a particularly revealing look at naval voyages it's good clean fun and a refreshing change of pace from grim tales of cruel captains and ship board mishaps.

The Sea Hawk (1940). Mr. Swashbuckle himself, Errol Flynn stars as a pirate who takes to practicing  his craft on behalf of the British crown against the hated Spanish enemy. And who better to play the villain than Claude Rains? Flora Robson is Queen Elizabeth (the first,silly). It's lightweight stuff but great fun. The quintessential Golden Age pirate flick.

Lifeboat (1944). Okay it's true this story does not take place aboard a ship.  The entire setting is a boat and a lifeboat at that. The characters spend the entire running time at sea in one of the most precarious and frightening states imaginable. People on lifeboats could well imagine death by any number of means including starvation, thirst, shark attack, drowning, disease or by their own hand. Succumbing to madness was also a danger. Once dead a person might be cannibalized. At the same time rescue at any moment was always an ever present hope. Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat captures this with the added dimension of the story being set during World War II. Thus there is the added worry of being rescued by the enemy (still, it beats being shark meat). The passengers on this particular boat are from an allied ship but lo and behold they've got a Nazi aboard. What fun.

Moby Dick (1956). It's a whale of a movie (pause while readers enjoy a hearty laugh at my delightful pun). But seriously folks...considering that director John Huston had the weighty task of taking a celebrated and weighty novel and trying to spin cinematic magic out of it, this is a fine film. It doesn't hurt when you have an actor of the stature of Gregory Peck to play Captain Ahab.

Hey! Somebody Get Mr. Hitchcock Some Coffee!

Rally Round the Flag Boys (And Girls)! Propaganda, Hollywood and World War II

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                                  The Great Dictator
Unlike American military adventures of recent vintage, World War II enjoyed widespread popular support throughout the country. Moreover most citizens were willing to put their money where their mouths were. In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor military enlistments were high. Those not eligible to fight did far more than sport a bumper sticker claiming to "Support Our Troops." The president asked for sacrifices (yes, there was a time when Americans were willing to make them for the good of all, Republicans take note).

National morale was strong. There was after all a clear enemy and tangible, measurable goals: stopping the spread of fascism in Europe and ending Japanese aggression in Asia. Presenting a case for war to the American people was not a problem. Both enemies had clear and villainous leaders, Hitler and Tojo, along with easily identifiable symbols, the swastika and rising sun.

Still, maintaining morale for a long and costly war was never going to be easy. But even before the U.S. entered the fray Hollywood was rallying the people. The war in Europe had been raging for over two years before the U.S. declared war, and hostilities in Asia long preceded that. But Hollywood didn't want until December 7th 1941 to attack.

Maybe you can name some films out of Hollywood that argued the isolationist case because I sure can't. With many directors, stars and even producers refugees from Nazi Germany and its immediate neighbors, the American film industry was quick to expose the horrors of the Third Reich. With U.S. entry in the war the motion picture industry began cranking out propaganda, thinly disguised as fictional films.

One of the remarkable aspects of these movies is that many of them were quite good films and remain beloved to this day. There's no better example than Casablanca (1942), which on top of everything else (like being one of the greatest films of all time) was a superb bit of pro war propaganda. Sure the Nazis are evil, but also Vichy is vilified and the resistance is heroic. Perhaps its strongest message is in the form of Rick's (Humphrey Bogart) transformation from an isolationist ("I stick my neck out for no one") to a man who gives up the woman of his dreams for the cause. A cause he then goes on to fight for.

                                  Confessions of a Nazi Spy
One of the first successful attempts to use Nazis as bad guys was Anatole Litvak's Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939). Edward G. Robinson is a G-Man who goes after a Nazi spy ring. It was highly effective at creating the great fear of the "enemy within." Those bad guys are not just across the ocean but in our very midst, threatening our very way of life.

A year Later Charlie Chaplin released The Great Dictator (1940) which specifically belittled Hitler and to a lesser extent Mussolini. The message was clear. Hitler was a buffoon, albeit a dangerous one who needed to be checked. That same year saw Alfred Hitchcock get in the act with Foreign Correspondent (1940). A U.S. newspaper sends a reporter to Europe to report on growing tensions and the possibilities of war. He ends up uncovering spies in London as he has adventures there, in Holland and smack dab in the middle of the Atlantic. The film ends with the reporter giving a stirring Edward R. Murrow like radio report from London during a German blitz. It's a great film and  rallying cry.

1940 also saw the release of Escape (1940) from director Mervin Leroy, starring Claudette Colbert and Robert Taylor, about a famous actress imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp and efforts to rescue her. And Mortal Storm (1940) which was an indictment of Nazi persecution of Jews.

