Wrong Men & Notorious Women: Five Hitchcock Thrillers 1935–1946
Details by Film
Notorious
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Rebecca
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Spellbound
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The 39 Steps
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The Lady Vanishes
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Starring Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Claude Rains, and Cary Grant, these five acclaimed films bridge Hitchcock’s early British masterworks to his triumphant American collaborations with producer David O. Selznick, and present the legendary director at his unparalleled best, creating films which are exemplars of suspense and cinematic virtuosity.
The Lady Vanishes
In this best-loved of Hitchcock's British-made thrillers, a young woman on a train meets a charming old lady (Dame May Whitty), who promptly disappears. The other passengers deny ever having seen her, leading the young woman to suspect a conspiracy. When she begins investigating, she is drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure.
The 39 Steps
The best known of Hitchcock's British films, this civilized spy yarn follows the escapades of Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), who stumbles into a conspiracy that involves him in a hectic chase across the Scottish moors-a chase in which he is both the pursuer and the pursued. Adapted from John Buchan's novel, this classic Hitchcock "wrong man" thriller encapsulates themes that anticipate the director's biggest American films (especially North by Northwest), and is a standout among his early works.
Rebecca
“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” Rebecca’s haunting opening line conjures the entirety of Hitchcock’s romantic, suspenseful, elegant film. A young woman (Joan Fontaine) believes her every dream has come true when her whirlwind romance with the dashing Maxim de Winter culminates in marriage. But she soon realizes that Rebecca, the late first Mrs. de Winter, haunts both the temperamental, brooding Maxim and the de Winter mansion, Manderley. In order for Maxim and the new Mrs. de Winter to have a future, Rebecca’s spell must be broken and the mystery of her violent death unraveled. The first collaboration between producer David O. Selznick and Hitchcock, Rebecca was adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s popular novel and won the 1940 Academy Award™ for Best Picture and Cinematography (Black and White).
Spellbound
Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychiatrist with a firm understanding of human nature—or so she thinks. When the mysterious Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) becomes the new chief of staff at her institution, the bookish and detached Constance plummets into a whirlwind of tangled identities and feverish psychoanalysis, where the greatest risk is to fall in love. A transcendent love story replete with taut excitement and startling imagery, Spellbound is classic Hitchcock, featuring stunning performances, an Academy Award®-winning score by Miklos Rozsa, and a captivating dream sequence by Surrealist icon Salvador Dalí.
Notorious
In Notorious, a brilliant allegory of love and betrayal, Hitchcock fuses two of his favorite elements: suspense and romance. A beautiful woman with a tainted past (Ingrid Bergman) is enlisted by American agent Devlin (Cary Grant) to spy on a ring of Nazis in post-war Rio. Her espionage work becomes life-threatening after she marries the most debonair of the Nazi ring, Alex (Claude Rains). Only Devlin can rescue her, but to do so he must face his role in her desperate situation and acknowledge that he’s loved her all along. Stunning performances, Ben Hecht’s excellent script, and Hitchcock’s direction at its best make Notorious a perfect film.
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Audio commentary featuring film historian Bruce Eder
- Restoration demonstration
- Insert featuring essay by Michael Wilmington
- Audio commentary by Alfred Hitchcock scholar Marian Keane
- Complete broadcast of the 1937 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation, starring Ida Lupino and Robert Montgomery
- The Art of Film: Vintage Hitchcock, a Janus Films documentary detailing the director's British period
- Excerpts from the original 1935 press book
- Original production design drawings
- Insert featuring an essay by Marian Keane
- Commentary by film scholar Leonard Leff, author of Hitchcock and Selznick: The Rich and Strange Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick in Hollywood
- Isolated music and effects track
- Rare screen, hair, makeup and costume tests including Vivien Leigh, Anne Baxter, Loretta Young, Margaret Sullavan, and Joan Fontaine
- Alfred Hitchcock on Rebecca, excerpts from his conversations with François Truffaut
- Phone interviews with stars Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson from 1986
- Hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos chronicling the film
- Production correspondence and casting notes
- Deleted scene script excerpts
- 1939 test screening questionnaire
- Essay on Rebecca author Daphne du Maurier
- Footage from the 1940 13th Annual Academy Awards
- Re-issue trailer
- 1938 Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre broadcast, including an interview with Daphne du Maurier
- 1941 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast starring Ronald Colman and Ida Lupino, including an interview with David O. Selznick
- 1950 Lux Radio Theatre broadcast starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh
- A 22-page booklet, including liner notes by Robin Wood, author of Hitchcock's Films and Hitchcock's Films Revisited, and George Turner's essay "Du Maurier + Selznick + Hitchcock = Rebecca"
- Commentary by Hitchcock scholar Marian Keane
- "A Nightmare Ordered by Telephone," an in-depth, illustrated essay on the Salvador Dali-designed dream sequence by James Bigwood
- Excerpts from a 1973 audio interview with composer Miklos Rozsa
- Complete 1948 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli
- The Fishko Files: a WNYC/New York Public Radio piece on the theremin
- Hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos and documents chronicling the film's production, from set photos to ads, posters, and publicity material
- Theatrical trailer
- Booklet featuring essays by noted Hitchcock scholars Lesley Brill (The Hitchcock Romance) and Leonard Leff (Hitchcock and Selznick)
- Audio commentary by film scholar Marian Keane
- Audio commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer
- Complete broadcast of the 1948 Lux Radio Theatre adaptation, starring Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten
- Rare production, publicity, and rear projection photos, as well as promotional posters and lobby cards
- Production correspondence
- Collection of trailers and teasers
- Script excerpts of deleted scenes and alternate endings
- Excerpts from the short story
- Rare newsreel footage of Ingrid Bergman and Alfred Hitchcock
- Insert featuring an essay by William Rothman