Dial P for Podcast #7: Lifeboat, Spellbound, Notorious, The Paradine Case

Good evening. Welcome to Dial P for Podcast, Patrick Ripoll's year-long chronological voyage through the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Every month Patrick will be watching four Hitchcock features and talking about them here, from The Pleasure Garden to Family Plot, all across the year of 2026, examining the life and work of England's most famous cinema pervert. As the Selznick era comes to an end, we see an Alfred Hitchcock growing in confidence, ambition and struggling against the increasing interference of the overbearing producer.

With Lifeboat Hitchcock takes on a seemingly simple premise that was in fact an enormous technical challenge, Spellbound found a David O Selznick obsession with psychiatry producing a mess of a thriller, Notorious finds Hitchcock hitting a career high and pissing off every censor in Hollywood, while The Paradine Case begs the question: if a murder happens and no actors capable of emoting can't react to it, does it make a sound? You can add the mid-40's to Hitchcock's list of playmates. Check it out!

0:00 - 0:32 - Intro

0:33 - 40:31 - Lifeboat (1944)

40:32 - 1:08:31 - Spellbound (1945)

1:08:32 - 1:53:26 - Notorious (1946)

1:53:27 - 2:18:54 - The Paradine Case (1947)

2:18:55 - 2:21:28 - Outro