“It’s Only a Movie…”

"Naturally, the knife never touched the body; it was all done in the montage."
(Hitchcock talking to Truffaut about the shower scene in Psycho)

However, when analysed frame by frame, one of the short segments does appear to show a knife piercing Marion's flesh. It's only 8 frames in length (or 1/3 of a second) and the final frame is this:

At first glance, the knife does appear to have cut into the belly. However, I think the darkness we see on the left of the end of the blade is shadow (the light source is away to the left of the frame). In this image, the edge of the blade is highlighted in green, and it's shadow outlined in blue. What we're seeing is the tip of the blade against the skin.

The 7 previous frames show the knife swooping downwards quickly into the frame. How could they ensure the person holding the knife stopped in time to avoid stabbing Marion (it's not certain if we're seeing Janet Leigh's midriff or her body double, Marli Renfro)?

I've spent a good hour or so this evening watching those 8 frames over and over again…

I think the sequence was achieved quite simply — what we're seeing in the final film is reversed footage. What was actually shot begins with the knife held against the flesh, and then it's pulled away (up and out of frame).

Don't believe me? Then have a play with this web page which lets you run the sequence both ways at two different speeds.

There's 2 things which I think give it away:

• as the knife is pulled away, it leaves behind a steam of small water droplets
• the motion of the shower spray seems more "natural" in the version where the knife is pulled away

Also, on the final frame, I think we can see the impression on the skin of where the knife was resting.

Finally, the movement of the midriff again seems more natural when the frames are shown in reverse. As the knife is pulled back, Marion moves her body away.

Whilst we're on the subject of the shower scene, there is some obvious nudity as Marion's hand reaches out (presumably we're seeing Marli Renfro's breasts here)…

…and as Janet Leigh tumbles forwards, the moleskin she wore during filming is just visible across her chest for a single frame…

And just to wrap things up, here are a couple of magazine covers featuring Miss Renfro…

…Renfro was a professional glamour model who, according to those on set, was more than comfortable with being nude in front of the crew. Renfro certainly does appear in the sequence where Norman lifts Marion's body onto the shower curtain and a couple of the frames give away the fact that she was wearing underwear (visible on her hips)…

The Cornerhouse in Manchester (UK) is showing Hitchcock's 1938 film "The Lady Vanishes" on
May 25th 2008. Although there's nothing about this on the web site, apparently this is a new digital restoration and will be shown in HD.

The Internet Movie Database usually lists a number of genre keywords for each film, and I thought it would be interesting to use those to find out which Hitchcock films are similar.

So, for each Hitchcock film, I've listed the top five other films that have the most keywords in common with that film. For example, the most similar film to "Psycho" is "Frenzy", and the most similar to "Spellbound" is "Vertigo".

What do you think — are the suggestions good ones and are the suggested films similar?

The Pleasure Garden (1925)

• Suspicion (1941)
• Murder! (1930)
• Vertigo (1958)
• The Paradine Case (1947)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)

The Lodger (1927)

• Young and Innocent (1937)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Frenzy (1972)
• Stage Fright (1950)

The Ring (1927)

• Murder! (1930)
• The Pleasure Garden (1925)
• The Paradine Case (1947)
• The Manxman (1929)
• Notorious (1946)

Easy Virtue (1928)

• Rebecca (1940)
• I Confess (1953)
• The Skin Game (1931)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Spellbound (1945)

The Farmer's Wife (1928)

• Rebecca (1940)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Young and Innocent (1937)

The Manxman (1929)

• Murder! (1930)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Topaz (1969)
• The Wrong Man (1956)

Blackmail (1929)

• Sabotage (1936)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Vertigo (1958)
• The 39 Steps (1935)

Juno and the Paycock (1930)

• Easy Virtue (1928)
• Number Seventeen (1932)
• I Confess (1953)
• Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
• Under Capricorn (1949)

Murder! (1930)

• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Jamaica Inn (1939)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• I Confess (1953)
• Stage Fright (1950)

Rich and Strange (1931)

• Jamaica Inn (1939)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Sabotage (1936)
• Lifeboat (1944)

The Skin Game (1931)

• Easy Virtue (1928)
• I Confess (1953)
• Murder! (1930)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• The Pleasure Garden (1925)

Number Seventeen (1932)

• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Sabotage (1936)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Jamaica Inn (1939)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)

The 39 Steps (1935)

• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Sabotage (1936)
• North by Northwest (1959)

Sabotage (1936)

• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Blackmail (1929)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)

Young and Innocent (1937)

• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Murder! (1930)
• Frenzy (1972)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

• The 39 Steps (1935)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Sabotage (1936)

Jamaica Inn (1939)

• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Murder! (1930)
• Lifeboat (1944)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Young and Innocent (1937)

Rebecca (1940)

• Suspicion (1941)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Psycho (1960)

Foreign Correspondent (1940)

• North by Northwest (1959)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Topaz (1969)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Young and Innocent (1937)

Suspicion (1941)

• Rebecca (1940)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)

Mr and Mrs Smith (1941)

• Saboteur (1942)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Rebecca (1940)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)

Saboteur (1942)

• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Rebecca (1940)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

• Frenzy (1972)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Psycho (1960)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Spellbound (1945)

Lifeboat (1944)

• Jamaica Inn (1939)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Rich and Strange (1931)

Spellbound (1945)

• Vertigo (1958)
• Rear Window (1954)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Notorious (1946)

• North by Northwest (1959)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Topaz (1969)
• Rebecca (1940)
• Spellbound (1945)

The Paradine Case (1947)

• Murder! (1930)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• The Pleasure Garden (1925)

Rope (1948)

• Psycho (1960)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Frenzy (1972)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)

Under Capricorn (1949)

• Suspicion (1941)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Topaz (1969)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• The Trouble with Harry (1955)

Stage Fright (1950)

• Young and Innocent (1937)
• The Lodger (1927)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Psycho (1960)
• Murder! (1930)

Strangers on a Train (1951)

• Frenzy (1972)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Sabotage (1936)
• Rebecca (1940)

I Confess (1953)

• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Easy Virtue (1928)
• The Wrong Man (1956)

Dial M for Murder (1954)

• Rear Window (1954)
• Psycho (1960)
• Sabotage (1936)
• I Confess (1953)
• North by Northwest (1959)

Rear Window (1954)

• Spellbound (1945)
• Psycho (1960)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• I Confess (1953)
• Vertigo (1958)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Topaz (1969)

To Catch a Thief (1955)

• Spellbound (1945)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Frenzy (1972)
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• The Lodger (1927)

The Trouble with Harry (1955)

• Psycho (1960)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• The Lodger (1927)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)

The Wrong Man (1956)

• Spellbound (1945)
• I Confess (1953)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Psycho (1960)

Vertigo (1958)

• Spellbound (1945)
• Rebecca (1940)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Psycho (1960)
• North by Northwest (1959)

North by Northwest (1959)

• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Psycho (1960)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• The 39 Steps (1935)

Psycho (1960)

• Frenzy (1972)
• Rear Window (1954)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

The Birds (1963)

• Psycho (1960)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• The Wrong Man (1956)

Marnie (1964)

• Rebecca (1940)
• Suspicion (1941)
• Spellbound (1945)
• Dial M for Murder (1954)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)

Torn Curtain (1966)

• Topaz (1969)
• Notorious (1946)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• To Catch a Thief (1955)

Topaz (1969)

• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Rebecca (1940)

Frenzy (1972)

• Psycho (1960)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Young and Innocent (1937)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• Spellbound (1945)

Family Plot (1976)

• Suspicion (1941)
• Stage Fright (1950)
• Rebecca (1940)
• The Lodger (1927)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)

As a companion to an ongoing discussion about "where does Norman sleep?" on the Hitchen group, here are some screen grabs from the HDNet broadcast of "Psycho" — click to view larger versions…

n.b. Norman's jacket is hanging next to the door

The images aren't true HD resolution (which would be 1080 pixels in height), but are taken from a lower resolution 720 transfer. However, they are a good indication of the care Universal have taken with converting this particular Hitchcock film to HD.

The Telegraph newspaper is reporting that Alfred Hitchcock's former country retreat in Shamley Green, Surrey is up for sale.

• Alfred Hitchcock: A long way from the Bates Motel

The asking price? A cool £2,500,000.

