Sure we all love Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest. And why wouldn't we? They're amazing films. Entertaining, strikingly directed, and with a unique signature that differentiates Hitchcock from similar, lesser talents. And pretty much everyone loves Rear Window and Notorious too. But what about his other works? What's the best of the second tier? I have selected 10 films that I think are nearly as good as (or in some cases better than) the top tier. What's your pick?

N.B. Sorry if I didn't include one you really like. Also, you're allowed to pick 2 because I realize sometimes it's difficult to just pick 1.

I picked The Birds since it's the only one I've seen and that was years ago...but it scared the crap out of me those years ago.

Patty m'boy you do need to educate yourself with the Master

I should but if you or some rich benefactor want fund my unemployment so I can watch movies as much as I did before, be my guest.

I hear you dude, I hear you.

I find it depressing that Strangers on a Train could somehow be called "second-tier". That's the first one I voted for. Second-tier? Not a chance. Rightfully shelved alongside Rear Window and North by Northwest. I like it a bit more than North by Northwest, in factorino.

My second vote went to Frenzy, still fresh in my mind only a couple of short months past my maiden voyage into late-period Hitchcock. The movie is a delight -- comedy, vintage Hitchcockian "wrong man" and always the suspense. Great stuff, maybe not as great as the earlier, but a definite return-to-form after Torn Curtain and some of the lesser works.

Yeah I probably should have excluded Strangers on a Train. I also find it superior to Rear Window.

I'll say that none of the other titles ruffled any feathers. Dial M For Murder is still #1 on my list of Most Disappointing Hitchcock. I saw it for the first time not all that long ago and was shocked by how conventional the story was... maybe it's that I saw it decades after the initial release when I'd seen dozens of movies like that.

Scrapes jaw off floor. Patty you see so many movies and have not seeen more of these?

I'm staggered.

How about just for once skipping a repeat Steve Siegal for a Hitchcock?

Rob

Agree 100% - North By Northwest is a complete masterwork.
Not so sure about Frenzy though
Rob

I voted for 39 Steps and Strangers
Hitchcock would have voted for Shadow of a Doubt
Because it's his personal favorite of all his movies

Crucial reading for all fans and maybe the best book ever published about movies
http://www.amazon.com/Hitchcock-Revised ... 0671604295

Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Hitchcock's personal favourite of all his films and the second of the early Universal films,[50] was about young Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright), who suspects her beloved uncle Charlie Oakley (Joseph Cotten) of being a serial murderer. Critics have said that in its use of overlapping characters, dialogue, and closeups it has provided a generation of film theorists with psychoanalytic potential[citation needed], including Jacques Lacan and Slavoj Žižek. Hitchcock again filmed extensively on location, this time in the Northern California city of Santa Rosa, California, during the summer of 1942. The director showcased his own personal fascination with crime and criminals when he had two of his characters discuss various ways of killing people, to the obvious annoyance of Charlotte.
Courtesy of Wikipedia

Rob

So are you going to fund my unemployment then?

The statement that Shadow of a Doubt is Hitchcock’s personal favourite originates from the book-length interview of Hitchcock by Francois Truffault, which is well worth reading. However, from Hitchcock’s statement in the interview itself it isn’t clear at all whether he simply meant that making Shadow of a Doubt was his favourite movie-making experience (apparently, he was a good friend of Joseph Cotton). Also, the part of the interview which contains this statement was conducted in 1962. Hitchcock made quite a few films afterwards, such as The Birds or Marnie, which he might have liked more.

Hi Unke

Did you like the book? I think it's riveting stuff a complete page turner. I found the book in the late seventies in a small bookshop in Birmingham England. It was paperback and i laminated the covers as i read it so many times. i still have it

I've never heard a different source come out and say different. What's more I seem to remember a special edition laserdisc or DVD where Patricia Hitchcock supports the idea.

Rob

Strangers on a Train for me too. That movie is "winning" by a landslide. Unlike Mark I also voted for Dial M For Murder. The story does start conventionally, but things soon turn around. I see two other people feel the same way. Care to identify yourselves?

Ed, you clearly work for CNN
"winning by a landslide" = 3 votes
Rob

On the other hand, "Winning for a landslide" = 23%, which does make sense.

I actually think Shadow of a Doubt is in my bottom 5 Hitchcocks. Nothing remotely interesting ether thematically or narratively happens in the film

Hi Rob,

Yes, the book is a fantastic read for fans of Hitchcock, providing a lot of insight into his filmmaking, such as the fact that he appears to have judged the success of a movie primarily by its commercial success. With all the critical acclaim for Hitchcock’s movies it is often overlooked that he was a populist filmmaker.

Concerning Hitchcock’s attitude to Shadow of a Doubt – it’s not surprising that all sources state that he thought that Shadow of a Doubt was his best movie, because all sources quote the Truffaut/Hitchcock interview. From the extras on the DVD, I remember Hitchcock’s daughter saying how much he enjoyed making it because of his friendship with Joseph Cotton, but I’d have to rewatch it in order to make any further statements. Be that as it may, I think that the “Hitchcock’s own favourite movie” tag is often used to provide an argument for the greatness of this film, which, in my opinion, isn’t bad at all but is far from his best.

Cheers

Unke

I voted Strangers on a Train and Foreign Correspondent. The latter is probably the best of several very similar movies that Hitchcock made, while the former, misgivings aside, is very compelling.

Foreign Correspondent FTW!