Hitchcock: The Perfect Crime
Thursday, June 29, 2023, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Instructor: Andrew Owen, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Lebanon Valley College
The monster seeks its victim among the isolated and vulnerable. As prey, these individuals exude a desperate defiance that crumbles at the Mephistophelean promise of love. This dynamic, founded on patriarchal class expectations, forms the underlying impetus of Hitchcock’s Suspicion (1941). This seminar will consider its usage and development within the context of the film, as well as its subsequent influence on the thriller genre, especially in relation to the portrayal of femicide.
Conversely, the seminar will also explore Hitchcock’s depiction of the murderous antihero, focusing on Cary Grant’s portrayal of Johnnie Aysgarth. Such figures are potential killers possessed of an urbane and charming allure, presenting a combination of boyish sophistication and uncompromising, dominant cool. They are unencumbered by the restrictive mores of established morality or sentiment, focused on the manipulation and entrapment of their victim. Such depictions of charismatic amorality, deliberately toying with the audience’s sensibilities, often fall foul of both professional censorship organizations and studio pressure, and Suspicion was no exception, as we will investigate.
Are you interested in “just” seeing this movie? Visit the public screening page here.
Cinema Classics Seminars offer an entertaining and engaging way to learn more about some of the true classics of world cinema. All students receive an introductory lecture before the film and a guided discussion after the film. In addition, those in attendance receive a ticket to see it on the big screen, as well as popcorn and a drink. Please note: the screening associated with this seminar will be open to the public, as well.
Please email BMFI Programs and Education Coordinator Jill Malcolm with any questions.
$25 for members, $35 for non-members
Schedule