Family Plot (1976)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely the worst movie.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

. . . and his character, George Lumley, proves more durable than the drunken sailor he played in MARNIE. I thought it was TOTALLY an implausible plot point that jewel thieves would hold a poor church mouse for ransom when I viewed FAMILY PLOT, until I saw this week's headline about the "Bishop of Bling" over in Germany. That does not change the fact that when you see the highlight reel of the fourteen Hitchcock flicks offered for sale in Universal Studio's "Master of Suspense" collection, the scenes from FAMILY PLOT sort of stick out like sore thumbs (and that includes the sticking of the aforementioned bishop with a hypodermic needle during his mid-Mass kidnapping; common sense would suggest NO congregation anywhere would sit still for such an incident, but as this week's offering at the multiplex--JACKASS PRESENTS BAD GRANDPA--proves, the American public has little if any common sense, and pranksters or evil-doers can get away with pretty much ANYTHING in front of a crowd as long as they seem either self-assured and\or too much trouble to interfere with).

When people state it's a good Hitchcokian film, I tend to believe it really is. However, it is not the case in here. I may admit the plot seems very interesting and original, from the get go, but the outcome just doesn't deliver. You know, for a plot two hours long, spectator REQUIRES some surprising twist or something, but in this case, filmmakers end this with no big events or anything. One of the some good scenes is when Blanche and Tyler go down on the road-- it's pretty agonizing, be careful. Other than that, there are good actors that truly engage the story, but that isn't enough to fill out the seek for a complete story we all expect. Maybe that's why it's one of the most infamous Hitchcockian's movie.

From the director of Rebecca, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho & The Birds comes the final feature film of his great & glorious career. And although it may be no match to any of the above mentioned films, it nonetheless works as what it is in the first place; a dark comedy.Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot tells the story of two couples; one consists of a fake psychic & a cab driver who together make up as petty con artists while the other couple kidnap rich people for ransoms. The plot concerns the search of a missing heir that brings the petty criminals in conflict with the smooth professionals leading to some unexpected consequences.Finely directed by Hitchcock, the film suffers when compared to previous classics in the director's impressive filmography but it is clever & strong enough to stand on its own. It is a crime thriller but a very light-hearted one that benefits from fine dose of performances from its cast as well as crew. And throughout its runtime, it manages to keep a very playful atmosphere even when the events become suspenseful.On an overall scale, carrying the same elements of suspense in its plot that has virtually defined almost all Hitchcock films, Family Plot embraces his usual storytelling technique with enough measure of thriller & mystery in its bag but this time it's also blended with smart flair of light- hearted & well-executed humour. Not a memorable movie by any means but destined to be remembered as the last one from 'The Master of Suspense'.

This was Hitchcocks last movie. He was very ill on set, and he did well to finish this. There are more "sexual innuendo" lines than in any of his other movies. Perhaps he was telling us.......I do have a naughty side and a sense of humour. Bruce Dern and Karen Black are pretty good and the pace is always fast. This last Hitchcock film was not well received (particularly in America). One of the reasons was Alfreds VERY English & naughty sense of humour. There are vast differences between American humour and British humour. Hitchcock finished his great career ..............with one for the Brits. Well done Alfred.....we all know American humour is....ummmm not at all funny.