Friends, I am about to leave my job for early retirement and winter is coming. I need a project that can be done indoors. Hmm...how about rewatching all of the Alfred Hitchcock movies? There are 53 of them that were made over the course of 51 years, so that should keep me busy for a bit.
Why?
I'm a movie nut, and a big Hitchcock enthusiast. I'm pretty certain that I've seen all of his movies, although I can't absolutely swear to it. The idea of the rewatch has been brewing for some time.
I've seen several of his movies dozens of times, and I keep finding reasons to rewatch them. For example, I've seen Rear Window, Vertigo, and North by Northwest very recently, and would you believe that I can't wait to see them again in a few weeks for this project? On the flip side there are a few movies that I remember not liking, but I will suck it up and rewatch them just to make sure. Hey, sometimes I'm in a mood when I see a movie.
The bigger mystery is the movies that I don't remember very well. The question is: do I not remember them because I saw them so long ago? Or are they not memorable? Let's find out!
Here is the snapshot of how I feel about these movies going into this project:
The Plan
I'm going to start with his final movie and work my way backwards. I'm not setting a time limit on the rewatch, but my guess is that I'll probably knock back 1-2 movies a week and pick up momentum as I go, so we're probably looking at three to six months.
Every five movies or so, I'll do a recap and report on the classic Hitchcock themes in each movie. Here is the list of things that I'm tracking as of right now, and I reserve the right to add to it if anything else stands out as I watch the movies.
- General plot summary and trivia
- What I think of the movie
- Is there a MacGuffin?
- Does anyone get handcuffed in the movie?
- Is there a Wrong Man theme?
- Does a character have Mommy Issues? Bonus points if there is an inappropriate age difference between actors playing parents and children (ex: Notorious, North by Northwest). I don't remember any Daddy Issues offhand, but I'll expand the category if necessary.
- Are there elements of the movie that are similar to other Hitchcock movies? For example, he remade The Man Who Knew Too Much, so that's an easy example, but there are so many other instances where he returned to earlier themes and developed them (example: Notorious and North by Northwest both address how to deal when your gal is a spy and has to sleep with the enemy. The Lodger and Frenzy are about serial killers and the public's morbid fascination with serial killers).
- Actors of note, left handed actors, and actors that were frequent Hitchcock fliers (ex: Cary Gary, Grace Kelly, James Stewart, etc)
- Rate the Hitchcock cameo! Hitchcock appeared briefly in most though not all of his movies. My vote for favorite cameo as of right now before I start the rewatch goes to Notorious. It's a humorous moment in an otherwise tense scene.
What Are the Hitchcock Movies and Which Ones Should I Watch?
Here's the list and what I think of them. The All Time Classics are in bold, the "Secondary Classics That Are Hella Good Movies" are in italic/underlined.
- The Pleasure Garden (1925). The OG! The version of this movie that I've seen was shortened and the story didn't make much sense, but the Hitchcock trademarks are there. It's a guilty pleasure for sure.
- The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927). Love it
- Downhill (1927). Hate it, but I adore the lead actor so it won't be that much of a slog to get through.
- Easy Virtue (1928) Hate it
- The Ring (1927) Don't remember it, no opinion
- The Farmer's Wife (1928) Don't remember it, no opinion
- Champagne (1928) Don't remember it, no opinion
- The Manxman (1929) It's such a weird and dated story with a bad message, but it's a gorgeous looking movie and I like it a lot
- Blackmail (1929) Love it
- Elstree Calling (1930) My tagline for this movie is Alfred Hitchcock: The Musical! This movie isn't on every Hitchcock film list, but his name is in the credits as co-director so that's good enough for me. It's so bizarre that only the most ardent early sound film aficionado/Hitchcock fan/masochist is going to make it past the first few minutes, but in my book it's a guilty pleasure.
- Juno and the Paycock (1930) Don't remember it, but I think it was boring
- Murder! (1930) Don't remember it, no opinion
- The Skin Game (1931) Don't remember it, no opinion
- Rich and Strange (1931) Good memories
- Number Seventeen (1932) Don't remember it, but I think it was good
- Waltzes from Vienna (1934) Don't remember it, no opinion
- The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Love it
- The 39 Steps (1935) Love it
- Secret Agent (1936) Don't remember it, no opinion
- Sabotage (1936) Don't remember it, but I think it was good
- Young and Innocent (1937) Good memories
- The Lady Vanishes (1938) Meh. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I was bored to tears the last time that I saw it.
