This morning, Dr. Peterson is less than enthusiastic about continuing these therapy sessions with Hitchcock’s troubled characters. We wish her luck.
If you’re just now tuning in, these sessions began on Alfred Hitchcock’s birthday on Monday, August 13.
Leave a comment for each day during the series and you’ll have a chance to win a copy of my book: The Alfred Hitchcock Triviography and Quiz Book.
Day Four
August 16 – 11 a.m.
Re.: Can of Worms.
Dr. Peterson: “Speaking of love and hate, did Mr. Hitchcock love or hate his leading ladies?”
Charlie: “That’s a good question. He spent a great deal of time with them on and off the set, and from what I hear, if they behaved themselves, they landed another roll in another film.
John: “Now, listen here, Mr. Oakley, my wife . . . uh . . . Dr. Petersen starred in three of his films and always maintained a professional relationship with him.”
Marnie: “Well, look what happened to the rest of us. We were poisoned, stabbed, strangled, thrown from a church tower, attacked by angry birds, and almost drowned.”
John: “You think you ladies had it bad? The men in his films are all psychotic. We were either put in asylums or came from asylums. Like predatory animals we stalked and murdered innocent women.”
Charlie: “Look who’s talking. You’re a fool, Ballantine. You couldn’t save yourself no matter what. You were wandering around pretending to be a famous psychiatrist and surgeon, even to the point where you had scalpel in hand and were ready to . . . what . . . perform a lobotomy? You wife, Dr. Petersen, saved you. Love cures all, right?”
Brandon: “That’s right. You would never be allowed to join the superior class of people who are above such trivial human frailties.
Marnie [looking at Brandon]: “Why is he here? Who else, besides you, belongs to this superior class that you are always yakking about?”
Brandon: “Your husband for one. He took matters into his own hands. You should have been sent to prison for extorting thousands of dollars, but instead, he marries you and that makes everything okay, just like Dr. Petersen marrying Ballanine to cure him.”
Charlie [shouting]: “Silly, rich women . . . it’s not fair!”
Norman: “I like women. But my mother thinks they are silly, too.”
Dr. Peterson: “There’s a fine line between love and hate. Don’t you think that love makes us vulnerable by exposing our own weaknesses, causing us to strike out defensively in what can be construed as hatred?”
Scottie [shouting]: “So, Hitchcock used us to sort out his emotions. Is that what you are saying, Dr. Petersen?”
[C. P., MD]
Unable to answer Scottie’s question, Dr. Peterson cut today’s session short.