Film Series Celebrates Hitchcock’s 125th Birthday

You don’t have to be a film fanatic to know who Alfred Hitchcock is — a director so unique in his vision that his last name has become a descriptor for a certain type of perspective. On the occasion of what would have been his 125th birthday, Best Video has dedicated its August screening series to a celebration of his films. On Tuesday night the feting began with Shadow of a Doubt, the 1943 psychological thriller that held the sizable crowd captive with its snappy dialogue — cowritten by Hamden’s own Thornton Wilder — and the director’s signature directorial style.

According to Best Video’s own Teo Hernandez, this film was said to be Hitchcock’s personal favorite, as well as a favorite of one of the film’s stars, Teresa Wright, who Hernandez also noted has a local connection (she is buried in New Haven). He also noted that the director is ​“probably in the top three” of directors whose films get rented from Best most often.

Rob Harmon, who was wearing a Hitchcock t‑shirt in honor of the event, said the director had been ​“his number one” since discovering his love of film back in his middle and high school days.

“I think the joy of movies itself is Hitchcock,” he said. ​“His filmography is a well that never goes dry.”

Harmon added that there was something ​“innately cinematic” in all of Hitchcock’s work, and that all of his films were ​“so comprehensively well made.”

“He transcends genre,” added Hernandez.

“He’s so ever present, even his name has become an adjective,” said Harmon. ​“He’s the only one that’s so evocative that the mere mention of his name creates a claustrophobic, edge-of-your-seat thrill.”

And while most of Hitchcock’s works can be described as psychologically based thrillers — including Shadow and two others that will be shown in this series, Vertigo and North by Northwest — there are also his two horror films, The Birds and Psycho, that are considered iconic, and even a slow burn-gothic romance in the film Rebecca, which will be shown next week.

Harmon also called Hitchcock an ​“instant conversation starter,” and on Tuesday evening he was definitively the subject of the night. Attendees discussed his work both before and after the film, with each other as well as Harmon and Hernandez.

The Master of Suspense does not waste time getting the viewer’s attention in the film as Charlie Oakley (played by Joseph Cotten with a charm that also chills you to the bone) is introduced to the audience in the shadows smoking next to a couple of piles of cash. Soon he is evading a couple of ​“friends” searching for him and making plans to travel cross-country to visit his sister Emma and her family, one of whom is his namesake Charlotte, also known as Charlie (played by Teresa Wright) a disillusioned yet headstrong teen who longs for something more

“I don’t believe in good intentions anymore,” says Charlie. ​“I’m waiting for a miracle.”

She believes that miracle to be a visit from her Uncle Charlie, with whom she believes to have a cosmic connection (and a serious case of hero worship). He comes bearing gifts for her and her parents as well as her little brother and sister, but also seems somewhat detached.

“Don’t put that on the bed,” says Joe, Charlie’s father to her uncle, about his hat. ​“I don’t believe in inviting trouble.” As soon as Joe leaves the room, Uncle Charlie smiles and tosses that hat right there. Slowly and surely it is revealed that, hat on the bed or not, good old Uncle Charlie has brought a whole lot of trouble with him already.

In between the chills and thrills of Charlie’s discovery of what the audience has already learned — that her uncle is a creepy criminal of the highest order — there are also quite a few laughs, some from the precocious chatter of youngest daughter Ann and some from the banter between Joe and his friend Herbie, who have an ongoing exchange about how one might get away with murder. There were also quite a few groans from the audience when Uncle Charlie goes on a rant about ​“useless women,” though it does end up being indicative of his true nature.

Hitchcock as usual does his delightfully dire dance with his camera, altering the perspective and keeping the main players and the audience on edge and unable to look away. Of course I am not going to tell you what happens, but if you have any experience with any Hitchcock film you already know it is going to be a ride. Small towns are the perfect places for big lies and even bigger revelations, and Hitchcock is the perfect person to offer a front row seat to it all.

“What’s the use of looking back? What’s the use of looking ahead? Today’s the thing,” says Uncle Charlie. In today’s world, where it can be hard to differentiate what you perceive to be true and what someone else might be trying to talk you into, Hitchcock’s perspective is more prescient than ever.

The Hitchcock series continues at Best Video every Tuesday in August at 7 p.m. Admission is free for members and $10 for nonmembers. Please see Best Video’s website for more information about the films being shown.