Editing Family Plot

{{short description|1976 film by Alfred Hitchcock}}
{{for|the 1994 television episode|Family Plot (2point4 children)}}
{{distinguish|Family Plots}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Family Plot
| image          = Family_plot_movie_poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Alfred Hitchcock]]
| producer       = Alfred Hitchcock
| writer         = [[Ernest Lehman]]
| based_on       = {{based on|''[[The Rainbird Pattern]]''|[[Victor Canning]]}}
| starring       = [[Karen Black]]<br>[[Bruce Dern]]<br>[[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]]<br>[[William Devane]]
| music          = [[John Williams]]
| cinematography = Leonard J. South
| editing        = [[J. Terry Williams]]
| distributor    = [[Universal Pictures]]
| released       = {{Film date|1976|04|09}}
| runtime        = 120 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $4.5 million<ref name="nat">Nat Segaloff, ''Final Cuts: The Last Films of 50 Great Directors'', Bear Manor Media 2013 p132-135</ref>
| gross          = $13 million<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1976/0FAPL.php |publisher=The Numbers |title=Family Plot, Box Office Information |access-date=January 23, 2012}}</ref>
}}

'''''Family Plot''''' is a 1976 American [[black comedy]] [[Thriller film|thriller]] film directed by [[Alfred Hitchcock]] in his final directing role. It was based on [[Victor Canning]]'s 1972 novel ''[[The Rainbird Pattern]]'', which [[Ernest Lehman]] adapted for the screen. The film stars [[Karen Black]], [[Bruce Dern]], [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]] and [[William Devane]]; it was screened at the [[1976 Cannes Film Festival]] but was not entered into the main competition.<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2101/year/1976.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Family Plot |access-date=2009-05-10 |work=festival-cannes.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927201842/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2101/year/1976.html |archive-date=2012-09-27}}</ref>

The story involves two couples: one a "fake" [[psychic]] and her cab-driving boyfriend, the other a pair of professional [[thieves]] and [[kidnappers]]. Their lives come into conflict because of a search for a [[missing heir]]. The film's title is a pun: "family plot" can refer to an area in a cemetery that has been bought by a family for the burial of its various relatives; in this case it also means a dramatic plot line involving various family members.

==Plot==
Fake [[psychic]] Blanche Tyler and her boyfriend, George Lumley, attempt to locate the nephew of wealthy, guilt-ridden, elderly Julia Rainbird. Julia's recently-deceased sister gave the baby boy up for [[adoption]], but Julia now wants to make him her heir and will pay Blanche $10,000 to find him. Julia knows almost nothing about the infant. During his investigation George discovers that the boy was given the name Edward Shoebridge and is thought to have died while still young. However, George tracks down a man, Joseph Maloney, who paid for Edward's tombstone years after his supposed death, and George comes to think the grave is empty. George and Blanche bicker frequently, but he is as good an investigator as she is a psychic, and their relationship is solid.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed to the viewers that Shoebridge murdered his adoptive parents and faked his own death and is now a successful jeweler in [[San Francisco]] known as Arthur Adamson. He and his live-in girlfriend Fran kidnap millionaires and dignitaries, confining them in a secure room in the cellar of their home, and return them in exchange for [[ransom]]s in the form of valuable [[gemstone]]s. Arthur conceals the latest ransom, a large diamond, "in plain sight" within a crystal chandelier hanging above the home's main staircase.

When Arthur learns that George is investigating him, he enlists Maloney (the two had murdered Arthur's adoptive parents long ago) to kill Blanche and George. Maloney initially refuses to help, then contacts Blanche and George, telling them to meet him at a café on a mountain road. He cuts the brakeline of Blanche's car, but they manage to survive their dangerous high-speed descent. Maloney tries to run them over but dies in a fiery explosion when he swerves to avoid an oncoming car and his car goes over the edge.