On the eve of the war came All Though the Night (1941) in which Bogie plays a gangster who sics his New York based mob on a a group of Nazi spies who are planning sabotage. The head Nazi here is played by Conrad Veidt. Veidt was a German actor married to a Jewish woman. The couple fled Germany when Hitler came to power. He went on to play several odious Nazis, notably in this film and Casablanca. Peter Lorre and Judith Anderson (most famous for her role in Rebecca (1940)) were fellow Nazis in All Through the Night. The film, despite some weighty subject matter, is generally light in tone, boasting such comic actors as Allen Jenkins, Hugh Herbert, Phil Silvers and a young Jackie Gleason. But it slyly got across its message about the perils of Nazis.

Also that year the Fritz Lang thriller Man Hunt (1941) was released. Walter Pidgeon plays an Englishman pursued by Nazis first in Germany and then right within London. George Sanders is, not for the first time, excellent as a nasty Nazi. The film ends with Pidgeon's character parachuting into Europe as a soldier.

                                  Mrs. Miniver
One of the most effective pieces of Hollywood propaganda was William Wyler's Mrs. Miniver (1942). Greer Garson and Pidgeon are an upper middle class British couple with a lovely house and family. Their idyllic life is shattered by the war which calls their son into service and brings bombs from above to their home. The final scene with the sermon in the bomb-shattered church had to have audiences ready to go out and buy war bonds.

Later films during the war showed men in battle. A key element in all was to see some of the good guys die. It was always a hero's death. Invariably with the soon-to-be-deceased uttering stirring last words. Often the deaths were not just a result of standard enemy fire, but resulted from sneaky, back-handed action. Witness efforts to rescue a downed enemy flier in Destination Tokyo (1942). The rat fink fires upon and kills an innocent American. According to Hollywood, the enemy did that sort of thing quite regularly and needed to be vanquished.  Destination Tokyo, aboard a submarine, like Action in the North Atlantic (1943) aboard a merchant marine ship, features one man not convinced that the fight was worth engaging in. Of course, they always see the light. The reluctant participant was clearly meant to symbolize those Americans still unconvinced the fight was worth engaging in.

Bataan (1943) in The Philippines, Sahara (1943) in North Africa, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944) in the air, are just a few examples of "our brave fighting men" in action. But women got in the act too, never more so than in So Proudly We Hail (1943) about the experiences of army nurses on The Philippines during the war. It is as blatant an attempt to tap into American patriotism and sentiment as you'll ever see. Also, it was doubtless highly effective.

                                  So Proudly We Hail
Hollywood's best directors and biggest stars featured in these films not to mention top screenwriters, cinema photographers etc. The result were dozens of films that both entertained and rallied the home front. Of course, I've only scratched the surface. There were also films about that very home front (something I may explore in a future post) and rallying cries that were disguised as films about other topics (another topic for another day). There were cartoons aplenty featuring the likes of Bugs and Daffy and clownish versions of Hitlers and racially stereotyped Japanese characters.

Of course I've not mentioned most of the WWII era propaganda fiction, some of which I've not seen. One example is something called Hitler - Beast of Berlin (1939), a title I stumbled across in the Internet Movie Database. Actually I'm just assuming it had an anti Hitler slant.

The flood of Hollywood films related to World War II has never abated as I've explored in previous posts. Such as this look at 25 of the best WWII films and this peak at a dozen more. I also wrote a post examining some of the best Nazi characters of films, which needs to be updated to include Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) from Ingloruious Basterds (2009).

So cinematically speaking World War II is the gift that keeps on giving, but there is nothing quite like those films made just before and during the war. They had the fresh perspective of those experiencing that time period. There is an urgency and a sense of getting an important story out.  But the dedication to telling a good story was never lost. Yes a message had to be gotten out but it had to be within what Hollywood did best, making a damn good movie.

Movies and Trains, As Natural as the Cream in Your Coffee

Trains and movies go together as naturally as jazz and saxophones. Directors are afforded a contained area which is at once limiting and liberating. Passageways are narrow and quarters confined and there's no terra firma. On the other hand there's movement, scenery, and challenges for the camera that can create memorable cinema. It's remarkable how many chase scenes successfully take place on trains, along with fist fights, love scenes and silly shenanigans.

Spacecraft, ships, aeroplanes and even submarines have provided moving set locations for films, but not with the degree either of frequency or success as have trains. Train travel was much more common in the United States up until the 1960's. Except for the Northeastern Seaboard, trains in the U.S. are infrequent, expensive and stop everywhere, making such travel tedious and impractical. It's a sad loss for Americans who as such strong individualists all want their own modes of transportation (i.e. cars) and can't abide their tax dollars subsiding a seemingly archaic mode of travel.

So aside from visiting or re-locating to Europe your best bet to enjoy riding the rails is to watch a movie.  There are literally oodles ("did he just write 'literally oodles'"?) of movies, most from the first half of the previous century, that feature lengthy or important scenes on choo choos. I can not even pretend that what I provide below is anything more than a sample. This list could easily be twice, three times, even four times longer. But I do think I've got a representative sample of excellent films where trains were integral to a good story.

