Intertitle of the Week: Come again?
I know Hitchcock reckoned the closing title card of EASY VIRTUE — “Go ahead, shoot! There’s nothing left to kill.” — was the worst he ever wrote, but my money’s on the first, mainly because I can’t understand it. Can anyone translate this into plain English?
Next up, we’ll be watching THE RING, the first Hitch since THE LODGER to be his own choice of subject. It’s available in the Early Hitchcock box set, so anyone who has that, please watch along. See you Wednesday, if not before.
shadowplay 
February 2, 2009 at 10:31 am
By the way, has anyone seen Stephan Elliott’s version of the Noel Coward play, Easy Virtue? I haven’t, but would be interested in doing so some time. I have fond memories of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
February 2, 2009 at 10:41 am
Oh, it’s him? I looked at the trailer on YouTube as prep for this, and it looked just awful. Reviews were generally dreadful — I mentioned it in my main Easy Virtue piece, but haven’t actually seen it. I don’t think I could bear to. But since I haven’t had the experience, I can’t be TOTALLY sure it’s not good.)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xDgWWH2xyeQ
Welcome to Woop Woop is pretty flawed too.
February 2, 2009 at 8:49 pm
… and I was so hoping Elliott would prepare a version set in the Outback, full of over-the-top humor and Rod Taylor lurking like a malign fate, entitled “Easy Woop-Woop.”
Truth to tell, I have a fondness for Elliott’s “Eye of the Beholder” — and, no, I haven’t seen the Claude Miller version (“Mortelle Radonee”) of this same material. This is because (a) I like Marc Behm’s original novel; (b) so much of the criticism I heard when the film came out was so stupid: and (c) any film with Ashley Judd, Genvieve Bujold, and k.d. lang in it is going to contain *something* of interest.
February 2, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Agree re that cast, ought to be watchable. If it comes around again, I’m going to check it out. Bujold is a goddess.
I remember the Miller one being rather good, especially the hurdy-gurdy music, and Serrault’s touching performance. Lacked an ending though.
The odd spot of Behm’s career is clearly his authorship of the “story” of the Beatles film Help! I wonder how that came about.