At Maloney's funeral, his wife tearfully confesses, under pressure of George's questioning, that Shoebridge's name is now Arthur Adamson. George must go to work driving his taxi for an evening shift, so Blanche tracks down various A. Adamsons in San Francisco, eventually reaching the jewelry store as it closes for the day. Arthur's assistant Mrs. Clay offers to let Blanche leave a note. Blanche tricks Mrs. Clay into giving her Arthur's home address.

Arthur and Fran are bundling their latest kidnap victim, Bishop Wood, into their car when Blanche rings their doorbell. They attempt to drive out of their garage, but Blanche's car blocks their way. Blanche tells Arthur that his aunt wants to make him her heir, and for a moment everyone seems delighted with developments. Then Blanche sees the unconscious bishop, and she is abducted by the couple. Arthur drugs her and leaves her in the cellar, planning to deal with her after they exchange the bishop for ransom.

Searching for Blanche, George finds her car outside Arthur and Fran's house. When no one answers the door, he breaks in and searches for her. He finds her handbag with blood stains on it and indications of a struggle. When Arthur and Fran return home, George hides upstairs. He overhears Arthur telling Fran about his plan to kill Blanche and make her death seem like a suicide. George manages to talk to Blanche, who is faking unconsciousness in the cellar (left open by Arthur when he went to check on her), and they come up with a plan. Arthur and Fran enter to carry Blanche out to the car, but she knocks them down and runs out, and George locks the kidnappers in.

Blanche then goes into what appears to be a genuine trance. She walks out of the basement, climbs halfway up the main staircase, stops, and points at the huge diamond hidden in the chandelier. Blanche then "wakes" and asks George what she is doing there. He excitedly tells her that she is indeed a real psychic. He calls the police to collect the reward for capturing the kidnappers and finding the jewels. A smiling Blanche winks at the camera.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Karen Black]] as Fran
* [[Bruce Dern]] as George Lumley
* [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]] as Blanche Tyler
* [[William Devane]] as Arthur Adamson/Edward Shoebridge
* [[Cathleen Nesbitt]] as Julia Rainbird
* [[Ed Lauter]] as Joseph P. Maloney
* [[Katherine Helmond]] as Mrs. Maloney
* Warren J. Kemmerling as Grandison
* [[Nicholas Colasanto]] as Victor Constantine
* [[Edith Atwater]] as Mrs. Clay
* [[William Prince (actor)|William Prince]] as Bishop Wood
* [[Marge Redmond]] as Vera Hannagan
* John Lehne as Andy Bush
* [[Charles Tyner]] as Wheeler
* [[Alexander Lockwood]] as Parson
* [[Martin West (actor)|Martin West]] as Sanger
* [[Elisabeth Brooks]] as Woman in cafe with priest
* Carl Byrd as Lieutenant Peterson (Uncredited)
}}

==Production==
The film was adapted for the screen by [[Ernest Lehman]], based on [[Victor Canning]]'s 1972 novel ''[[The Rainbird Pattern]]''. Lehman wanted the film to be sweeping, dark and dramatic, but Hitchcock kept pushing him toward lightness and comedy. Lehman's screenplay earned him a 1977 [[Edgar Award]] from the [[Mystery Writers of America]].

The novel on which the film is based had earlier been rejected by Lehman, to whom it had been submitted as a potential project for him to either produce or direct, or both. Hitchcock's other collaboration with the screenwriter, ''[[North by Northwest]]'' (1959), was followed by several aborted projects. Lehman had incurred the director's anger by declining an offer to write the screenplay for ''[[List of unproduced Hitchcock projects#No Bail for the Judge (1958–1961)|No Bail for the Judge]]'', a thriller set in London intended to star [[Audrey Hepburn]], [[Laurence Harvey]] and actor [[John Williams (actor)|John Williams]]. Although Hitchcock eventually had a fine screenplay, and pre-production ([[location scouting]] and costumes) was at an advanced stage, the film was never made; Hepburn became pregnant and Hitchcock turned to another project, ''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' (1960), instead.
[[File:Hitch-at-work;1975-FamilyPlot;SF-On-Location.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hitchcock at work on location in San Francisco for ''Family Plot'']]