The 39 Steps (1939) or Escape on a Train. Alfred Hitchcock frequently used trains and invariably to great effect. In The 39 Steps a man (Robert Donat) wrongly suspected of murder must elude the coppers while on board a moving a train. This first creates drama when a newspaper with his mug on it is purchased and then when the law gets wind he's on the train. A woman is of no help but a bridge is, in this delightful film full of derring do, dash and whimsy.

The Lady Vanishes (1938) or International Intrigue on a Train. Another Hitchcock film. This time there's a charming little old lady on a train and then there's not. Where'd she go and why does no one believe our heroine (Margaret Lockwood) who insists the woman was on board? It won't surprise you to know that there are the proverbial bad guys in this film, most of which is set on a train.  There's also eccentric English gents, romance, a handsome leading man (Michael Redgrave) and a shootout. Great fun in one one of Hitch's most under appreciated efforts.

The Train (1964) or World War II on a Train. In this film from director John Frankenheimer, trains co star with Burt Lancaster in a thriller about the French resistance trying to save rare works of arts from the clutches of the Nazis. The villains are trying to get the artwork out of Paris via -- take a guess ... who said train? Lancaster leaps about trestles, tracks and the trains themselves in his effort to thwart the bad guys. Action aplenty much of it on moving trains. Great stuff for WWII, train and film aficionados. (If you're all three you're in for a real treat.)

Twentieth Century (1934) or Theater on a Train. John Barrymore and Carole Lombard hamming it up and us viewers cracking up. This is great stuff. The film starts in a theater where Barrymore is an impresario and Lombard his discovery. But much of the action takes place aboard a train called the Twentieth Century, a few years later when Lombard is a big star and Barrymore's fortunes are on the wane. He's trying to woo her back with guile, a wing and prayer. Howard Hawks directed the twosome and let em have it. So you get two thespians feasting on the scenery, which remember, is a train.

Go West (1940) or The Marx Brothers on a Train. By rights this shouldn't be here as it's not a terribly good film, especially for the Marx Brothers. But it features one of the great trains scenes of all time. It is an elaborate chase sequence in which the train is veritably cannibalized to fuel itself. It is the embodiment of madcap antics and its on rails.

Shanghai Express (1932) or Scandal and Civil War on a Train. This folks is a great film and its long past high time it got its much due DVD release. Almost the whole shebang takes place aboard a train, namely the Shanghai Express. Marlene Dietrich stars as the notorious Shanghai Lil a well known, shall we say working woman, who's one of several intriguing passengers aboard the express. The journey will find itself right in the  middle of the Chinese Civil War. Joseph von Sternberg directed.

Wild Boys of the Road (1933) or The Depression on a Train. Riding the rails was a common form of transportation for the colorfully named hoboes of America's Great Depression. In this classic from William Wellman, it's teenagers searching for where the grass is greener. They hop a freight, meet compatriots and even get into a brawl with cops. Hoping a freight epitomized those desperate times when cars were abandoned and people searched the land for some sort of break. This movie captures that time as well as any other.

Palm Beach Story (1942) or The Ale and Quail Club on a Train. Folks, this is train abuse pure and simple. What the wealthy and intoxicated members of the hunting and imbibing club do to this train is a scandal. Their gunplay (harmless in intent) terrorizes a porter and provides unwanted air conditioning to a club car. Meanwhile they go on a hunt for a young lady they've taken under their wing, utilizing their beagles. That young lady (Claudette Colbert) not surprsingly hides from her besotted benefactors and in the process meets a very wealthy bachelor (Rudy Vallee). You get it, it's more madcap fare from director Preston Sturges and is howling good fun.

Schindler's List (1993) or The Holocaust on a Train. I enver said this was going to be all yucks and giggles. There is a tragic iconography in the trains pulling into Auschwitz with their doomed cargo. Stuff to haunt your dreams (its done mine) for its grim reality. Schindler's List evokes that horror and particularly the horribly crowded cattle cars.

Some Like it Hot (1959) or Men in Drag on a Train. What could be better than sharing intimate quarters on a train with Marylin Monroe? Not much although watching her cavort with Jack Lemon and Tony Curtis, with the latter two in drag, comes pretty close. This classic comedy's key middle third takes place aboard a Miami bound train. The three stars were never better.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) or Bandits on a Train. Behold the dedicated bank employee who stands steadfast aside his company's safe refusing to yield to the Hole in the Wall Gang. No, he'll not let them near the loot though they threaten to blow it and him to kingdom come. Our persistent thieves are led by Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford). Imagine their surprise when too much dynamite is used and money blows hither and yon. And imagine their shock when out of some of the trains cars come armed horseman. The law! The chase is on and birthed by a train.

Strangers on a Train (1951) or A Train With Strangers On It. There's actually not a lot of this film (another from Hitchcock) set aboard a train but what there is is crucial. Strangers opens with the chance meeting of two men who strike up what is to one of them a most interesting conversation (to the other it all seems rather macarbe and odd). Our oddball suggests that they each commit a murder on behalf of the other. Each will have an air tight alibi and thus neither will be suspected. The train and most espeically the tracks provide some key symbolism as well as a starting point.