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	...	Maloney
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Julia Rainbird
Katherine Helmond	...	Mrs. Maloney
Warren J. Kemmerling	...	Grandison
Edith Atwater	...	Mrs. Clay
William Prince	...	Bishop
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 who 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-dollars 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:

You must see it twice!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Alfred Hitchcock once said of this movie: It's "a melodrama treated with a bit of levity and sophistication. I want the feeling of the famous director Ernst Lubitsch making a mystery thriller."

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Goofs

When Maloney and Adamson are in the back room of the jewelry store, Maloney takes all but two cigarettes from the cigarette bowl. However, minutes later, the bowl is full again.

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Quotes

Blanche: Don't start to fret, George, or our waterbed will be no fun at all tonight; as an actor, you should know that fretting will ruin a performance.
George: You don't have to worry about my performance tonight, honey - as a matter of fact, this very evening, you're gonna see a standing ovation!

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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

All In The Family

I think if you approach this movie beforehand knowing it's not going to be a "Vertigo" or "Rear Window," you'll have some fun. Sure it's fluff, but it is entertaining nonetheless. Even kooky, vegetable-like Karen Black aka "The World's Worst Actress" seems to have benefited from working with Hitch and pulls off an adequate performance. Never cared for Bruce Dern and here he's his usual Willard looking self. Barbara Harris was a true delight, "Don't blaspheme, George." and found her character of Madam Blanche quite amusing. I even found the run away car scene entertaining, if not a bit over the top. All in all, I liked the story and liked the way it wrapped up in the end. Hitchcock's last gift to us all.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 1976 (USA)

Also Known As:

Deceit

Filming Locations:

4254 Lexington Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,490,375 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1