Category Archives: Alfred Hitchcock

EXPO 58 by Jonathan Coe

Posted on 17 April 2014 by

Jonathan Coe is one of my favourite authors, a witty and wise chronicler of British mores, foibles and eccentricities who, in terms of book sales, is apparently appreciated even more on the Continent than he is at home – but … Continue reading →

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Brussels, Cold War, Espionage, Jonathan Coe | 16 Comments

The Passion of Brian De Palma

Posted on 4 October 2013 by

Well, there is a slight change to our usual schedule today as it’s my birthday, which means I am officially in my mid forties … good grief! So I could commemorate this august moment just by joining a gym (of … Continue reading →

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Brian de Palma, Chicago, England, Film Noir, France, Germany, Hollywood, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Scene of the crime, Tuesday's Overlooked Film, Washington DC | 35 Comments

The Four Just Men (1939) – Tuesday’s Overlooked Film

Posted on 24 September 2013 by

Edgar Wallace was a popular author who, when it came to adapting his works for the cinema, not only opted to produce them himself but even directed a couple! He remains one of the most filmed of all writers, the vast majority … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Wallace, London, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | 19 Comments

THE FOUR JUST MEN (1905) by Edgar Wallace

Posted on 13 September 2013 by

Edgar Wallace made a real splash with his debut novel, though perhaps not quite the kind that he had intended. Originally promoted with the offer of a huge prize for anyone who guessed the ending, Wallace eventually had to declare … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, 2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar Wallace, Friday's Forgotten Book, Locked Room Mystery, London | 57 Comments

SHOTGUN (1969) by Ed McBain

Posted on 16 August 2013 by

This is a great example of where reading the 87th Precinct mysteries in order of publication (for my previous reviews, click here) really pays dividends. Along with the series’ usual mixture of clever plotting and good humour, Shotgun also resolves … Continue reading →

Posted in 87th Precinct, Alfred Hitchcock, Ed McBain, Friday's Forgotten Book, New York, Police procedural | 19 Comments

THE LIVING AND THE DEAD (1954) by Boileau-Narcejac

Posted on 2 August 2013 by

Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narjejac’s mysteries in the 1950s and 60s were admired for their great plot ingenuity but not for their plausibility. This is certainly the case with their third novel, a morbid tale with a giant twist adapted … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, 2013 Vintage Mystery Challenge, Alfred Hitchcock, Boileau-Narcejac, France, Friday's Forgotten Book, Paris | 31 Comments

THE AXEMAN COMETH by Nev Fountain

Posted on 18 June 2013 by

What do you mean you’ve never heard of cult sci-fi series Vixens from the Void – what about its star, the sultry Vanity Mycroft -  no? Well, that’s understandable because they only exist in the imagination of Nev Fountain, serving … Continue reading →

Posted in Agatha Christie, Alfred Hitchcock, Audio Review, Big Finish, Doctor Who, Film Noir, Mervyn Stone, Nev Fountain, Poirot | 23 Comments

MEMOS FROM PURGATORY (1961) by Harlan Ellison

Posted on 26 April 2013 by

Harlan Ellison is a writer with a unique voice, paddling his own caustic canoe (sic), defying all those who would pigeon-hole his talent. His resistance to easy categorisation remains ever more laudable in an age of cookie counter consumerism and … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 Book to Movie Challenge, Alfred Hitchcock, Friday's Forgotten Book, Harlan Ellison, New York, Scene of the crime | 20 Comments

Top 20 Spy movies

Posted on 27 November 2012 by

The release of Ben Affleck’s smart historical satire Argo, based loosely on the true extraction by the CIA and Canadian officials of six American Embassy staff members out of Tehran in 1980, made me reflect on the spy genre as … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Best of' lists, Adam Hall, Alfred Hitchcock, Amnesia, Billy Wilder, Brian de Palma, Cold War, Elleston Trevor, Eric Ambler, Espionage, Film Noir, George Smiley, Ian Fleming, James Bond, John Frankenheimer, John le Carre, Len Deighton, London, Michael Powell, New York, Paris, Quiller, San Francisco, Scene of the crime, Spy movies | 76 Comments

Vertigo (1958) – Best film ever?

Posted on 7 August 2012 by

Is Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo the greatest film of all time? The 2012 Sight & Sound critics poll thinks so. And even if this is not true (some don’t even think it’s the best of the director’s thrillers), how well do people … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Best of' lists, Alfred Hitchcock, Brian de Palma, Five Star review, San Francisco, Scene of the crime, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | 36 Comments

K is for … Stuart Kaminsky

Posted on 3 August 2012 by

The prolific mystery writer and academic Stuart Melvin Kaminsky was born in Chicago in 1934 and spent most of his career as a professor of film. Eventually he would spend 16 years teaching at Northwestern University before becoming a Professor … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 Alphabet of Crime, Alfred Hitchcock, Crime Fiction Alphabet, Friday's Forgotten Book, George Baxt, Los Angeles, Private Eye, Raymond Chandler, Scene of the crime, Stephen J Cannell, Stuart Kaminsky | 17 Comments

E is for … Stanley Ellin

Posted on 22 June 2012 by

Kerrie’s Alphabet of Crime community meme over at the Mysteries in Paradise blog this week reaches the letter E. Those participating will post a review, author biog or a thematic item that matches the letter of the week either with … Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 Alphabet of Crime, Alfred Hitchcock, Crime Fiction Alphabet, Fredric Brown, HRF Keating, Julian Symons, Private Eye, Stanley Ellin | Tagged | 13 Comments

Stolen Face (1952)

Posted on 6 March 2012 by

Hammer Films came to prominence thanks to the series of bold horror films they made in colour from the late 1950s and throughout the next decade, the best of which were directed by Terence Fisher. But they both got their … Continue reading →

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Hammer Studios, London, Terence Fisher, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | Tagged , | 23 Comments

Nightmare (1964) – Tuesday’s Forgotten Film

Posted on 20 December 2011 by

A teenage girl in her nightie walks down an eerie and dark corridor, apparently lost. Becoming increasingly uneasy and hearing voices, she fearfully open a door and finds her mother, grinning, apparently waiting for her. It’s the inside of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, Gothic, Hammer Studios, Jimmy Sangster, Tuesday's Overlooked Film | 16 Comments

Will the real Alfred Hitchcock please stand up?

Posted on 30 June 2011 by

Film director Alfred Hitchcock, the self-styled ‘Master of Suspense’, is unquestionably now the most written-about of all movie directors, with Orson Welles perhaps coming a close-ish second though he had a substantial acting career too. Both have also been depicted, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alfred Hitchcock, George Baxt | 9 Comments