The last feature length movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock was Family Plot (1976). Based on the 1972 Victor Canning novel The Rainbird Pattern, Ernest Lehman adapted the comedy thriller for the movies. Enjoy with us this comedic look into this tale of con artists, serial kidnappers and the mystery of a missing heir set in California.
The audience is introduced to fake psychic Blanche Tyler performing a fake reading with portrayal of deceased family members to wealthy, guilt-ridden matron Julia Rainbird. Rainbird has hired Tyler to locate her nephew, the illegitimate son of her deceased sister. The nephew was quietly given up for adoption, with traces of his existence, name and other relevant details lost to time. Tyler’s boyfriend, George Lumley, awaits Tyler in the driveway in the role of dutiful taxi driver in the driveway. Barbara Harris portrayed Tyler as Bruce Dern portrayed Lumley. Cathleen Nesbitt portrayed Julia Rainbird.
The first issue the audience notes is the introduction of comedy given the con being offered by Blanche and George, with scant clues for how to go about locating Julia Rainbird’s nephew. The promise of discretion and a nice finder’s fee keeps the couple pressing on, with George using some investigative skill to discover the boy apparently died with the name Edward Shoebridge while still young. Despite some ongoing bickering between the couple, George uncovers a lead that takes him to Joseph Maloney and his mother, as portrayed by Ed Lauter and Katherine Helmond, respectively.
Meanwhile, we in the audience are introduced to serial kidnapper and successful jeweler Arthur Adamson in San Francisco, along with his accomplice and live-in girlfriend Fran. We learn at the same time that Adamson is Shoebridge, who had murdered his adoptive parents and faked his own death. The latest scheme for Fran and Arthur involved the kidnapping of extravagantly wealthy dignitaries with a valuable and large diamond hidden in plain sight of a crystal chandelier hanging above the main staircase of the couple’s home. Karen Black portrayed Fran and William Devane portrayed Arthur Adamson aka Edward Shoebridge in Family Plot.
Like any worthwhile movie offered by Alfred Hitchcock, the storylines intermingle with the required psychological tension to offer a compelling payoff for the awareness of cross purposes that one would expect. The compelling twists the bring Joseph Maloney and his mother back into the narrative brings about some cute circumstances, as does the nuanced point-of-views of many of the characters that have been traditional hallmarks for movies throughout our fair director’s career.
The resolution of the story comes to a naturally clever and fitting conclusion to the underlying mystery in an immensely cute, comedically satisfying, and almost unfair way that feels to me like a wink by the director who knew that this film, Family Plot, would be his final film. It is with this sense of nostalgia perhaps that I grant Family Plot as directed by Alfred Hitchcock 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Saturday, March 5, 2022
Matt Lynn Digital 