Mysterious Ways: Hitchcock’s Women

Hitchcock's Women

Grace Kelly (, Joan Fontaine (Suspicion, Rebecca), Ingrid Bergman (Spellbound, Notorious), Eva Marie Saint (North By Northwest), Janet Leigh (Psycho), Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie), Doris Day, Vera Miles (Psycho), Kim Novak (Vertigo)

October… A time for fall leaves, cooler weather, Oktoberfest & beer and scary movies. Starting with Paranormal Activity and Zombieland, there is no shortage of movies to frighten you and give me bad dreams. My fellow Filmgirl Force bloggers, Action Flick Chick and Film Gurl know a lot more about zombies and vampires than me. Sorry to be such a horror movie wimp, but I prefer ‘old-school’ scary. When movies left you on the edge of your seat and made you check all the locks in the house before you took a shower. Oh, you know you do it too. I am referring to the Master of Suspense, himself: Alfred Hitchcock.

One of the wonderful things about Hitchcock, is the way he featured women in his movies. Hitchcock’s women were always stunningly beautiful blonds who got involved in mysteries, murder and mayhem, all while remaining impeccable dressed. Even the most timid of his heroines steps ups to the challenge when needed. Well wouldn’t you if you were being attacked by a flock of birds? Here are two of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock movies.

Psycho

Janet Leigh starred as Marian Crane in Psycho, one of the scariest movies ever . Ok, yes Tony Perkins was extremely creepy too. It’s a simple story. In order to run away with her lover, Sam (played by John Gavin) Marian steals $40, 000 from her boss. That may not seem like much now, but in 1960 dollars, $40, 000 was a fortune. She runs off with the money and hides out in the seedy Bates Motel, run by Norman Bates and his invalid mother. This is not really a spoiler, since we already knows what happens at the Bates Motel. Poor Marian Crane. She will forever be remembered as the woman in the shower.

As frightening as the shower scene may be, the suspense grows when Marian’s determined sister, Lila (played by Vera Miles) enlists Sam to help her find Marian, return the money and avoid a jail sentence. Lila hires a private to detective to track down her sister and he follows her trail to the Bates Motel, where he also meets a tragic end. Note to self: Don’t go snooping around creepy old houses inhabited by 30 year old men who still live with their mother.

I have seen Psycho 100 times over the years. And I was scared every time. How does Alfred Hitchcock do that? To tell you anymore would ruin the suspense and the surprise ending.

Rear Window

Rear Window stars one of my favorite classic film stars, Jimmy Stewart. He is L.B. (Jeff) Jeffries, a wheelchair bound photojournalist with a broken leg. His gorgeous super model girlfriend, Lisa Fremont is played by Grace Kelly. There is also Thelma Ritter as the smart-mouthed nurse. Sounds pretty boring right? But Hitchcock like to show the terror next door and that’s just what Jeff finds while staring out his window into the courtyard below his apartment. OK…so what if your neighbor’s dog finds a femur bone in the flower bed. Gee, I wonder why Mr. Thorwald is taking those large trunks out of his house in the middle of the night? What ever happened to Mrs. Thorwald, I haven’t seen her in days?

Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window (1954)

Is Jeff just a bored invalid with a vivid imagination or has he stumbled upon a grisly murder? He enlists his nurse and girlfriend in his amateur investigation of the missing Mrs. Thorwald. I love how Grace Kelly’s character jumps right into the center of Jeff’s case. Did she lay around his place looking gorgeous? Yes, but when the time came for action she was ready to help her man out by breaking into the suspected murder’s apartment to look for clues.

Grace Kelly is the quintessential Hitchcock women. The cool, beautiful blond. She starred in two other Hitchcock movies, To Catch A Thief with Cary Grant and Dial M For Murder.