By September 1973, Ernest Lehman had been persuaded to do the adaptation again — Hitchcock explained that he intended to keep only the bare-bones of Canning's novel and to relocate the story from England to California. One of the early decisions was to drop Canning's title and the project was branded ''Deceit''.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = McGilligan | first1 = Patrick | title = Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light | publisher = | pages = 716–17 | date = 2003 | isbn = }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Family Plot (1976) | url = https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Family_Plot_(1976) | website = The Hitchcock Zone | date = | access-date = 7 August 2022}}</ref> Partway through filming, ''Variety'' confirmed in mid-July 1975 that the film had been retitled ''Family Plot''.<ref>{{Citation | title = Pictures: Alfred Hitchcock's 53rd film | journal = Variety | publisher = Reed Business Information | volume = 279 | issue = 10 | pages = 36 | date = 7 August 2022 | orig-date = 16 July 1975 | language =  | url = | issn = 0042-2738 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Variety (1975) - Pictures: Alfred Hitchcock's 53rd film | url = https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Variety_(1975)_-_Pictures:_Alfred_Hitchcock%27s_53rd_film | website = The Hitchcock Zone | date = | access-date = 7 August 2022}}</ref>

Hitchcock, who often liked to specify the locales of his films by using on-screen titles or by using recognizable landmarks, deliberately left the story's location unspecific, using sites in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. The chase scene in the movie, which writer [[Donald Spoto]] called a spoof on car chases prevalent in films at the time, was filmed on the extensive Universal backlot. The restaurant used in the film was also built on the backlot and was shown on studio tours in 1975.

[[List of cameo appearances by Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock's signature cameo]] in ''Family Plot'' can be seen 40 minutes into the film. He appears in silhouette through the glass door of the [[Registrar of Births and Deaths]].

Following ''Family Plot'', Hitchcock worked on the script for a projected spy thriller, ''[[The Short Night]]''. His declining health prevented the filming of the screenplay, which was published in a book during Hitchcock's last years. Universal chose not to film the script with another director, although it did authorize sequels to Hitchcock's ''Psycho''.

===Casting===
[[File:Alfred Hitchcock and Karen Black.jpg|thumb|upright|Alfred Hitchcock and Karen Black]]
{{More citations needed|date=July 2010}}
Hitchcock considered such actors as [[Burt Reynolds]] and [[Roy Scheider]] (for Adamson), [[Al Pacino]] (for George), [[Faye Dunaway]] (for Fran), and [[Beverly Sills]] and [[Goldie Hawn]] (for Blanche) for the film. [[Cybill Shepherd]] wrote in her memoir that she had hoped to play the part of Fran, which eventually went to [[Karen Black]]. High salary demands were partly responsible for his turning to other actors. Although [[Liza Minnelli]] was among the stars recommended to Hitchcock, he was especially delighted to work with [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]] as the medium. He had previously tried to hire her for other film projects.

Hitchcock had earlier worked with [[Bruce Dern]] on episodes of ''[[Alfred Hitchcock Presents]]'' and on ''[[Marnie (film)|Marnie]]'' (1964), in which he had a brief role in a flashback playing a doomed sailor.

===Music===
For the score, Universal's music executive, [[Harry Garfield]], recommended [[John Williams]] to Hitchcock, following the [[Academy Award|Oscar]] and critical acclaim of his music score for ''[[Jaws (soundtrack)|Jaws]]''.