- Jamaica Inn (1939) Good memories
- Rebecca (1940) Love it
- Foreign Correspondent (1940) Good memories
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941) Yep, Hitchcock was the first to use the title and he had a lock on it until 2005. It's his only comedy. Don't remember it, no opinion.
- Suspicion (1941) Meh
- Saboteur (1942) Good memories
- Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Like it. I know a lot of folks cite it as their favorite Hitchcock but it doesn't make the top tier for me.
- Lifeboat (1944) Like it
- Spellbound (1945) Meh
- Notorious (1946) Love it
- The Paradine Case (1947) Don't remember it, no opinion
- Rope (1948) Like it
- Under Capricorn (1949) Don't remember it, but I think it was good
- Stage Fright (1950) Love it
- Strangers on a Train (1951) Love it
- I Confess (1953) Meh
- Dial M for Murder (1954) Meh
- Rear Window (1954) Love it
- To Catch a Thief (1955) Meh
- The Trouble with Harry (1955) Meh
- The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Hate it
- The Wrong Man (1956) Don't remember it, but I think it was boring
- Vertigo (1958) Love it
- North by Northwest (1959) Love it
- Psycho (1960) Love it
- The Birds (1963) Like it
- Marnie (1964) Love it (unpopular opinion)
- Torn Curtain (1966) Don't remember it, no opinion
- Topaz (1969) Don't remember it, no opinion
- Frenzy (1972) Good memories. From what I remember, Hitchcock's second to last movie shares a few story elements with his second movie, The Lodger.
- Family Plot (1976) Don't remember it, no opinion
Where Can I Watch These Movies?
Great question! Your favorite streaming services are a great place to start and a lot of the early movies are on Kanopy (at least as of October 2025 when I am writing this - fingers crossed they are still there in a few months when I reach that part of the canon). For many of these I'm going to be going to my library and checking out physical DVDs. For something super obscure like The Pleasure Garden or Elstree Calling, the most likely source is YouTube.
Who else is a Hitchcock nut like me? How many of his movies have you seen? Do you have a favorite? Any that you dislike? Do you disagree with any of my ratings?
We watched Rebecca last winter to go with the novel my son was reading- he was bored through most of it but I loved it. That set off me trying to make him watch more Hitchcock. Notorious- amazing. Loved the ending. Rear Window and North by Northwest got his approval. Meh was our reaction to To Catch a Thief. ( I guessed what was happening- so no surprises.) Then my efforts petered out. I'll have to read your reviews carefully to determine which ones he'd like. I don't watch movies much myself, but my efforts to provide culture to my skeptical son means I watch more than expected.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point - another thing that I've loved about Hitchcock is seeing new generations embrace him. We watched NxNW with the boys when they were in middle school and they were RIVETED. Elisabeth's children willingly joined us for Rear Window.
DeleteI can see where Rebecca might be a tougher sell for a young 'un. Did you son like the book? And how old is he? I'm thinking about adding whether the movie is appropriate for middle school aged kids (for the earlier movies "appropriate" = not boring and for the later movies "appropriate" means not scary or excessively violent)
He wasn't thrilled with the book- Gothic novels are not his favorite. ( He read this along with the murder of Roger Aykroyd to study unreliable narrators.l) But he's 16 - now 17- so old enough for anything. Middle schoolers might like Rebecca - so much emotional tension!
DeleteI am a fan of Hitchcock's films, although have not watched even half of your list. Years ago I saw Dial M for Murder first as a play, then watched the movie and remember I enjoyed both.
ReplyDeleteOne if my favourite things to do when watching one of his movies is to find him. I get such a kick out the fact he makes cameo appearances. I know other directors do it, but his have such variety and are often humorous.
Congrats on your upcoming retirement! It's awful to stay in a job you are not enjoying. I am sure you will have no problem transitioning and you have this movie project to ease you into this new phase of life.
I love the cameos!
DeleteThanks for the good wishes - I have 12 working days left and it feels soooooo long.
Oh, this is such a Birchie project - spreadsheets, cinema, and impeccable FIRE timing! 🔥 A 53-film Hitchcock rewatch is the ultimate cozy-season challenge. Starting from the end and working backwards? So perfectly Hitchcocky.
ReplyDeleteI had to google “MacGuffin” (thanks for the link!) - clearly I’ve got homework before I can join the fan club. Are you roping Mr. Birchie into this, or is it a solo suspense mission?
P.S. Now that I’ve finally finished Gone with the Wind - any idea where I can actually watch it?
