Hitchcock's Pop Culture Movie Spins Out of Control (May 9)

1958: Hitchcock’s ‘Vertigo’ Premieres

Although considered by many as a pop culture classic movie Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo got mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike. At 128 minutes in length, some people thought it was too long. Others thought it was too slow and some didn’t know what to think. However, this movie created a now-famous filming technique for the first time.

Other offbeat pop culture events that happened on May 9 include the first Friday the 13th movie, the original Punch and Judy shows, and the mystery of lost socks.

Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Vertigo premiered on this day in San Francisco, which was fitting since a good portion of the movie was filmed there. Based on the French novel D’entre les morts (From Among the Dead) by Boileau-Narcejac, the film stars Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak.

The film features John “Scottie” Ferguson, a former police detective forced into early retirement due to his extreme fear of heights and vertigo. Even so, he is hired to follow a man’s wife who is acting strangely.

This movie was the first to use the in-camera effect known as the “dolly-out/zoom-in” method. This essentially made the camera pull back away from the subject while at the same time, zoomed in. This technique distorts the perspective and gives the audience a personal perspective of the terror Scotty felt.

Vertigo received mixed reviews from critics when it first came out, but over the years, it has been embraced as one of Hitchcock’s greatest films.

1980: Before Jason There Was …

The first of many Friday the 13th movies debuted on this day in 1980. The campy pop culture movie begins with a group of camp counselors arriving at Camp Crystal a day or two before the campers do. It’s the same place where young Jason Voorhees drowned in the lake many years earlier. Soon, counselors are killed off one by one. Not exactly Shakespeare. Except for actress Betsy Palmer, Friday the 13th didn’t star any big names (unless you count the unknown Kevin Bacon).

Today is National Lost Sock Memorial Day

It is better to have worn two socks and lost one than to never have worn any socks at all. No one is immune. We all have had socks that were once close to us only to turn up missing one day. Rather than morn those socks all year long, the National Lost Sock Memorial Day is observed ever year on this day.

1662: How About a Punch, Judy?

In Victorian times, one of the earliest puppet shows featured the iconic Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. It was on this day that the duo made their first recorded appearance in England. Back then, the show was presented by two people – one puppeteer hiding behind a booth while a “bottler” would bring in the crowd from outside of the booth. The bottler might also introduce the show and collect money afterward. He might also accompany the show by providing music or sound effects.

2008: Pop Culture Icon ‘Speed Racer’ Stalls in Theaters

Based on the 1960’s cartoon series, Warner Bros had high hopes when bringing a live action version of Speed Racer to theaters. It started well as the movie resembled the Japanese anime series well. Perhaps too well. Other than true fans of the original series, people in attendance and critics just didn’t seem to get it. Much like its source material, the movie was chaotic, overly long and had a thin plot. But it also had great visuals, lots of action, a great score, special effects and it truly represented the source material.

Speed Racer also had a hard time before the movie even got to theaters. It had been in “development hell” since 1992 trading out different directors before landing with The Wachowskis siblings directing. The cast included Emile Hirsch (as “Speed”), Christina Ricci (Trixie), John Goodman (Pops), Susan Sarandon (Mom) and Matthew Fox (Racer X). The movie was made with a $120 million budget but only made $94 million, so not sequel was planned.