The Ladykillers (1955/2004)
The Untouchables (1987)
The Professionals (1966)
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There's just something I love about a long two-word descriptive title with "The" In It.
I love all of those movies above at LEAST because I love that kind of title.
That is all.
All three of those films have two-word titles. "Compulsion", "Repulsion", "Irreversible", "Psycho"... those are one-word titles.
shareYikes.
I need a grammar book. I see the "The" as "silent."
Ha. You got me.
Now I got to change the post on all three films...
It's OK. I was just being pendantic. I do think having just a single word (not even a "the", "a", or "an") that describes a movie and evokes its essence isn't as easy as one might think.
shareHtichcock was the King of the One Word Title and the Two Word Title:
Downhill
Blackmail
Murder!
Mary
Sabotage
Rebecca
Suspicion
Saboteur
Lifeboat
Spellbound
Champagne
Notorious
Rope
Vertigo
Psycho
Marnie
Topaz
Frenzy
The Manxman
The Lodger
The Ring
Easy Virtue
Elstree Calling
Secret Agent
Jamaica Inn
Under Capricorn
Stage Fright
Rear Window
Torn Curtain
Family Plot
Which Hitchcock film was it where an old lady quips about an unnamed actor (or director?) always making movies called "'Something' or 'Something Something'"? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but it was one of Hitchcock's older films, so he had that reputation early on. Indeed, 30 of his 50+ movies were either called "Something" or "Something Something".
Which Hitchcock film was it where an old lady quips about an unnamed actor (or director?) always making movies called "'Something' or 'Something Something'"? My memory is a bit fuzzy, but it was one of Hitchcock's older films, so he had that reputation early on.
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The film was (one word title): Rope.
They also discussed how James Mason could be such a great villain. Hitchcock would work with Mason 11 years later on North by Northwest, of course (and he WAS a great Hitchcock villain.)
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Indeed, 30 of his 50+ movies were either called "Something" or "Something Something".
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One of the "Something Somethings" started out as a "Something."
Family Plot was announced in the LA Times and Time Magazine as "Deceit." There were articles in Time about both Bruce Dern and Karen Black (separate articles) talking about how each was working with Alfred Hitchcock on Deceit.
But something about "Deceit" was decided to be too difficult and/or unexciting. "Deception" was considered, but had been used before.
So somebody hit on "Family Plot." It sounded quite wrong at the time, but it sounds right today.
The book from which Family Plot/Deceit was derived was called The Rainbird Pattern.
The book from which Frenzy was derived was called "Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leiceister Square" and Hitchcock had put the title Frenzy on a movie never made(Universal forbade it, in 1967) and Hitch moved the title to the new movie.
One attempt was made to give what became North by Northwest a one word title: Breathless. Not used -- so it became the title of a French film the next year.
Interesting: a few of the books made by Hitchocck into movies HAD one word titles: Rebecca, Psycho, Topaz. Otherwise, he had to make the one-word titles up.
And: Hitchcock was working from a book called "The Short Night" for his final film, but got too sick to make it. He retired and soon died. Word is that "The Short Night" would have been entitled "Pursuit" for the screen.