Family Plot

FAMILY PLOT (PG)

D: Alfred Hitchcock

Universal (Alfred Hitchcock)

USA 🇺🇸 1976

126 mins

Thriller

W: Ernest Lehman [based on the novel "The Rainbird Pattern" by Victor Canning]

DP: Leonard J. South

Ed: J. Terry Williams

Mus: John Williams

PD: Henry Bumstead

Barbara Harris (Blanche Tyler), Bruce Dern (George Lumley), Karen Black (Fran), William Devane (Arthur Adamson / Edward Shoebridge), Ed Lauter (Joseph P. Maloney), Cathleen Nesbitt (Julia Rainbird)

Alfred Hitchcock's last film is far from his best, but does feature some stylish flourishes which are expected from the master of suspense.

The film has parallel plots which intertwine towards the finale, the main story strand sees a phoney psychic who is hired to locate a long-lost heir. Along with her cab driver husband, another fraud, they become involved in a kidnapping plot with another couple (Karen Black and William Devane), who plan to be paid their ransom in priceless diamonds.

Though the story is a bit of a mish-mash, it works reasonably well as the film progresses, with some very memorable scenes, including an out-of-control car speeding down a hill being the standout.

The acting of the four principal actors is good, and the music by John Williams is perfectly mysterious.

6/10