Family Plot (1976)

A phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/private investigator boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Victor Canning (novel)

Stars:

Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Karen Black	...	Fran
Bruce Dern	...	George Lumley
Barbara Harris	...	Blanche Tyler
William Devane	...	Arthur Adamson
Ed Lauter	...	Joseph Maloney
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Julia Rainbird
Katherine Helmond	...	Mrs. Maloney
Warren J. Kemmerling	...	Grandison
Edith Atwater	...	Mrs. Clay
William Prince	...	Bishop Wood
Nicholas Colasanto	...	Constantine
Marge Redmond	...	Vera Hannagan
John Lehne	...	Andy Bush
Charles Tyner	...	Wheeler
Alexander Lockwood	...	Parson

Storyline

The trickster Madam Blanche Tyler lures the elder millionaire Julia Rainbird that believes she is a spiritualist. After a séance, she discovers that Julia is tormented by her past, when she forced her sister and single mother Harriet to deliver her baby for adoption to avoid a family scandal. Julia promises the small fortune of ten thousand-dollar to Blanche if she finds her nephew and heir of her fortune using her phony powers. Blanche asks her boyfriend George Lumley, who is an unemployed actor working as cab driver, to investigate the whereabouts of Julia's nephew. Meanwhile, the greedy jeweler and collector Arthur Adamson kidnaps wealthy people with his girlfriend Fran to increase his collection of diamonds with the ransom. When George concludes that Arthur Adamson might be the heir of Julia Rainbird, the reckless Blanche gets in trouble with the kidnappers.

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Plot Keywords:

medium | ransom | inheritance | san francisco california | based on novel | 

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Taglines:

From the devious mind of Alfred Hitchcock, a diabolically entertaining motion picture.

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's 53rd Film

Filming Locations:

4254 Lexington Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,490,375 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$13,200,000, 31 December 1976

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

DIRECTOR TRADEMARK (Sir Alfred Hitchcock): (left-handed protagonist): Like several female leads in Sir Alfred Hitchcock's movies, such as Shirley MacLaine, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, and Tippi Hedren, Barbara Harris is another blonde lefty.

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Goofs

The two shots of the bullet hole in the helicopter's Plexiglas canopy are not the same. The first one is perfectly round, the second is not and the cracks radiating from it are different.

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Quotes

George: Smells fishy to me.
Blanche: Well even fish smells good when you're starving to death.

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Crazy Credits

The Universal logo does not appear anywhere on this film.

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Connections

Featured in Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015)

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Soundtracks

Rejoice, the Lord Is King
(1744) (uncredited)
Music by John Darwall
Lyrics by Charles Wesley

User Reviews

Better than Expected

Having seen "Torn Curtain" about a year ago, I wasn't all that enthusiastic about seeing another of Hitchcock's "late" works (indeed, his final film). "TC" was absolutely abysmal, as reflected in my comments there, so I had no great expectations for "Family Plot." I was pleasantly surprised, however. Although true Hitchcock buffs may not rank "FP" alongside the "classics" like "Psycho" and "NxNW," "FP" is an evenly-paced film with strong central characters, an interesting supporting cast, good acting, humor, innuendo, mystery and, of course, suspense. A good all-around film by the master in his final effort. It won't leave your palms sweating and your blood running cold, and there are a couple of flaws that a younger Hitch might have caught (I, for one, wonder how Blanche's car got fixed so quickly -- hard to believe it wasn't totaled in the first place).

Nonetheless, Family Plot will hold your attention and keep you guessing until the very end. I'm glad I took the time to seek it out and watch it.