The film was the only Hitchcock production to be scored by [[John Williams|Williams]], who has stated that Hitchcock wanted choir voices for Madame Blanche to make her seem psychic towards the beginning, and that Hitchcock was at the scoring sessions most of the time and would often give him suggestions. For the scene in which Maloney suddenly disappears from Adamson's office, Hitchcock suggested that Williams stop the music when the camera cuts to the open window to indicate to the audience that Maloney has left through it.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01pmfz5/Composer_of_the_Week_John_Williams_(1932)_Americas_Composer/ |title=Composer of the Week: John Williams (1932-) 3 America's Composer |publisher=[[BBC Radio 3]] |access-date=October 6, 2013}}</ref> Hitchcock then went on to say, "Mr. Williams, murder can be fun", when he suggested that he should conduct the music lightly for a darker scene of the film. Williams stated that it was a great privilege, and that he had a wonderful working experience with the director.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

The complete soundtrack was not released upon the film's release date. Few themes from the film were released on John Williams and Alfred Hitchcock compilation albums. For years afterwards, the original soundtrack was not available, spawning many bootleg copies of the complete scoring sessions of the film over the internet. Finally in 2010, [[Varèse Sarabande]] officially released a limited edition of the complete Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 34 years after the film's initial release.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.varesesarabande.com/servlet/the-260/Family-Plot/Detail |title=''Family Plot'' |publisher=[[Varèse Sarabande]] |access-date=October 19, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314214335/http://www.varesesarabande.com/servlet/the-260/Family-Plot/Detail |archive-date=March 14, 2012}}</ref>

{{Track listing
| headline  = ''Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''
| title1    = The First Séance
| length1   = 5:29
| title2    = Blanche's Challenge
| length2   = 2:09
| title3    = The Mystery Woman
| length3   = 3:27
| title4    = The Rescue of Constantine / The Diamond Chandelier
| length4   = 2:21
| title5    = Kitchen Pranks
| length5   = 2:08
| title6    = The Shoebridge Headstone
| length6   = 2:23
| title7    = Maloney's Visit to the Jewelry Store / Maloney's Knife / The Stake Out
| length7   = 4:58
| title8    = The Second Séance
| length8   = 2:20
| title9    = Nothing Held Back
| length9   = 0:37
| title10   = The White Mustang
| length10  = 1:19
| title11   = Blanche and George
| length11  = 1:17
| title12   = Maloney's Exit
| length12  = 2:03
| title13   = Share and Share Alike
| length13  = 0:54
| title14   = The Mondrian Shot / The Revealed Identity
| length14  = 1:47
| title15   = The Search Montage
| length15  = 3:41
| title16   = Blanche's Arrival / Blanche's Note
| length16  = 2:29
| title17   = Blanche Gets the Needle
| length17  = 3:03
| title18   = Breaking Into the House
| length18  = 5:16
| title19   = The Secret Door / Blanche Wakes Up
| length19  = 1:39
| title20   = End Cast
| length20  = 4:14
| title21   = ''Family Plot'' Theme
| length21  = 2:38
| title22   = The Stonecutter
| length22  = 6:35
}}

==Reception==
Released in the year of the [[United States Bicentennial]], ''Family Plot'' was chosen to open the 1976 [[Filmex]] (Los Angeles International Film Exposition) to honor American cinematography.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kapsis |first=Robert E. |title=Hitchcock: the Making of a Reputation |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1992 |page=115}}</ref>

Barbara Harris was nominated for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical|Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical]] at the 34th Golden Globe Awards.

''Family Plot'' has received praise from many, if not all, critics. [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' calls the film "a witty, relaxed lark", adding that it was "certainly Hitchcock's most cheerful film in a long time, but it's hardly innocent."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |date=April 10, 1976 |title=Screen: Hitchcock's 'Family Plot' Bubbles Over |journal=[[The New York Times]] |page=18}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gives the film three out of four stars, saying of it: "And it's a delight for two contradictory reasons: because it's pure Hitchcock, with its meticulous construction and attention to detail, and because it's something new for Hitchcock—a macabre comedy, essentially. He doesn't go for shock here, or for violent effects, but for the gradual tightening of a narrative noose."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/family-plot-1976/ |website=RogerEbert.com |title=Family Plot |access-date=January 31, 2014}}</ref>

