“Family Plot” is a black comedy movie about an elderly woman who hires a psychic and her boyfriend to find her long-lost nephew. She does not realize that the psychic is a fake, and her boyfriend is merely a cab driver. The hilarity proceeds from there, in a complex plot from director Alfred Hitchcock, with a well written screenplay by Ernest Lehman. This would be Hitch’s last film project, in a directorial career that began in 1922 with “Number 13,” which is actually a lost film from the silent era, and never actually finished.
The outstanding ensemble cast includes Cathleen Nesbitt as the elderly woman, Barbara Harris as the psychic, Bruce Dern as the boyfriend, William Devane as the nephew, as well as Karen Black, Katherine Helmond, Marge Redmond, Ed Lauter, William Prince, Nicholas Colasanto, Edith Atwater, Charles Tyner, Alexander Lockwood, Martin West, and Elisabeth Brooks.
The musical score was composed by John Williams, who had just came from an Oscar win for “Jaws” (1975), and was about to embark into legendary status in the same role in “Star Wars” (1977). Barbara Harris was the film’s sole Academy Award nominee, for Best Actress.
Hitch’s final signature cameo appearance came about 40 minutes into the picture in the form of a silhouette seen through a smoky glass door. It captures his famous portly image for the ages in “Family Plot,” successful at the box office for producer Alfred Hitchcock and Universal Pictures.
Family Plot (1976)
cinema
My Review
“Family Plot” is a black comedy movie about an elderly woman who hires a psychic and her boyfriend to find her long-lost nephew. She does not realize that the psychic is a fake, and her boyfriend is merely a cab driver. The hilarity proceeds from there, in a complex plot from director Alfred Hitchcock, with a well written screenplay by Ernest Lehman. This would be Hitch’s last film project, in a directorial career that began in 1922 with “Number 13,” which is actually a lost film from the silent era, and never actually finished.
The outstanding ensemble cast includes Cathleen Nesbitt as the elderly woman, Barbara Harris as the psychic, Bruce Dern as the boyfriend, William Devane as the nephew, as well as Karen Black, Katherine Helmond, Marge Redmond, Ed Lauter, William Prince, Nicholas Colasanto, Edith Atwater, Charles Tyner, Alexander Lockwood, Martin West, and Elisabeth Brooks.
The musical score was composed by John Williams, who had just came from an Oscar win for “Jaws” (1975), and was about to embark into legendary status in the same role in “Star Wars” (1977). Barbara Harris was the film’s sole Academy Award nominee, for Best Actress.
Hitch’s final signature cameo appearance came about 40 minutes into the picture in the form of a silhouette seen through a smoky glass door. It captures his famous portly image for the ages in “Family Plot,” successful at the box office for producer Alfred Hitchcock and Universal Pictures.