The awkward moment between Alfred Hitchcock and James Brown
The world is not short of awkward chat show moments that have beamed from television screens over the years. But our perverse desire to return and relive some of these toe-curling moments hasn’t died out yet. However, you may have missed one particularly uncomfortable moment from the Mike Douglas Show between Alfred Hitchcock and James Brown.
First aired in 1961, The Mike Douglas Show interviewed celebrities from the world of entertainment, with a guest host aiding Douglas each week. In 1969, Douglas was joined by guests Joan Rivers, James Brown, and Alfred Hitchcock.
At the time, Hitchcock was coming off the back of three home run movies, which would later become some of his finest work and true classics of cinema, with Vertigo, North by Northwest, and then Psycho, the latter being the reason for his appearance on the show. Today, Psycho is mainly discussed in the realm of film history and theory, often referred to as the seminal viewing experience for contemporary directors.
So it’s perhaps easy to forget that Psycho took the world by storm upon release, truly shocking and terrifying audiences around the world by showing them something they had never seen before. It really was a game-changer for cinema.
It’s no wonder then that James Brown, during the interview, wanted to pick Hitchcock’s brain on Psycho. The problem was that he began talking about the wrong film entirely. During the interview, Brown cut in to say, “I’d like to ask you a question”, addressing Hitchcock, “in your movie, Homicidal”, and goes on to describe some of the plot points from the film before Douglas can correct him by interjecting, “you mean Psycho”.
What added to the confusion is that the film Brown is referring to, Homicidal, actually directed by William Castle, is a total rip-off of Psycho and is also not a great film. Often described as a cheap imitation designed to cash in on the trend created by Psycho, Homicidal was a clearly inferior work of art, completely devoid of Hitchcock’s mastery.
Luckily, Hitchcock wasn’t offended by Brown’s confusion and handled the question with dignity by saying, “I won’t dare tell you (about his techniques)… That’s a professional secret” and later goes on to say, “I’ll tell you when we are off the air”. It’s a slightly awkward blunder from Brown, but sweet nonetheless due to his interest in understanding Hitchcock’s method as a director.
