Familiengrab (1976)

Familiengrab: Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. With Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane. A phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/private investigator boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.

“This film gets a bad rap because it was not a suspenseful blockbuster in the vein of u0026quot;Psychou0026quot; and u0026quot;The Birdsu0026quot;. The fact is, is that after Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedrin did battle with seagulls in 1963, Hitchcock never again approached the heights of a major director and he dramatically slowed down his film output.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStill, this movie, along with 1964u0026#39;s u0026quot;Marnieu0026quot; and u0026#39;72u0026#39;s u0026quot;Frenzyu0026quot; represent a decent effort by Hitchcock to stay current and hip with modern audiences. That he was still directing films at all in the 1960s and 1970s is quite remarkable for a man whose film work began in the silent era.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Family Plotu0026quot; is a fun, neat little comedy-thriller much akin to the NBC Mystery Movies of that era… i.e., u0026quot;Columbou0026quot;, u0026quot;McMillen and Wifeu0026quot;. Blanche is a phony psychic who, along with her reluctant boyfriend Frank, played hilariously by the underrated Bruce Dern, run afoul of big time crooks Karen Black and William Devane.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe plot does get a bit convoluted, but Hitchcock was smart enough to lay off the heavy-handed dictatorial directorship that categorized his earlier work and let the actors and their characters move the plot along. Unlike Cary Grantu0026#39;s Thornhill in u0026quot;North By Northwestu0026quot;, we care about Blanche and Frank because they really are like us, the viewer. As much as we all adored the women in Hitchu0026#39;s films… Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, Kim Novak, and wanted to be like the men,Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewert, Ray Milland, Rod Taylor, Farley Granger, etc., none of these characters were remotely like US, and in his dotage, Hitchcock was still keen enough to realize that Cary Grant in 1956 was an admirable figure walking down the street… in 1976 he was apt to be pointed at and laughed about. Hitch knew INSTINCTIVELY that the gray suit and slicked back hair era was gone forever. In this film, it doesnu0026#39;t even look like Dern showers.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThatu0026#39;s part of the charm and why it was so refreshing, at this late date, to go into the movie theater and enjoy an Alfred Hitchcock film without having to sigh that it was all about nostalgia. This film, in his humorous approach has much in common with u0026quot;The Trouble With Harryu0026quot; than u0026quot;Psychou0026quot; or u0026quot;Shadow of a Doubtu0026quot;. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHitch didnu0026#39;t go out with a classic, thatu0026#39;s for sure, but he went out with a modern film that showed he could still produce an entertaining flick. That was all he was ever about anyway. No higher praise is needed.”