Eric San Juan is the author of Lakehurst: Barrens, Blimps & Barons
(2011) and Stuff Every Husband Should Know (2011).
Jim McDevitt is a freelance writer who has written numerous
articles and stories for a variety of print and Internet
publications.
San Juan and McDevitt are the coauthors of A Year of Hitchcock: 52
Weeks with the Master of Suspense (Scarecrow, 2011).
This probing appreciation by San Juan and McDevitt (A Year of
Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense) looks at the
complex, twisted minds of bad guys in the films of Alfred
Hitchcock. Burdened with cruel urges and bad intentions, each of
Hitchcock’s misfits receives a thorough character study. Some of
those included are Karl Anton Verloc, the small cinema owner in
Sabotage; Alexander Sebastian, the spy in Notorious; Bruno Anthony,
the spoiled playboy in Strangers on a Train; and Philip Vandamn,
the spy in North by Northwest. Stressing Hitchcock’s isolation from
society and his love of the frightening, Juan and McDewitt hit
their stride with their on-target analyses of the tortured souls of
Uncle Charlie, the “Merry Widow Murderer” and poisoner of rich
older women in Shadow of a Doubt; Norman Bates, the schizo slasher
of the infamous Bates Hotel in Psycho; and Bob Rusk, the necktie
strangler in Frenzy. Film buffs and diehard Hitchcock fans will
delight in this serious discussion of these peculiar fellows who,
after all, are “merely fun house mirror reflections” of the British
director.
*Publishers Weekly*
In 2011, San Juan and McDevitt wrote the well-received A Year of
Hitchcock (Scarecrow Press), which analyzed the over 50 silent and
sound films that Alfred Hitchcock directed. In this follow-up
volume the same authors examine the various forms of villainy that
have been portrayed in his films. Each of the nine forms of evil
identified by the authors is dealt with in two chapters. The first
surveys this topic as covered in all of Hitchcock's films and the
second singles out one of these films for an in-depth analysis. For
example, the chapter that deals with authority figures as villains,
is followed by one that analyzes the actions and character of
Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains) in Notorious (1946), and the
chapter featuring villainous mothers follows with a discussion of
Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) in Strangers on a Train (1951). Other
chapters explore intellectual villains (Rope, 1948), innocent
villains (Vertigo, 1958), and psychotic villains (Psycho, 1960).
The films (and topics) are organized chronologically beginning with
Sabotage (1936) and ending with Hitchcock's penultimate thriller,
Frenzy (1972). Other important miscreants given a detailed, probing
analyses are those in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and North by
Northwest (1959). The coverage is thorough and probing and the
authors' insight into this material is impressive. The writing
style is informal and often chatty. Scattered throughout the text
are black-and-white stills from the highlighted films. The book
closes with a three-page bibliography and a name index. . . .[I]t
will be a fine addition to libraries specializing in film
studies.
*American Reference Books Annual*
As the title of Hitchcock’s Villains indicates, San Juan and
McDevitt examine the bad guys and wrong-doers who figure so
prominently in Hitchcock’s work. With any other filmmaker, that
might be a limiting topic but Hitchcock’s own conflicting feelings
about right and wrong, good and bad, made for a rich crew of
villains who are sometimes more sympathetic and often more charming
than their victims. ... Written in a delightful and slightly cheeky
“case file” format, San Juan and McDevitt gives each of Hitch’s
slime-balls a thorough character study. From Verloc, the cinema
owner and kid blower-upper in Sabotage to Robert Rusk, the neck tie
strangler in Frenzy, the authors range across the whole rogues
gallery of Hitchcock bad guys, offering insightful observations
about how these characters are a critical component of enjoying
these films. ... Hitchcock’s Villains is written in a personable,
imminently readable way, perhaps making it feel light at first
blush. It is not intellectually light however, and brims with
thought provoking suppositions and assertions. Hitchcock neophytes
will find much value in the overview quality of both Hitchcock’s
work and the salient points of his biography.
*Pretty Clever Films*
Hitchcock demonstrated an affection for his villains, the authors
point out, and they offer an engaging investigation into the
nuances of the characters he created. They look closely at
particular films and also discuss Hitchcock's oeuvre in terms of
themes such as the villainy of authority figures and mothers, and
of innocents and of non-villains. San Juan and McDevitt are
independent writers who worked together on a previous book titled A
Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense.
*Book News, Inc.*
San Juan and McDevitt give us a satisfying version of Hitchcock
lite, with enough interesting tidbits to whet our appetite for
juicy gossip. Its fifteen evocative black-and-white photographs are
artfully chosen to jog our memory and dramatize a significant
character trait or influence. . . .[I]f one wants a book to keep by
the television, so that one may riffle its pages for quick facts
and racy conjectures, Hitchcock’s Villains will do nicely.
*Journal of American Culture*
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