Alfred Hitchcock’s Final Film Doesn’t Even Feel Like An Alfred Hitchcock Movie

Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899, and in honor of the famed auteur’s 116th birthday, we’re celebrating our second annual Hitchcock Week on Decider. Click here to follow our coverage.

Most people may be able to list Alfred Hitchcock‘s most acclaimed films immediately. Psycho. North by Northwest. Vertigo. Rear Window. Dial M for Murder. Strangers on a Train. Notorious. Plenty of titles come to mind, but his final film, 1976’s Family Plot, doesn’t even crack the top ten.

It’s a weird little movie, and definitely one that has a strong ’70s vibe. I mean, just look at the cast: Karen Black, Barbara Harris, and Bruce Dern, who were members of the generation of actors working with the counterculture-inspired directors who had broken the Hollywood studio system apart. It’s a weird cast for Hitchcock, whose most famous films are all Hollywood glamour with classic studio stars like James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Grace Kelly. Gone, also, is his trademark icy blonde, last seen portrayed by Tippi Hedren in Marnie.

But the film does retain some of Hitchcock’s trademark elements. For one, there’s the tightly complex plot: a fake psychic (played by Harris) and her boyfriend (Dern) accept a bountiful fee of $10,000 to help an elderly woman find her long-lost nephew, Edward Shoebridge. The only complication? The real Edward faked his death and changed his name, and he and his girlfriend (played by Black) kidnap rich millionaires and demand ransom in the form of diamonds, which he then resells in his San Francisco jewelry shop. The two pairs naturally intertwine, as do their respective schemes.

Sound silly? It’s supposed to be. Hitchcock’s final film is more of a madcap comedy than brilliant thriller, and perhaps reflects the changing tone of the film industry at the time. He didn’t have much to say as an artist about the complicated issues that were inspiring counter-culture classics films like Easy Rider or Nashville, but he did pick up some of their comic elements. And his affection for the lighthearted macabre is present for sure in this one, too, a trait that finds a place in all of his movies.

While it’s not the cinematic brilliance of Psycho or Vertigo, Family Plot is an interesting movie to watch if only to see the auteur try to fit into a different time and context. It feels more Altman than Hitchcock, but it doesn’t feel like a lame attempt at appealing to a younger generation. Instead, it’s a sharp comic thriller that maintains Hitchcock’s artistic visions while proving that even the most influential director was, himself, an impressionable artist.

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Photos: Everett Collection