Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-03-30

me the other day
there was nothing extraordinary
about the suspense-packed pictures
he makes. What passed for inspira-
ton with him was observation
watching what actually happens,
filming only what could happen.
We were in the living room of
his Bel-Air home, looking through
the window at golfers passing on the
course hundred yards distant. I'd
gone up to welcome him back from
England. wanted to hear how the
Hitchcock technique had been ap-
piled to propaganda pictures he di-
rected over there.
He started right off by saying that
one of these pictures wasn't propa-
ganda at all. "'Bon Voyage he
explained, twas just a way of say
ing thanks to the French people
and the underground for all they'd
risked in helping so many of our
boys escape during the occupation.
It's a three-reel feature that tells
the true story of the escape of an
English flier and assistance given
him."
"'Bon Voyage" he said pride
fully, was well received"
The English government did a
mighty intelligent thing getting this
master of suspense" over to direct
| it.
Just Can't Miss
Hitch's new picture is the much
talked-of "Spellbound," with Greg
DRY Peck making love to Ingrid
Bergman, mystery, suspense, psy-
chiatry, fantastic sets by Salvador
Dali, and music by the symphony
composer and conductor MiklOs
Rosa.
Hitch has his own theory about
music. He gets celebrated COM
| poser to write music for him just
so he can stop it. But just why, sir,
do you get all that expensive music
just to stop it?
you've seen people in danger?"
asks Hitch. people at some high
point of tension? Let's do a scene:
| We're sitting in this room talking,
when bang! just like that a bur-
glar enters and points a gun ct us.
1--WE freeze. We don't move or
breathe. Certainly we don't talk. At
any dramatic moment like this
there comes hush. When the danger
is over everybody starts jabbering.
It's a release to talk, they talk
louder, laugh louder.
$50 in a psychological mystery
there are appropriate intervals at
which 1 want the music dramat-
ically stopped-with hush!
"Only 'Spellbound' isn't just a
mystery story. It's a love story.
There's nothing unusual about it. It's
based on truth, psychiatric truth"
What about Foreign Correspond
emit and 'Lifeboat'?" l asked.
Same thing. In Foreign Core
spondent it was a man hammering
away at events, and the woman
didn't help things. There isn't any,
thing in there that'ceuldn't happen.
'Lifeboat' is the same way"
Some More Plans
After 'Spellbound,' WHAT"
wanted to know.
Notorious " he said. "Just fin
ished working on the script with
Ben Hecht."
Then he went on to tell what a
great guy Ben is. Says they collab-
crate SO well that dialog becomes
a kind of verbal shorthand, almost
mental telepathy.
Hitch feels his pictures are fin
ished the day shooting begins. He
says from then on it's a matter of
interpreting what has been created,
ard that it's possible to get into the
finished film only about rs per cent
of what the mind has pictured.
In a world where foot invisible
rabbits can star in Broadway shows
and in which the true story of an
English fiier's escape from occupied
France furnishes material for a
Hitchcock chiller l can believe that
there is nothing unusual in a Hitch.