Thursday Movie Picks: Amateur Sleuths
1) Harriet The Spy - This is the one that came to mind immediately. I loved this movie when I was a kid. I have memories of my friends and I out playing in the summer, pretending to be Harriet, using compact mirrors to spy on random people and writing down mundane things in our notebooks.
2) Rear Window - Jeff is a photographer, but he turns into somewhat of an amateur sleuth when he eavesdrops on his neighbor who he thinks has committed a murder.
3) In The Fade - In this German film, Katja loses her family to a terrorist attack, and when she doesn't like the outcome of the trial she begins following the person who did it to carry out her own revenge. Diane Kruger is amazing in this movie.
Hey we match! I love Rear Window! James Stewart is excellent in the role but he is basically the neighbour you would hate to be near you because he is always watching you. What is cool is how Hitchcock made us the same as Stewart. I have not seen Harriet the Spy nor your last choice but I would love to see that last film.
ReplyDeleteIn The Fade is very good. I'm glad there was so much love for Rear Window this week.
DeleteThe Kid Detective!
ReplyDeleteGOAT!
DeleteHarriet the Spy! Great choice. I can't believe I still haven't seen Rear Window either.
ReplyDeleteYOu should check it out! It's amazing.
DeleteI LOVE Rear Window!!! It's my second favorite Hitchcock (after Saboteur) and one of those movies I can watch over and over. I was lucky enough to see it in the theatre about a half dozen years ago when it was re-released in a cleaned up version and it was phenomenal. Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter are all pitch perfect in it.
ReplyDeleteI've seen bits of Harriet the Spy but doubtful the whole thing. My nieces adored it when they were girls. My one niece read the whole series several times.
If heard of In the Fade and how good Diane Kruger is in the film but I haven't gotten to it yet.
My first thought was Rear Window but I knew I used it before without even checking so I also went with a girl detective and two that fit the theme that I've seen within the last year.
Nancy Drew: Detective (1938)-A brief Warner Brothers series (this was followed by: Nancy Drew…Reporter, Nancy Drew…Trouble Shooter and Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase-all released in 1939) starring Oscar nominee Bonita Granville as the intrepid and curious young Nancy who sniffs trouble and cannot help investigating. That usually leads her into endless difficulties, but she always manages to solve the mystery in the end!
Hue and Cry (1947)- “The Blood and Thunder Boys” are a neighborhood group of kids in a partially bombed out section of post-WWII London. They suspect the boss of the village gang is directing his cohorts to their various criminal enterprises by manipulating stories in a popular kid's paper “The Trump” (an actual kid comic of the time). Determined to stop the crooks they set out to solve the mystery of the leader’s identity and turn him over to the cops! Considered the first of the British Ealing comedies.
Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? (1971)-When a local prostitute is slain in a rough, rundown part of town, the police and neighbors react with little more than a shrug. Outraged, retired boxer Mickey Isador (Red Buttons), who knew the woman slightly, decides to try and find the killer. With the aid of his daughter, he pokes around the gritty dilapidated slum looking for answers, nearly getting himself offed in the process. Low-budget film captures the ramshackle decay that had infected many parts of New York City in the late 60’s/early 70’s.
I'll have to add Saboteur to my Hitchcock list. I keep meaning to watch Rope, but then I put it off.
DeleteI thought of Nancy Drew but I've never actually seen any of those movies, I'm just familiar with them. The other two picks I haven't seen.
Don't expect quite the same level as Rear Window with Saboteur. Not to say that it's not a terrific movie it's just that Rear Window is peak Hitchcock.
DeleteBut several things keep Saboteur at the top of the list for me. It has a smooth precision and quirkiness that I love and a climax that is pure edge of your seat brilliance.
Then there is the fact that I adore Priscilla Lane in this. Well, I adore Priscilla Lane in pretty much everything, except “Love, Honor and Behave” one of the vilest pieces of trash I have ever had the misfortune to see!! Hitchcock had wanted Barbara Stanwyck for the role and while I love her as well Priscilla’s apple pie American blondeness was the ideal at that time which fits the thrust of the story better. She was an enormous star when cast but chose to retire once she married shortly after this and isn’t as well remembered today as she deserves to be. At least she has a bit of immortality as a Hitchcock blonde!
I’ll be anxious to read your thoughts on it after you get the chance to see it.
Thanks for the rec! (as always) I've added it to the list.
DeleteWe share Rear Window! It's the first that came to my mind as it's my favourite from Hitchcock.
ReplyDeleteMine too!
DeleteRear Window is a good pick. Haven't seen the first or the last one but the premise of In the Fade sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn The Fade is excellent. I highly recommend it.
DeleteI've seen Harriet the Spy (I liked that film) and Rear Window (classic) but I haven't seen In the Fade but I have heard great things and I do think Diane Kruger doesn't get enough props as an actress.
ReplyDeleteI never thought much of her until I saw her in this to be honest. She's spectacular.
DeleteGlad we match on Rear Window! Oooh I've been wanting to watch In The Fade, so thanks for reminding me. I quite like Diane Kruger, I think she's quite underrated.
ReplyDeleteIt's a very good movie. I wish she had gotten more attention for it.
DeleteNice picks! I opted out of this week because I couldn't think of many. But Harriet the Spy and Rear Window would've been on my list. I think Harriet is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a writer. Loved her outfit and notebook lol.
ReplyDeleteSame! I wrote a lot of poetry as a kid so seeing someone carrying around a note book was pretty inspiring.
DeleteI totally forgot Harriet the Spy. I grew up seeing the movie and loved it. It is such a cute movie.
ReplyDeleteIt was! One of my favorites growing up too.
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