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The Press (14/Feb/2013) - Hitched to his horror

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Hitched to his horror

As a newly released biopic screens in Christchurch cinemas, BRUCE CUSHEN confesses to his lifelong love of Alfred Hitchcock.

According to something I wrote half a lifetime ago, I grew up with Alfred Hitchcock.

This goes someway to explaining that by the time I saw my first Hitchcock movie I was champing at the bit.

As a 7-year-old in 1967, I recall the delight of taking part in the board game Why? Presented by Alfred Hitchcock. Clearly derivative of the more famous Cluedo, players had to solve a murder mystery by travelling around a haunted house. With the game clearly stating "for ages 10 to adult" and my neighbour being 6, the decision was made not to tell our parents.

Also around this time, brand Hitchcock was on television with his lumbering profile and a foreboding "Goot Evenink". That snippet signalled time for bed. In my house, the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series was out of my bounds.

Two years later, when 9 seemed really grown up, I discovered a treasure trove in children's books called Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators. The adventures of Pete Crenshaw, Jupiter Jones and Bob Andrews were part of my staple reading diet for a period. I delved into moaning caves and terror castles, interpreted stuttering parrots and whispering mummies. Hitchcock's appearances were about as brief as his movie cameos. Using the famous name as a drawcard for impressionable kids was blatant and, for me, worked wonders. I gorged about 15 titles before moving on to more adult reading - horror short stories.

In the early 70s, Hitchcock lent his name to numerous anthologies that I purchased in paperback. A Hangman's Dozen boasted Hitchcock, a cigar and noose on the cover, while Coffin Break has the showman supping coffee in a graveyard.

In a similar vein, Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do On TV presents the director holding his own head on a platter.

I brought these proud possessions to school and, every Friday, somehow conned our third-form maths teacher into reading aloud a story to the class.

Later on, I got to see the real deal - the movies - and plot twists, red herrings, recurring themes, "macguffins", humour and thrills abound.

Sure some may have dated but in a comfortingly nostalgic way. Suspend your disbelief and be enthralled.

Here are my favourite 15, listed in the order Hitchcock made them, which is by no means my chronological experience. I only saw (illegally!) three Hitchcock movies at the actual cinema. This adds credence to the fact that Hitch and his paraphernalia will always be fond "forbidden" fruit of my childhood.

The 39 Steps (1935) With a great cast and moments both funny and thrilling, the template was set here. A pity, with ill-health, Robert Donat was unable to be used by Hitchcock again. Best scene: The part of a finger revelation.

The Lady Vanishes (1938) More spies but this time with an elusive old lady, and young girl who has to convince all aboard a train that the lady actually existed. Best Scene: A nun wearing high heels.

Saboteur (1942) Handcuffs and a man on the run revisited. Great scene on the Statue of Liberty but the best and most amusing is the blind man in the cabin. Frankenstein young or old anyone?

Lifeboat (1943) A cleverly claustrophobic setting. Confined to one cramped boat, the best scene has to be Hitchcock's cameo: a weight-reduction newspaper advertisement floating in the ocean.

Rope (1948) Yet more challenges with another solitary setting and 10-minute takes. A New York apartment and a murdered man in a box. Best scene: Jimmy Stewart firing a gun into the night.

Strangers on a Train (1951) Ever joked about wanting someone dead and the bloke next to you thought you were serious? Probably not, but anything is possible in the Hitch universe. Tension abounds with that reach for a lighter. Best scene: The tennis-match crowd, following the ball's trajectory, swivel their heads back and forth while the Robert Walker character stares, with menace, straight ahead.

Dial M for Murder (1954) Filmed, but never released here, in 3-D and based on a stage play. Despite those impediments, still a classic. Best scene: The murder, of course.

Rear Window (1954) Often copied but never bettered; for the voyeur in all of us. Best scene: Grace Kelley in the murderer's apartment with Jimmy Stewart unable to help.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) Hitchcock remade his own movie from 1934 which nearly made my top-15 list. A pity Peter Lorre didn't reprise his role here - oh well, que sera sera. Best scene: The Albert Hall.

Vertigo (1958) Fear of heights and obsession for Jimmy Stewart's fourth and last round with the round one. Best scene: Discovering the doppelganger.

North By Northwest (1959) Where are the other three Cary Grant/Alfred Hitchcock movies, you might ask? Sorry. Best scene: Trying to outrun a plane, of course.

Psycho (1960) Saw this in 1973 at the movies as part one of a double-feature with The Birds. Every frame has been analysed by every critic and the criticism is: why no Director Oscar for this work of art? Best scene: Martin Balsam's murder at the top of the stairs.

The Birds (1963) How is this related to Hitchcock's only Oscar best picture Rebecca? Answer: They are both based on Daphne Du Maurier (the Stephen King of her day) stories. Before sharks, our fine feathered friends did the business. Best scene: At the gas station.

Topaz (1970) Spies and Cuban missiles. The Cold War heats up with the best scene that hotel in Harlem.

Frenzy (1972) Hitchcock's second-to-last film and my first "real" experience of the master. I still recall the trepidation; scrunched down in my seat waiting for the lights to go down or to be usherette-tapped on the shoulder by a torch. My first R16, and I was way underage. Best scene: All of them; the tie clasp, the Thames, the nudity, the violence, the spuds.

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