Political Hitch: "No Tory Us"

opinion piece

Poster from Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious

 (note to reader:  Every rare once in awhile, I get the bug to give my 2 cents worth about what's going on around me.  Not really germane for this site, but the privilege of ownership, etc.  I should have labelled the one or two previous post in this site's history this way--it's only fair.  You've been warned, the following post contains the writer's opinion on a contemporary subject that will, hopefully, either please you or piss you off.  Feel free to fire back or pat me on the back in the comment section.)

From Hitchcock's Blackmail:  Who's getting the last laugh?

Spanish poster for The Man Who Knew Too Much

The late screenwriter Charles Bennett used to joke that when asked about politics in his films, Alfred Hitchcock would say that he thought the films made it very clear--even in the titles.  After all, he said, I made "No--tori--us."  Charles Bennett, wrote the first Man Who Knew Too Much with Hitch, The 39 Steps and was the playwright and screenwriter of Blackmail, Hitchcock's last silent and first sound film. For a brief period of time I worked at a swank Beverly Hills wine shop and Mr Bennett enjoyed good, chilled white wine.  His home, sort of Southern California bungalow by way of the Thames, was a convenient stop on my way home.  I would have made it a convenient stop even it wasn't, as Charles was one of the great raconteurs of his time.  I learned much about early Hitchcock, his relationship with Alma and theater life in London in the late twenties and thirties.  

poster from Hitchcock's The 39 Steps

Now Tory is, of course, short hand for the British conservative party.  And, blackmail, like "no tory us" seems apt for this week's America as hostage debate on the debt ceiling.  I know that patriotism use to be the last refuge of scoundrel, but it seems that hostage taking has become the last refuge and the first tactic of the Republican party.  Why is it that this party cannot seem to try to effect change the old fashion way--through convincing argument and debate?  Instead, they insist on grabbing some part of the machine, throttling it so that if not released, the U.S. will be ______ (fill in the blank with any synonym for destroyed).  


It's apocalypse now every week with the Republican's in control of any branch of government.  This, I should remind my American Tory friends, is how despots rule--with fear and intimidation.


I thought of Hitchcock, politics and how little the world changes today when someone posted this video over at Moveon.org:

After the cake from their table runs out, Sir Hitch suggests salting off a good book

I would add that FDR called it wrong only inhis conclusion:  the American Tory party has promised to end social security, jobs (yes, jobs) and give the poor rich another tax break--and somehow, we'll all be better with the crumbs of cake from their table!  This is even one step further than Ms. Antoinette, who lost her head when she suggested, "Let them eat cake."  I guess at this point we better start hoping for good cake and lots of it.


Dan Auiler
Long Beach, CA