Joseph Cotten

A Mad Killer Hides Out in Small Town America: Shadow of a Doubt (1943) by Bill Hare Joseph Cotten was in a nervous frame of mind when he asked to see Alfred Hitchcock , the director of his next film. Ever so casually, Hitchcock, who did not drive a car, asked an apprehensive Cotten to drive him to downtown Beverly Hills. Cotten explained the source of his anxiety; here he was being asked to play a homicidal maniac in Hitchcock’s next film and he was in a quandary wondering how a killer would...Read Full Story

Andrew L. Stone Double Feature Posted by darkdave With few readily recognizable titles in his oeuvre, and no flashy signature style to speak of, filmmaker Andrew L. Stone 's impact on Hollywood during his lengthy career might be deemed negligible. The serious noirhead will look back a bit more fondly though, recalling the flurry of well-crafted and often location-shot thrillers Stone wrote, directed, and collaborated on with his wife - editor and producer Virginia Stone. Having spent decades...Read Full Story

Posted by Curt on 6/11/2006, 9:58 pm When I first saw this movie a few years ago, I mainly enjoyed it because of Wendell Corey's excellent performance. He never coasted for one minute in his character, and just played his role straight ahead to the hilt. In this picture he portrays Leon Poole, a clerk at a bank. The day of an attempted robbery at his bank, his old army sarge shows up to see him. Well, Leon attempts to stop the bank thieves and gets knocked in the head for it. After this...Read Full Story

Strangers on a Train : Hitchcock’s Rich Imagery Reigning Supreme By Bill Hare One of the first lessons I learned when embarking on a series about great film directors was the unique value they attached to the camera and all it could accomplish in generating screen magic when applied by appropriately attuned creative minds. As a youngster growing up in London, Hitchcock’s world existed inside dark movie theaters, where he could sit with eyes glued to a screen where an infinity of possibilities...Read Full Story

This is our group blog, which is unique because any Zimbio member can post an entry to it. Some members blog about recent news and trends related to the portal topic, others recount relevant personal stories. You can also comment on and rate existing blog entries, to voice your opinion and to help the community identify which members and entries on the portal are must-reads. Got an interesting idea or story to share with other members of this portal? Well, then put on your journalist's cap...Read Full Story