August 26th: FAMILY PLOT (Alfred Hitchcock, 1976)

A hapless, con-artist couple crosses paths with a wealthy kidnapping couple during the search for a missing heir.

Alfred Hitchcock's long and storied career came to a close in the 1970s with an odd two-step. After decades working in Hollywood with high production value and the biggest stars, he returned to England for a modestly-budgeted serial killer story with uncharacteristic graphic violence and nudity. Then it was back to Los Angeles for an adaptation of the mystery novel The Rainbird Pattern.

Ernest Lehman was commissioned to write the adaptation, a previous collaborator with the director on the hugely successful North By Northwest. Hitchcock's script notes consisted mainly of favoring a lighter, comedic tone, and he was said to reference the work of the great comedic filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch as a guiding influence.

The casting process involved big names such as Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Burt Reynolds, Faye Dunaway, Goldie Hawn, and Liza Minnelli, but mostly due to salary demands, lesser-known character actors were used instead. Karen Black (Easy Rider), Bruce Dern (who had appeared in Hitchcock's Marnie), Broadway veteran Barbara Harris (Nashville), and William Devane (McCabe & Mrs. Miller) head the cast.

Known for highlighting the locations where his films are set (often utilizing popular landmarks), Hitchcock made an atypical move by keeping the setting vague in Family Plot, the film shot partially in San Francisco and in Los Angeles. In another rare decision, the actors were encouraged to improvise dialogue if they so wished. John Williams contributed the score with detailed suggestions from the director.

Hitchcock scaled back on the visuals and the film is missing any intricately choreographed shots. The experimentation this time around was more with form, in the cross-cutting between two sets of characters who are slowly brought together over the course of the film. In addition, morality is blurred by the default protagonists equally culpable in their crimes as the story's villains.

The film premiered out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Critical reception was positive, though it was regarded by most as a minor work, and failed to catch on with the general public. Barbara Harris received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance, and Lehman's script was awarded by the Mystery Writers Of America.  A follow-up was cut short when Hitchcock retired due to increasing health problems.

Running time is approx. 2 hrs.