Mr. Birchie has been by my side for many a Hitchcock, and he'll be joining in as time and interest allow. It's an easy sell to get him to watch North by Northwest, but harder to rope him in to watching the "slog" segments like the late silents/early talkies.
DeleteYou finished GWTW!!! Welcome to the club! Now to find the movie - if you were in the US (or have a VPN that makes it like you're in the US), the answer would be to go to justwatch.com, which will show you everywhere that it's streaming and you can pick whatever service suits you best (for me that's a toss up between getting a month of HBO or just renting it on Amazon Prime). I don't know if justwatch.com works outside of the US, but maybe Google can show you other options in your area. Let me know what you think when you watch it.
Thanks, Birchie! It says I can watch it on Apple TV for a small fee. I'll try it!!
DeleteIf ever someone was a Hitchcock fan, it’s you. Wow. I love Rear Window. I think I’ve also seen North by Northwest. Is that the one with Doris Day- on a train and the little boy gets taken? If that’s the case, then yes- I like that one. I don’t think I’ve watched enough of them to call myself a fan, but I’m willing to learn more about his movie thru you. Not sure I would enjoy watching so many movies of the same genre one after another. Oh, that leads me to a question- do you have a palate cleanser in between movies? So do you watch something else to break them up?
ReplyDeleteNxNW is the one where Cary Grant goes on the run and gets chased by a plane in a cornfield and then climbs Mount Rushmore. The Doris Day movie is The Man Who Knew Too Much. That's actually one of the movies that I don't like for reasons that I'll get into more later - it was a remake and they really dumbed down her character.
DeleteI guess the bottom line with breaking up the movies is that if I'm not in the mood to watch one, then I won't. I don't have a time limit on this project for that very reason.
How Birchie indeed! I love this and what a fun, cozy challenge for the coming winter months.
ReplyDeleteI am so honoured that I got to watch two of his most famous movies WITH YOU. Those were my first Hitchcock movies ever, but definitely not my last.
I'm waiting for Joy to read Rebecca and then we're going to have a viewing party. (Ditto for The Enchanted April.)
I'm jealous of your Rebecca/Enchanted April watch parties. Those are going to be epic.
DeleteI've only watched a few Hitchcock movies (The Birds being one - quite terrifying) but they were all watched a long time ago in the company of other people. I don't think I'd watch a Hitchcock movie alone now.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit it's more fun to see movies with other people. Luckily I've seen most of these movies enough that I won't have nightmares. I will admit that I still jump a little when we meet the mother in Psycho.
DeleteI love this project!! I’m a huge Hitchcock fan and, if I had completed my film concentration in grad school, would have written a comparison of his first and last films. I can’t wait to follow along.
ReplyDeleteOooh!!! Too bad you didn't get to do the project because I would have loved to have read that! I have a lot of thoughts about The Lodger compared to Frenzy.
DeleteWe should have gone to Bodega Bay when you were here, where The Birds was filmed. I would like you to keep track of how many films are at least partially filmed in the SF Bay Area, please.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your project!
Ooh that's a great idea! I'm adding Bay Area locations to my tracking list.
DeleteNothing is stopping me from going to Bodega Bay on my next visit!
Oooh. I had no idea there were so many! I watched The Birds when I was far too young, and it's my mother's fault. She was, and is, a movies junkie. It's quite possible that there is not a single movie made from 1935-1960 that she has not seen. I saw Marnie, too. I don't think I've ever seen every bit of Psycho, the original.
ReplyDeleteGreat project, although I wish you had chosen to watch Clark Gable films. LOL
I was pretty young when I saw The Birds, and I remember that my mom made me look away from certain scenes.
DeleteYou'll have to take on the Great Gable rewatch, since he's just OK for me. I don't mind looking at him, but I've heard so many stories about how his breath stank from his dentures, and a lot of times his characters were so Hyper Masculine that I couldn't take him seriously.
I've read those halitosis stories, too. I got a huge crush on him from Gone with the Wind, and then I sort of became disillusioned with him from his other roles, which I found silly. I was hoping that you might find a different take. He's an Ohio boy, you know!
DeleteThis post was riveting and I am SUPER excited to follow along on this project. I wonder if any of your rankings will change?! And I love all the things you are tracking.
ReplyDeleteClassic film is a major blank spot in my cultural knowledge. I think I may have seen Vertigo and Psycho, although possibly only parts of each? And that's IT. I feel like I should AT LEAST watch the film version of the books I've read (Rebecca, Strangers on a Train).
