Friday, March 12, 2010

The Master of Suspense

In her cabin, Marion, wearing a glossy robe, is seated at the desk with pencil, paper, and bankbook. She is calculating the amount of the stolen money she spent and must replace. She tears up the slip of paper and is about to toss it into the wastebasket, but thinks better of it and takes it into the bathroom where she flushes it down the toilet. She then closes the door, removes her robe, and steps into the bathtub.

She draws the shower curtain closed and unwraps a bar of soap. She turns on the shower.

As she is showering, through the translucent shower curtain we see the door open. A shadow slowly approaches, then a hand swiftly throws open the curtain.

Marion turns and sees the backlit figure of a woman with a large bread knife in her raised hand.

Marion screams...


Alfred Hitchcock. Master of Suspense. No one did it better. From the nail biting suspense of the scene quoted above (Psycho, 1960), to the fun in searching for his trademark cameo appearances in every movie he made, to the intrigue in my personal favourtie - Dial M for Murder, there will never be another Hitchcock.

Mr. Hitchcock, we salute you.

What did you do to celebrate today?


Tomorrow: Ear Muff Day; Good Samaritan Day; National Coconut Torte Day; National Open an Umbrella Indoors Day
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