Movie » Mystery & Suspense Master Movies

Array

An adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. A Briton in America, seeking glamour, finds only death when someone begins killing societychr(39)s elite with poisoned champagne.

Credited with inventing the genre of the modern horror film PSYCHO has had its share of sequels and imitators none of which diminishes the achievement of this shocking and complex horror thriller. Alfred Hitchcock's choreography of elements in PSYCHO is considered so perfect it inspired a shot-by-shot remake by Gus Van Zant in 1998. However Hitchcock's black-and-white original featuring Anthony Perkins's haunting characterization of lonely motel keeper Norman Bates has never been equaled. Bates presides over an out-of-the-way motel under the domineering specter of his mother. The young well-intentioned Bates is introduced to the audience when Marion Crane Janet Leigh a blonde on the run with stolen money checks in for the night. But Momma doesn't like loose women so the stage is set for this classic tale of horror--and one of the most famous scenes in film history. PSYCHO was initially received by audiences with shock and amazement--and it still terrifies today. Though it is now considered prototypical Hitchc

Alfred Hitchcock had already begun work on REAR WINDOW when he took on the project to direct DIAL M FOR MURDER based on the successful play by Frederick Knott. For the film Hitchcock chose to cast his favorite leading lady of the time Grace Kelly as the embattled Margot Wendice. Kelly would also star in REAR WINDOW and Hitchcock's subsequent TO CATCH A THIEF. It wasn't Hitchcock's preference to shoot DIAL M FOR MURDER in Warnercolor 3D the cameras were large and unwieldly and the film is seldom screened in 3D but Hitchcock's use of the technique is notable for its service to the story rather than just being a gimmick. In the film Margot Wendice is a wealthy heiress whose playboy husband Tony Ray Milland recognizes his dependence on his wife's fortune. When Tony begins to suspect he is losing Margot's affection to writer Mark Halliday Robert Cummings he also begins to fear he will lose her wealth. This leads the callous husband to craft a plan for his wife's death. However when the plan goes awry Tony is quick

VERTIGO is Alfred Hitchcock's haunting tale of deception madness and death--a masterful exploration of fantasy and anxiety. The film ranks with REAR WINDOW as one of the director's most closely studied films for its psychological complexity while the obsession of its protagonist--John "Scottie" Ferguson James Stewart--can also be seen to parallel that of Hitchcock's own fascination with the icy-blonde leading lady he re-created at the center of so many of his films. Ferguson is a retired detective his career ended by the onset of a paralyzing fear of heights. An old friend the wealthy Gavin Elster Tom Helmore hires Ferguson to follow his wife Kim Novak whom he explains has grown obsessed with an ancestor of hers. The assignment however draws Ferguson out of his comfortable role as observer and into a complex web of intrigue mingled with the detective's own fantasies and fears. Stewart gives an exceptional performance as the disintegrating detective while Novak who was left largely undirected by Hitchcock conv

In THE BIRDS Alfred Hitchcock's heart-pounding follow-up to PSYCHO the director couples a tone of rigorous morality with dark humor to create a thriller that begins as a light comedy and ends as an apocalyptic allegory. Tippi Hedren Melanie Griffith's mother carries the picture in her first film role ever embarking on a career as an icy-cool leading lady. Loosely based on a Daphne du Maurier story and a Santa Monica newspaper account "Seabird Invasion Hits Coastal Homes" THE BIRDS also features groundbreaking special effects that in 1963 surprised and delighted audiences. Wealthy reformed party girl Melanie Daniels Hedren enjoys a brief flirtation with lawyer Mitch Brenner Rod Taylor in a San Francisco pet shop and decides to follow him to his Bodega Bay home. Bearing a gift of two lovebirds Melanie quickly strikes up a romance with Mitch while contending with his possessive mother and boarding at his ex-girlfriend's house. One day during a birthday party for Mitch's younger sister a flock of birds attacks th

Array

Array

Array

Agatha Christie and an all-star cast make foul deeds fun when a malevolent matriarch is murdered on a 1930s Holy Land tour. Starring Peter Ustinov (as Hercule Poirot) Lauren Bacall and John Gielgud. Year: 1988 Director: Michael Winner Starring: Peter Ustinov, Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher