A Glut Of Hitchcock

I think I've said before that I'm not totally convinced by Hitchcock, but on the other hand every time I see one of his movies, I find that I like it. Am I being deliberately contrarian? On balance, no - it's just that I don't find the end product quite as reliably compelling as, say, your average Scorsese. Then again, the Boy Hitchcock was after a very different sort of effect so the Boy Roberts is comparing apples and pears. Again.

Anyway the two latest to have amused me are The 39 Steps, with its tissue thin plotting but racing wit, and Strangers on a Train, which has a brilliant performance from Robert Walker as the charming psychopath Bruno Anthony (is there some Shakespearean fun being had with that name?). I hadn't previously realised that the film is based on Patricia Highsmith's first novel.

7.5/10 and 8/10 respectively.