''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' calls the film "a dazzling achievement for Alfred Hitchcock. Masterfully controlling finely-tuned shifts from comedy to drama throughout a highly complex mystery-suspense plot, Hitchcock has created a film that has the involving detail work and teasing fascination of a novel to be read in front of a crackling fire on a rainy evening."<ref>{{cite journal |date=March 24, 1956 |title=Family Plot |journal=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |page=20}}</ref>

[[Charles Champlin]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' praises the film as "atmospheric, characterful, precisely paced, intricately plotted, exciting and suspenseful, beautifully acted and, perhaps more than anything else, amusing."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Champlin |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Champlin |date=April 9, 1976 |title=The Hitchcock Spirit at 76 |journal=[[Los Angeles Times]] |page=Part IV, p1}}</ref>

[[Penelope Gilliatt]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' calls the film "one of the saltiest and most endearing" films Hitchcock ever directed, adding, "Sometimes in his career, Hitchcock has seemed to manipulate the audience; in this, his fifty-third film, he is our accomplice, turning his sense of play to our benefit."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gilliatt |first=Penelope |date=April 19, 1976 |title=The Current Cinema |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |page=104}}</ref>

Richard Combs of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' praises "the compact allusiveness and crisp elegance of Ernest Lehman's writing, which so deftly builds its own tongue-in-cheek attitudes into the material," and found that Bruce Dern and Barbara Harris made "a delightfully nuanced comic duet."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Combs |first=Richard |date=July 1976 |title=Family Plot |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=43 |issue=510 |pages=146–147}}</ref>

[[Dave Kehr]] of the [[Chicago Reader]] calls the film "[A] small masterpiece, one of Hitchcock's most adventurous and expressive experiments in narrative form."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kehr|first1=Dave|title=Family Plot|url=https://m.chicagoreader.com/chicago/family-plot/Film?oid=1051516|website=Chicago Reader|date=29 March 1985 }}</ref>

Some reviews are more critical. [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gives the film two-and-a-half stars and calls it a "disappointment", finding that it "descends into dull jokes, plastic characters, and a television sitcom conclusion."<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (April 13, 1976). "Hitchcock's old mastery runs cold in 'Family Plot'". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 5.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' calls the film "a chore to sit through", adding, "Lehman and Hitchcock are trying to recapture the old magic, but they've lost their touch."<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |date=April 9, 1976 |title='Family Plot': Hitchcock's Variations on a Theme |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=41}}</ref>

''Family Plot'' holds a 93% approval rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 40 reviews, and an average rating of 7 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The Master of Suspense's swan song finds him aiming for pulpy thrills and hitting the target, delivering a twisty crime story with pleasurable bite."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/family_plot/ |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |title=Family Plot (1976) |access-date=October 6, 2023}}</ref>

On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on eight critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|title=Family Plot|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/family-plot|website=Metacritic}}</ref> The film earned $6.5 million in rentals.<ref name="nat" />

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{Mojo title}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
* {{AFI film}}
* {{TCMDb title}}

{{Alfred Hitchcock |state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}
<!--Split film/book article intentional - Please do not remove this comment-->

[[Category:1976 films]]
[[Category:1976 black comedy films]]
[[Category:1970s American films]]
[[Category:1970s comedy mystery films]]
[[Category:1970s comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:1970s English-language films]]
[[Category:1970s mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:1970s psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:American black comedy films]]
[[Category:American comedy mystery films]]
[[Category:American comedy thriller films]]
[[Category:American detective films]]
[[Category:American mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:American psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:Edgar Award–winning works]]
[[Category:Films about inheritances]]
[[Category:Films about kidnapping in the United States]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Films based on thriller novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock]]
[[Category:Films produced by Alfred Hitchcock]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Williams]]
[[Category:Films shot in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Ernest Lehman]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language mystery thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy mystery films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy thriller films]]