Here are 3 more images that aren't included in the article on the Telegraph site:

Via Google News, I found this wonderful piece of "The Birds" memorabilia for sale on the Movie Poster Studio web site…

An article on the CinemaRetro web site goes into more details…

The concept behind this particular bird-brained scheme was to allow members of the public free entry to screenings, as long as they were wearing the mask, and as long as they could match a number printed on the back of the mask with a list at the cinema box office.

In November 1914, a 15 year old Alfred Hitchcock joined W.T Henley Telegraph Works as a junior technician. According to McGilligan's biography, Hitchcock moved to the advertising department in 1917…

His new job was more picture-oriented: designing, laying out, and pasting up the advertisments and brochures for Henley's products.

The following are adverts for Henley's that appeared in The Times newspaper in October and November 1917 — I wonder if the 18 year old Hitchcock might have been involved with them?

I think Nat King Cole's "Marnie" is mentioned in the DVD documentary for the film, but it wasn't until I recently read "Hitchcock's Music" by Jack Sullivan that I finally got around to tracking the song down…

A few years earlier, "Que Sera Sera" (from the 1956 remake of "The Man Who Knew Too Much") had been a huge hit and Hollywood studios were always on the prowl for hit songs that could be used to promote their films.

From what I can gather, Bernard Herrmann himself wrote the theme which was then recorded by Nat King Cole and producer Ralph Carmichael. The single (which later appeared on the album "The Beautiful Ballad") was a commercial failure — Herrmann was hardly a pop song composer — but Nat King Cole's voice makes for a pleasant enough diversion for a few minutes…

Moon and mist
Make rainbows in your hair
When I see your smile
There's sunlight everywhere

But your world is lonely
Marnie
Oh, Marnie

So lost yet so lovely
Take my hand
And stay with me awhile

Let me try to dry
The tears beneath your smile

Only love can save you
Marnie

Please love me
Please be mine

I love you
Marnie

Please me mine

The Internet Movie Database has a list of genre keywords for most films, so I thought it'd be fun to grab together all of the ones from the Hitchcock films and turn them into a cloud. The keyword lists aren't exhaustive and are incomplete for some films, but here's what came out…

In the modern world of CGI, some of the special effects and rear projection techniques in Hitchcock's films can seem a little dated and crude.

One of the sequences that I think has stood the test of time well is from near the end of "Foreign Correspondent (1940)" when the clipper plane is shelled, one of its engines destroyed, and it nose-dives into the sea.

As the passengers brace themselves for impact, the two pilots try to keep the clipper steady…

Through the cockpit we see the sea rushing up and the pilots at the controls. At the last possible moment you expect the film to jump to an external shot — maybe an unconvincing model aeroplane hitting the surface of a tank of water in the studio.

Instead, without a single cut in the film or any dodgy model shots, we see the pilots leaping from their seats, the plane hitting the water, the cockpit windows shattering, and the cold sea water crashing into the plane…

The sequence is incredibly convincing and you're left wondering if Hitchcock didn't indeed get the footage by crashing a plane into the sea!

In reality, it was filmed in the studio…

The footage of the sea was taken by a special stunt plane, filmed from a dive in which the pilot (Paul Mantz) pulled up at the last possible moment. Back in the studio, the footage was projected onto a thin paper screen in front of the cockpit set. Behind the screen, a large tank of water and a closed chute which was pointed towards the screen.

After a number of rehearsal runs to ensure the timing was correct, the cameras rolled. Just before the footage of the stunt dive into the sea ended, the stuntmen playing the pilots jumped from their seats and the chute behind the screen pulled open. The water from the tank then poured down the chute and ripped through the paper screen and into the set.

By pausing the DVD, a single frame of film (which lasts just 1/24 of a second) shows the screen ripping upwards from the bottom…

After the impact, we then see the passengers struggling to escape the sinking plane. In a rare Hitchcock goof, the unsteady camera rocks upwards for a fraction of a second and we see the studio lights above the set…

As a brief footnote, the stunt pilot Paul Mantz was killed in 1965 during the making of "The Flight of the Phoenix". In the film, the survivors of a plane crash in the Sahara build a new plane out of the wreckage.

To simulate the take-off of the new plane, Mantz was asked to fly it in low with the landing gear down, let the wheels run along the ground, and then take-off again. Sadly, on the second take, the plane crashed and the 62 year old aviator was killed.

James Stewart, who starred in the film, helped carry Mantz's coffin at the funeral.