4 replies to this topic

[Mr Twilight]

I'm a fan of Hitchcock as well as Bond. Found this info about unproduced Hitchcock project's at Wikipedia. Could have been interesting in a Bondian point of view, if it had been filmed. Anyone familiar with the unfilmed script or so?

^{http://en.wikipedia....chcock_projects}

The Short Night (1976–1979)
Hitchcock's last, unfinished project was The Short Night an adaptation of the spy thriller of the same name by Ronald Kirkbride. A British double agent (loosely based on George Blake) escapes from prison and flees to Moscow via Finland, where his wife and children are waiting. An American agent – whose brother was one of the traitor's victims – heads to Finland to intercept him but ends up falling for the wife. It would be Hitchcock's third attempt – after Torn Curtain and Topaz – to produce a "realistic Bond film". Clint Eastwood, and Sean Connery were possible male leads. Liv Ullman was asked to play the double agent's wife. Catherine Deneuve was also asked to star. Walter Matthau was considered for the villain role. Ed Lauter was also discussed for a role as one of Matthau's prison mates.
The first writer assigned to the picture, James Costigan, quarreled with the director, who asked for him to be paid off. Then Ernest Lehman agreed to work on the script. Lehman felt the story should focus on the American spy and left out the double agent's jailbreak. Lehman left the film, too, and Hitchcock asked old friend Norman Lloyd to help him write a long treatment. Lloyd, like Universal, was concerned that Hitchcock's failing health meant that the movie might not get made. When Hitchcock suggested moving straight on to the screenplay, Lloyd objected saying they were unprepared. Hitchcock reacted angrily, fired Lloyd, and worked on the treatment himself.
After a while, Hitchcock accepted that he needed another writer to work with him, and Universal suggested David Freeman. Freeman helped Hitchcock complete the treatment and wrote the screenplay. He wrote about his experiences in the 1999 book The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock, which includes his completed screenplay. The circumstances surrounding Hitchcock's retirement were given by producer Hilton A. Green during the documentary Plotting "Family Plot". According to Green, during pre-production for The Short Night Hitchcock met with Green to tell him that his poor health would prevent him from making the film that was to be the follow-up to Family Plot. After trying to talk Hitchcock out of his decision, Green agreed to Hitchcock's request to bring the news of his decision to retire to studio head Lew Wasserman, a long-time friend of Hitchcock.^[19]

[Dustin]

Sounds like a most interesting project. The plot - what plot is given here - looks a tad like that of Desmond Bagley's 'The Freedom Trap', the source for 1973's THE MACKINTOSH MAN. Could it be the main task of that treatment work was to get the ship away from these waters?

That said I always felt Hitchcock did his best work with source material that didn't focus on 'professional' spies. NOTORIOUS, THE 39 STEPS, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, NORTH BY NORTHWEST all involve espionage in some manner, yet their protagonists are 'ordinary people' tangled up in the mess, often without a proper understanding of the role they are playing. From this basic constellation Hitchcock was able to derive exactly the suspense and excitement he could depict best with his particular style as a director.

When he used stories about 'straight' spies it didn't support Hitchcock's usual arc of suspense where the audience already sees what's coming while the hero remains ignorant of these events. TORN CURTAIN is such an example where the hero Armstong (Newman) is under close observation of the East German Stasi. But the effect on the audience is entirely different because we know already Armstrong is spying, is aware of his opposition and will have taken precautions or will at any rate be able to deal with the situation. Armstrong's fiancée Sarah, ignorant of the situation and her lover's secret role, would have been the typical character Hitchcock usually employs for such stories. But she is only a secondary character in that film and her perspective is rarely a point of focus in TORN CURTAIN.

That's why personally I don't think Hitchcock would have been a perfect director for Bond, I'm not sure if he was really interested in the 'professional' spies and their dealings. But he might have been the man to go to for THE SPY WHO LOVED ME.

[Diabolik]

The script for "The Short Night," as well as the story around it can be found in the book: ""The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock" by David Freeman, Overlook Press, 1984.

[glidrose]

Sounds like a most interesting project. The plot - what plot is given here - looks a tad like that of Desmond Bagley's 'The Freedom Trap', the source for 1973's THE MACKINTOSH MAN. Could it be the main task of that treatment work was to get the ship away from these waters?

No. I read the SN script. It's nothing like Bagley's novel. Here's a detailed script review.

[AndyPandy88]

I have a copy of the Freeman script I typed up if you would like a read (for educational purposes only...)

Personally I think the script has a lot of flaws. While there are some dynamic set pieces, such as the love scene and the chase through the tall reeds (which is always reminds me of the river scene in DR. NO) it can be very boring and long winded. I would imagine the Ernest Lehman drafts that preceded Freeman's script were more witty and progressive.Nonetheless, it is a shame the film was never made.