Summer Under the Stars: North by Northwest (1959)

TCM’s star of the day is Eva Marie Saint, and my film pick for the actress is North by Northwest, which airs today at 8:00 P.M. (EST). This espionage thriller follows New York City advertising man Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) in a case of mistaken identity when a gang of spies led by Phillip…

Joan Fontaine Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Today marks the centenary of Joan Fontaine, an actress I’ve long-admired, and one who was a prime figure in getting me into older films. I had already seen a good handful of classic Hollywood movies before discovering her in Rebecca, but after watching it I had to immediately follow it up with Suspicion, as I…

Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder (1954)

Today marks the 87th anniversary of Grace Kelly’s birth, one of the most enduring faces of classic film. While she only made 11 films in her short-lived movie career, her image is still recognizable today, as she led a truly enchanting life that saw her go from Hollywood stardom to royalty. As she has remained distinguishable…

Taking the Train with Margaret Lockwood

Today marks the 100th anniversary of actress Margaret Lockwood’s birth, who I must add was also the daughter of a British colonial railway clerk. I mention this because the two films she’s best remembered for are incidentally set on trains. Both The Lady Vanishes and Night Train to Munich also have a lot in common aside…

Alfred Hitchcock Blogathon Tag

Eva of Coffee, Classics, & Craziness is hosting the Alfred Hitchcock Blogathon this weekend in honor of the director’s birthday on August 13th. Along with a number of posts covering films from the Master of Suspense, she’s put together a fun questionnaire for bloggers to answer concerning their thoughts on his films! Here are my answers…

Alfred Hitchcock’s Oscar Nominations

When I saw there was going to be a blogathon dedicated to the Master of Suspense, I knew it’d be impossible for me to pick just one film to cover. But being a bit of an Oscar obsessive, I decided on covering the films that earned him nominations for Best Director. While the Academy Awards…

Hit Me With Your Best Shot – To Catch a Thief

TO CATCH A THIEF (1955) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Cinematography by Robert Burks For this week’s edition of The Film Experience’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot, we were asked to pick our favorite shot from the film To Catch a Thief. Though it’s not one of my favorite of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, it’s still one…

Classic Symbiotic Collaborations Blogathon: Notorious (1946)

Director Alfred Hitchcock has collaborated with several actors multiple times, such as James Stewart (four films) and Grace Kelly (three films). Often times those collaborations came together into one movie, like when he directed both Stewart and Kelly in Rear Window. Two other actors he loved working with were Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, and together…