File 3 - Farley Granger and Pat Hitchcock O’Connell

1 audio cassette tape, 2 WAV files (653 MB and 141 MB)

Audio recording of an interview with actors Farley Granger and Pat Hitchcock O’Connell in front of a live audience as part of the Guardian sponsored National Film Theatre Guardian interview series.

The recording begins with an introduction by Adrian Wooton, following which Granger’s recent film Strangers on a Train is screened, along with a number of other film clips. Wooton then proceeds to put questions to Granger. At 42:00 Pat Hitchcock O’Connell is invited on stage and Farley and Hitchcock are interviewed together. The recording comprises a question and answer session with members of the audience from 47.27 on track 1.

A summary of the topics discussed is included below.

Track 1:
00.00 Introductions and film clips
16:32 Farley on being signed to Goldwin
20:58 Working on They Live by Night
24:09 Working for Sam Goldwin
25:46 Meeting Alfred Hitchcock
26:55 Hitchcock’s directing style
28:20 Working with James Stewart
29:15 Feelings on being a movie star
30:46 Working on Strangers on a Train
32:07 Discussing Robert Walker
32:55 His feelings on rushes
33:14 Working on Italian movie Senso
37:31 His work in television and theatre
40:58 Hitchcock on set
42:00 Pat Hitchcock comes on stage
42:38 Pat Hitchcock discusses working on Strangers on a Train
43:45 Pat Hitchcock describes her father Alfred Hitchcock’s practical jokes and directing style
45:39 Pat Hitchcock on Alfred Hitchcock Presents
47:32 What Alfred Hitchcock would have thought of the centenary celebrations
48:04 Farley Granger on working in London theatres
48:30 Alfred Hitchcock’s favourite film
49:52 Pat Hitchcock’s favourite Alfred Hitchcock cameo
50:27 Treatment of directors
51:09 Working with bad directors
51:50 Alfred Hitchcock’s opinions of remakes
52:40 Pat Hitchcock on Alma Reville’s contribution to movies
54:00 Pat Hitchcock’s favourite Hitchcock film
55:20 Spielberg vs Hitchcock
56:02 The actors on integrating with the serious themes of Strangers on a Train
57:05 Farley Granger on homosexuality in Hollywood in the 1940s
57:30 Budgets within Hitchcock’s films
58:28 Pat Hitchcock’s favourite Hitchcock heroine
59:00 Opinions on Ruth Roman
1:00:12 Working with Vincente Minnelli

Track 2:
00:00 Working with Vincente Minnelli (cont.)
00:38 Discussing Gainsborough Pictures
2:17 The origin of Hitchcock’s cameos
3:27 Discussing tennis in Strangers on a Train
4:11 Differences between current movies vs classic movies
6:06 Actors they admire
6:43 Pat Hitchcock’s experience at RADA
7:15 The merry-go-round scene in Strangers on a Train
7:56 Hitchcock and casting
8:38 On Charles Laughton
9:22 Charlton Heston in Strangers on a Train
10:15 Ideal roles
10:42 On directing
11:15 On Alfred Hitchcock being in Strangers on Train
11:40 Potential film of Hitchcock’s life

Films mentioned in the course of the interview include: Strangers on a Train; Rope; They Live by Night; Our Very Own; Roseanna McCoy; Senso; Shadow of a Doubt; Lifeboat; Notorious; Dante’s Peak; Volcano; Meet Me in St Louis; The Clock and The Lady Vanishes.

Creator: British Film Institute (BFI), 1933-

Creator: Guardian News & Media Ltd, 1967-

Access to recording via GNM Digital Repository

Possible duplicate on MiniDisc, nd. Details at http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmItems/154381592