BREAKDOWN (starring Joseph Cotton), BANG! YOU'RE DEAD (about gun violence), LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER (adapted from a Roald Dahl short story) and ONE MORE MILE TO GO (a clear rough draft for the first part of PSYCHO) all show the master honing his craft to tell a 24-26 minute short story of suspense. Made at the height of his fame and success.įirst, as Exhibits A-D, we show four of Hitchcock's greatest episodes directed by the master himself. It's somewhat paradoxical (though inspiring) to realize many of the low budget horror movie masterpiece tropes begin with PSYCHO and Alfred Hitchcock-one of Hollywood's biggest directors. Also, the lack of the safety net signals to the audience that big budgets bring (high production value, well paid stars, occasionally anodyne stories that pull their punches all telegraphing this is a movie) means that anything could happen. It's interesting how often the best horror movies (Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, etc) benefit from the creativity borne out of problem solving when you have a low budget. Forgoing color, a big budget, big stars, Hitch would use his nasty incisive brilliant television approach on PSYCHO to make the impact of the story and the storytelling even more unsettling. In fact, Hitchcock would take his television crew with him when he made PSYCHO. What the television show gave Hitchcock (beside more paychecks and name recognition) was a kind of sketchbook in which he could work with a television crew, used to working fast for little money, to further hone is already knife sharp craft. It's somewhat startling and sobering to realize that at THE SAME TIME Hitchcock was directing some of his most enduring masterpieces (VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST), he was pulling hosting and occasional directing duties on a television show bearing his name. So it seems almost (forgive the pun) criminal that the two are not paired together more often. ![]() The story of PSYCHO, possibly the most important horror film of all time, is inextricably tied to the story of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, Hitchcock's long running television series which ran from 1955 through 1962. Alfred Hitchcock, Universal, USA, 104mns) DCP Look for our signs which are always posted on Wilson and in the corridor to guide the audience.ħpm ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS EPISODES: Breakdown, Bang! You're Dead, Lamb to the Slaughter, One More Mile To Go (Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 1955-1961, 24-26mns each, 110mns total) Digital Presentationĩ30p PSYCHO (1961, dir. ![]() You access our entrance from Wilson Street by turning into the street art alleyway/corridor in the back of the building. *Please note entrance/parking is actually in the back of the 1917 Bay St building. LOCATION: The Secret Movie Club Theater, 1917 Bay Street, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90021 Part of our ALFRED HITCHCOCK: THE MASTER Series, Saturday, October 14, 2023
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