Universal Pictures released Family Plot on 9 April 1976.
It was the last film that Alfred Hitchcock directed. And it was a good swan song. It is a whole lot of fun.
Of course, Hitchcock shows his usual attention to detail. The special effects are quite bad. He uses rear projection throughout and it is dreadful. And he uses an under-cranked camera in the runaway car sequence that doesn’t really work. It’s shocking that a director so known for his care and control took so little care with these things.
But the runaway car sequence, despite its obvious problems, is extremely effective. And the acting by Barbara Harris and Bruce Dern makes it hilarious.
The overall film is uneven in regard to comedy. But that’s a choice. The screenplay establishes one of the plot lines as a comedy and the other as a drama. Hitchcock has done both successfully in other films. And the contrast works well here. It does make me wonder why he didn’t direct more comedy. He clearly understood it. Just watch any episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
I was slightly disappointed that the script didn’t find a way to save Karen Black. The plot set this up. But the film is already over two hours long. And screenwriter Ernest Lehman showed an admirable tendency to end films quickly. And saving black would have complicated the simple and sweet ending.
Family Plot will never displace Shadow of a Doubt or The Birds in my personal list of essential Hitchcock. But Hitchcock shot those films in my hometown. So I grew up thinking of them as iconic. And he did a better job making other films. But I don’t think you can find a film that is more entertaining from start to finish.
So let’s celebrate this golden anniversary by watching the film. If you haven’t seen it, you will enjoy it!
Other Anniversaries
Filmmakers:
- Paul Robeson (1898-1976)
- Marty Krofft (1937-2023)
- Brandon deWilde (1942-1972)
- Dennis Quaid (1954-)
- Fred Dekker (1959-)
- Cynthia Nixon (1966-).
Films:
- And Soon the Darkness (1970)
- All the President’s Men (1976)
- Tremors 2: Aftershocks (1996)
- The Back Lot Murders (2002)
- Shaun of the Dead (2004).
Family Plot (1977) poster via Wikipedia under Fair use.
