The Times (08/May/1980) - A Hitchcock mystery solved
(c) The Times (08/May/1980)
Business diary
A Hitchcock mystery solved
Alas there is no longer any mystery about what will happen to Sir Alfred Hitchcock's last film, three years in production, The Short Night, a spy story based on the exploits of the British agent George Blake.
The late maestro of the macabre was diligently working on the film shortly before his death. But now the project is likely to be allowed to die — of natural causes.
There is a finished screen-play — on which the Oscar winning Ernest Lehmann worked, but the project seems to have died along with Sir Alfred.
In fact insiders at the Universal studios tell Business Diary it probably would never have been made even if Sir Alfred had lived.
The story is that in a rare example of corporate decency the moguls at Universal permitted the ailing Sir Alfred to come into his office every day, hold story conferences, interview actors, order new scripts and footed the entire bill knowing it would never get finished.
"It was just Hollywood's way of paying him. back for all he has given us", said an executive at the studio.
Still nobody at the studio will actually deliver the coup de grace. "It's in limbo", said one, and asked if a Hitchcock disciple could take up the old master's unfinished work, he added, "how could, anyone try to fill Hitch's shoes".