Now I have some questions:
What kind of a movie watcher are you? Especially when you are re-watching but I would also be interested to know how you watch movies for the first time. Do you talk through them? Do you quote along with the dialogue? Do you enjoy watching with someone else, or is it better to watch by yourself? Do you pause and rewind? Do you watch the whole thing in one go? Do you use subtitles?
I feel like one, hmm, "objection" is the word I'm coming up with, but that's not quite right, maybe it's more like an obstacle? One obstacle to my watching Hitchcock movies is the old-timey factor, and I wonder if you have any advice for how to slide into the rhythm of films made 50 to 100 years ago.
These are great questions, and I might just have to expand on these in a post. Obviously all of this "I don't remember it" ratings will change, and I'm sure that there will be some swaps between the other categories.
DeleteI would def recommend watching Rebecca, since I'm deadlocked on whether the book or the movie was better. It's practically a tie. The only difference is that they had to change a plot detail to comply with the censorship standards of the day. It's not a huge deal, but it changes the characters' motivations just a bit.
If you're getting "ew this is a moldy oldy" vibes at the thought of watching an old movie, my advice is: DON'T!!! The only reason to watch a movie or to read a book is because you want to. We all have our "I'm not into that" thing. Sitting down to watch a foreign language movie will probably always feel like a chore to me, so I only do it once every few years when there's something that draws me to a specific movie. The result is that I'm not well versed in that genre, but I also really enjoy the few movies that I've seen. Same with Westerns. I chocked down a lot of those when I was watching all of the AFI Top 100 movies, and it did not make me love Westerns.
More to come on this!
Oooooh now I am torn! Because I definitely feel a bit of resistance to "moldy oldy" films... but also I feel like I DO want to watch them, to see what the hype is about? What to do, what to do???? Clearly, what to do is watch Rebecca as per your recommendation.
DeleteLooking forward to reading more!
I haven’t seen any of his movies. If you were to suggested 3 to watch, what would you pick? I think Phil would be up for watching a few. We are not movie watchers but it’s a me problem. I like to go to bed at 9 to read and Paul goes to bed at 8:20 so that gives us 40 min to watch something. So it takes us 3 nights to watch a movie typically!!
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest you watch ‘I Like Me’, the new doc about John Candy? It is very sad though as he died at age 43. It makes me want to rewatch the movies he was in that I loved. Like Uncle Buck and Home Alone in particular. Phil and I watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles earlier this year and that one is so good as well.
You'll never guess what Hubs and I did last night - we watched I Like Me! We loved it. I saw Planes/Trains back when it came out with my parents and hated it then but as an adult I love it. I just needed to grow into it.
DeleteI can help with 3 Hitchcock suggestions! The first two are easy: Rear Window and North by Northwest. I feel like those are two universally good movies that everyone likes, and you don't have to shut them down if the boys happen to wander in. I know they're too young to sit through an entire movie, but there's nothing in those movies that they can't see, and they might get absorbed for 10 minutes or so. For your third pick, I'd go with Vertigo, Strangers on a Train, or Shadow of a Doubt.
Can you believe I've never seen a Hitchcock movie? It's not like I refused to watch them or anything - they've just never been presented as a choice. It'll be fun to see if your enthusiasm will sell me on seeking out some to watch! I love how you make charts and plans!
ReplyDeleteI hope that a Hitchcock movie makes its way to you. They are very cleverly done, and there is usually a grain of humor in there, even if it's dark humor.
DeleteI'm a little late commenting here- I had NO IDEA there were 53 Hitchcock movies??? So this is quite a project! I definitely like Suzanne's questions above and hope you will expand them into a blog post. Happy watching!
ReplyDeleteThat Hitchcock, he got around! I expanded on Suzanne's questions in my weekly roundup and asked the group to join in. It will be interesting to see how everyone answers.
DeleteIt's like a bingo card!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy for you and your early retirement, and I'm here for this project. I loved Rear Window and also Vertigo and Psycho. I've seen a few here and there but it's not totally my jam, so I will live vicariously through you!
Hitchcock bingo! You can live vicariously through me, and in the meantime I'm headed over to your blog to live vicariously through your trip.
DeleteSo cool you're starting this project. I am not particularly into Alfred Hitchock, although I of course know a few of his movies.... but I haven't had the peace of mind to watch movies lately.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll be shocked - SHOCKED - to know that I've never seen any of his movies. :) I can't wait to play along, though. Also, I learned something today: what a MacGuffin is. Thank you! I learn something new every day...
ReplyDelete