Hitchcock's Last Film: Family Plot

Hitchcock's last film before he died is a brilliant comedy/thriller. Made in 1976, it isn't among his best but I liked it.

Plot
Superb plot full of twists and turns. A phony psychic is enlisted to find a long-lost heir. With a $10,000 reward promised, her and her lover must search for the elusive man. But they become intertwined with a jeweller and his beautiful partner who also kidnap and steal jewels in their spare time. The story is full of car chases, attempted murders, kidnappings and lies.

Acting and Characters
Karen Black is convincing as the psychic (?) Fran who tries to swindle the aging, conscious-wraught aristocrat Julia Rainbird (Cathleen Nesbitt). Her lover, George (Bruce Dern), a taxi driver/detective, is also good. Barbara Harris is fantastic as Hitchcock's trademark blonde Ice Maiden, albeit with the help of a wig. The dodgy diamond-dealer, Arthur Adamson (William Devane), and his red-neck accomplice (Ed Lauter) are also good. Great casting all around. Watch out for Hitchcock's silhouette cameo in the (foreshadowing?) births and deaths registar.

Action and Suspense
Quite a lot of action and, like all of Hitchcock's films, full of suspense. The special effects in the runaway car scene are quite advanced for the time although they seem a bit dodgy now. But the film still seems exciting today, but it is a little slow and talky in parts.

Laughs
It is supposed to be a bit of a black comedy but has lost a bit of its humour over the years. There are still some crack-up parts, mostly involving double entendres which seem racy even now - dirty, dirty man that Hitchcock. But the plot's crazy enough to keep you smiling.

Better plot-wise than his other 70's black-comedy Frenzy, but not a patch on the masterpieces like Psycho and The Birds.