Editing Alfred Hitchcock (section)

====Final films====
Failing health reduced Hitchcock's output during the last two decades of his life. Biographer [[Stephen Rebello]] claimed Universal imposed two films on him, ''[[Torn Curtain]]'' (1966) and ''[[Topaz (1969 film)|Topaz]]'' (1969), the latter of which is based on a [[Leon Uris]] novel, partly set in Cuba.{{Sfn|Rebello|1990|p=188}} Both were spy thrillers with [[Cold War]]-related themes. ''Torn Curtain'', with [[Paul Newman]] and [[Julie Andrews]], precipitated the bitter end of the twelve-year collaboration between Hitchcock and composer [[Bernard Herrmann]].<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|2002|pp=272–274}}; {{cite news |last=Stephens |first=Andrew |title=The sound of Hitchcock: How Bernard Herrmann's music brought his films to life |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-sound-of-hitchcock-how-bernard-herrmanns-music-brought-his-films-to-life-20160104-glys29.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=9 January 2016|access-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319215055/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/the-sound-of-hitchcock-how-bernard-herrmanns-music-brought-his-films-to-life-20160104-glys29.html|archive-date=19 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Hitchcock was unhappy with Herrmann's score and replaced him with [[John Addison]], [[Jay Livingston]] and [[Ray Evans]].{{sfn|Smith|2002|pp=273–274}} Upon release, ''Torn Curtain'' was a box office disappointment,{{Sfn|Truffaut|1983|p=328}} and ''Topaz'' was disliked by both critics and the studio.{{Sfn|Truffaut|1983|p=333}}

[[File:Alfred Hitchcock and Karen Black.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Hitchcock with [[Karen Black]] during a press junket for ''[[Family Plot]]'' (1976)]]

Hitchcock returned to Britain to make his penultimate film, ''[[Frenzy]]'' (1972), based on the novel ''[[Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square]]'' (1966). After two espionage films, the plot marked a return to the murder-thriller genre. Richard Blaney ([[Jon Finch]]), a volatile barman with a history of explosive anger, becomes the prime suspect in the investigation into the "Necktie Murders", which are actually committed by his friend Bob Rusk ([[Barry Foster (actor)|Barry Foster]]). This time, Hitchcock makes the victim and villain kindreds, rather than opposites, as in ''Strangers on a Train''.<ref>{{harvnb|Leitch|2002|pp=114–115}}</ref>

In ''Frenzy'', Hitchcock allowed nudity for the first time. Two scenes show naked women, one of whom is being raped and strangled;{{sfn|Evans|2004|p=}} Donald Spoto called the latter "one of the most repellent examples of a detailed murder in the history of film". Both actors, [[Barbara Leigh-Hunt]] and [[Anna Massey]], refused to do the scenes, so models were used instead.{{sfn|Spoto|1999|pp=513–514}} Biographers have noted that Hitchcock had always pushed the limits of film censorship, often managing to fool [[Joseph Breen]], the head of the [[Motion Picture Production Code]]. Hitchcock would add subtle hints of improprieties forbidden by censorship until the mid-1960s. Yet, Patrick McGilligan wrote that Breen and others often realised that Hitchcock was inserting such material and were actually amused, as well as alarmed by Hitchcock's "inescapable inferences".<ref>{{harvnb|McGilligan|2003|p=249}}</ref>

''[[Family Plot]]'' (1976) was Hitchcock's last film. It relates the escapades of "Madam" Blanche Tyler, played by [[Barbara Harris (actress)|Barbara Harris]], a fraudulent spiritualist, and her taxi-driver lover [[Bruce Dern]], making a living from her phony powers. While ''Family Plot'' was based on the [[Victor Canning]] novel ''[[The Rainbird Pattern]]'' (1972), the novel's tone is more sinister. Screenwriter [[Ernest Lehman]] originally wrote the film, under the working title ''Deception'', with a dark tone but was pushed to a lighter, more comical tone by Hitchcock where it took the name ''Deceit'', then finally, ''Family Plot''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hollenback|first=Sharon Sue Rountree|title=Analysis Of Processes Involved In Screenwriting As Demonstrated In Screenplays By Ernest Lehman|publisher=Ann Arbor|year=1980|isbn=979-8644965205|location=United States|pages=64}}</ref>