Sibling Cinema

For our third straight silent Hitchcock film, we discuss The Manxman. This 1929 melodrama is the story of two childhood friends from the Isle of Man whose bond is pushed to the limits by their affections for the town barmaid. Details: Produced by John Maxwell for British International Pictures in 1929. Screenplay by Eliot Stannard based on the novel of the same name by Hall Caine. Starring Carl Brisson, Malcolm Keen, Anny Ondra, and Randle Ayrton. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 42 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” The Manxman got 616 ranking points.

We continue to plug our way through the lesser-known entries in Hitchcock’s filmography. Downhill was new to both of us. It’s the story of an idealistic young and wealthy college student who falls from grace after he takes the blame for the misdeeds of his friend. Details: Gainsborough-Emelka Pictures, 1927. Produced by Michael Balcon. Written by Eliot Stannard, based on the play by Ivor Novello and Constance Collier. Starring Novello, Robin Irvine, Isabel Jeans, Ian Hunter and Lillian Braithwaite. Cinematography by Claude McDonnell. Ranking: 43 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Downhill got 583 ranking points.

We turn our attention to Alfred Hitchcock’s first feature film, The Pleasure Garden. This movie follows two nightclub dancers whose careers and love lives take starkly different directions. There’s also a very wise dog. Details: Gainsborough-Emelka Pictures, 1925. Produced by Michael Balcon. Written by Eliot Stannard, based on the novel by Oliver Sandys. Starring Virginia Valli, Carmelita Geraghty, Miles Mander, and John Stuart. Cinematography by Baron Ventimiglia. Ranking: 44 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” The Pleasure Garden got 426 ranking points.

The subject of this week’s podcast is Rich and Strange. Emphasis on the strange—though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Also known as East of Shanghai, this follows a middle-class couple who get to travel the world in luxury, thanks to a sudden inheritance. But it turns out their journey takes them on test of their relationship. Bonnie and Dennis break down this early sound Hitchcock movie. Details: Rich and Strange was released in 1931 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell. Script was written by Mrs. Hitchcock, Alma Reville. Starring Joan Barry, Henry Kendall, Percy Marmount, Betty Amann, and Elsie Randolph. Cinematography by John M. Cox and Charles Martin. Ranking: 45 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Rich and Strange got 419 ranking points.

In this episode we discuss Hitchcock’s early talkie, The Skin Game. Based on a popular play at the time, this 1931 drama deals with the feud between two wealthy families in England. Details: The Skin Game was released in 1931 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell. Script was written by Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville based on John Galsworthy’s play. Starring Edmund Gwenn, Helen Haye, C.V. France, Jill Esmond, and Phyllis Konstam. Cinematography by John M. Cox. Ranking: 46 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” The Skin Game got 411 ranking points.

In this episode we discuss another silent Hitchcock movie, Easy Virtue, a 1927 (maybe 1928?) melodrama about a free-spirited woman who marries into a judgmental family that probes into her past. Details: Easy Virtue was released in 1928 by Gainsborough Pictures. Produced by Michael Balcon. Script was written by Eliot Stannard based on Noel Coward’s play. Starring Isabel Jeans, Franklyn Dyall, Robin Irvine, Violet Farebrother, and Ian Hunter. Cinematography by Claude McDonnell. Ranking: 47 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Easy Virtue got 401 ranking points.

This week we return to Hitchcock’s silent era with The Farmer’s Wife, a comic romance set in the rural English country side. Details: The Farmer’s Wife was released in 1928 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell. Screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock, adapted from Eden Phillpotts’ play. Starring James Thomas, Lillian Hall Davis, Gordon Harker, Maud Gill, and Louise Pounds. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 48 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Number Seventeen got 397 ranking points.

This week we talk about Hitchcock’s shortest movie, Number Seventeen. This 1932 crime movie is set in an abandoned house where a criminal enterprise is up to some shenanigans. Details: Number Seventeen was released in 1932 by British International Pictures. Produced by John Maxwell from a screenplay by Alma Reville (aka Mrs. Hitchcock), Alfred Hitchcock, and Rodney Ackland, based on J. Jefferson Farjeon’s play. It stars John Stuart, Anne Grey, Leon M. Lion, Barry Jones, Donald Calthrop, Ann Casson and Henry Caine. Cinematography by John J. Cox. Ranking: 49 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Number Seventeen got 373 ranking points.

Our journey through the filmography of Alfred Hitchcock begins with what is arguably his most maligned film, Juno and the Paycock. It’s the adaptation of a famed Irish play about a poor Dublin family whose bonds are tested when they anticipate a large inheritance. We watched it so you don’t have to, and we discuss it all here. The Details: Juno and the Paycock, released 1930 by British International. Produced by John Maxwell, screenplay by Alfred Hitchcock and Alma Reville, adapted from the Sean O’Casey play. Starring Sara Allgood, Edward Chapman, Marie O’Neill, and Sidney Morgan. Ranking: 52 out of 52. Ranking movies is a reductive parlor game. It’s also fun. And it’s a good way to frame a discussion. We aggregated over 70 ranking lists from critics, fans, and magazines, and will be going through Alfred Hitchcock’s films from “worst” to “best.” Juno and the Paycock got 167 ranking points and is in last place.

WHIPLASH We conclude this series with the tenth anniversary of Whiplash. The breakthrough film for director Damien Chazelle, starring Miles Teller as an ambitious jazz drummer at an elite school, and his attempts to gain the favor of a viciously exacting band leader played be J. K. Simmons.

Season 2, Episode 9: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND For our penultimate episode in this series, we take a look at Michel Gondry's 2004 romantic sci-fi comedy Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, starring Jim Carey and Kate Winslet. Next week we finish off this series with the ten-year-old jazz band thriller Whiplash..

Season 2, Episode 8: TRUE LIES We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. 1994 is an iconic year: Forrest Gump vs Pulp Fiction vs Shawshank Redemption at the Oscars and The Lion King breaking box office records. We're keeping it light though, with James Cameron's spy comedy thriller True Lies, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. Next week we finally get into the 21st century with 2004's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Season 2, Episode 7: GHOSTBUSTERS We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. This week, we dial into Iven Reitman's 1984 smash hit Ghostbusters. You all know it: Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Sigourney Weaver Bernie Hudson, Slimer, the great Ray Parker song, dogs and cats living together. How does it hold up at 40? Tune in to see what we think. Next week we turn to 1994 with the action comedy True Lies.

Season 2, Episode 6: THE CONVERSATION We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. This week, we wiretap into the 1974 classic surveillance thriller, The Conversation. It's directed by Francis Ford Coppola and stars Gene Hackman in one of his signature roles. It turns 50 this year. And, hey, Ghostbusters turns 40 this year, so tune in next week for that.

Season 2, Episode 5: A HARD DAYS NIGHT We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. Today's subject is the 60th anniversary of Beatlemania with the Beatles' first movie A Hard Days Night. Next week, we bust into the 70s for the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation.

Season 2, Episode 2: IMITATION OF LIFE We continue our ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. Today's subject is the 1934 melodrama Imitation of Life. Directed by John Stahl, this movie stars Claudette Colbert and Louise Beavers in an interracial friendship of two single mothers. The film has since been overshadowed by its 1959 remake, but it makes for a fascinating look at some of the social mores of society 90 years passed. Next week, we will turn our attention to 1944 and select a film turning 80, Otto Preminger's film noir classic, Laura.

Season 2, Episode 1: SHERLOCK JR. Welcome to our new mini-season, a ten-part series where we take a deep dive into a film celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. We start off with Sherlock Jr. the 1924 Buster Keaton classic that turned 100 years old earlier this year. Next week, we will turn our attention to 1934 and select a film turning 90, and so on until we finish the series with a 10-year-old movie. Come back next week as we dive into the 1934 version of Imitation of Life.

This week, we tackle Barry Levinson's 1988 drama Rain Man. The movie, which features Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman as estranged brothers--one a cocky yuppie and the other a sweet-natured austic savant, ranks at #54 on our countdown* of Best Picture winners.*What is this list?We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.

This week, we talk about 2012 and its Best Picture winner, Argo, directed by and starring Ben Affleck. It's ranked number 60on our countdown of the best Best Picture Academy Award winners. For more information on the countdown we're using, check out our Description or give a listen to our Trailer.Segments by timestamp: 0:00 - Introduction 7:07 - The other nominees 18:18 - Discussion of Argo 54:16 - What's next and conclusion

Episode 51: AMADEUSThis week we're making one final trip to the 1980s for Milos Foreman's Amadeus. F. Murray Abraham stars as Salieri, the Austria court composer who recounts his rivalry with the brash young genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, played by Tom Hulce. Tune in for our debate over whether the movie is about Mozart or Salieri. It won Best Picture for 1984 and ranks #19 on our countdown.*Come back again next week as we dive into another Clint Eastwood movie, Unforgiven. Join us then to find out if we liked it any better than Million Dollar Baby.Spoiler Alert: We talk about the movie in its entirety, so if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. Or not. That ball is in your court.*What is this list?We explain it in more detail in our Trailer and its Description, but as a high-level answer: we aggregated several different lists that rank the ninety-four winners of the Best Picture Academy Award in a rough attempt to get a consensus. It is not intended to be rigorous or definitive. It's just a framework to guide our journey through cinema history.