One of the most popular types of film with movie-going audiences is, and has always been, the mystery suspense thriller. This enjoyable combination of plot elements has its roots as far back as the early silent films. The characters and plots used in these mysterious and suspenseful movies released between the 1920s and 1950s are still remembered today, and have been replicated countless times throughout motion picture history. 

These plot components have proven to be so flexible that they can successfully crossover into many movie genres such as; horror, crime, westerns, science fiction, and even comedy. Take a good thriller that builds some nail-biting suspense while adding a little bit of mystery for the audience and there is a good chance the movie will be a winner. 

Some early examples of films using these elements include M., The Cat and the Canary, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. However, no one has proven more adept at the use of this film formula then legendary director Alfred Hitchcock who got his start in 1926 with the silent film The Lodger, a movie about a mass murderer. Hitchcock’s films were, and continue to be, extremely popular with viewers as he went on to masterfully direct suspenseful thrillers for decades.

The 1930s used the mystery, suspense, thriller combination for the very popular horror movies that were released during this period. These films provided an escape for the public who, at that time, were dealing with the very real financial horrors they were facing in the real world. The popularity of some of these movie monsters has enshrined them into motion picture history. It is not likely that anyone will ever forget the characters Frankenstein, Dracula, or the Wolfman. 

The late 1930s through the 1950s gave us classic ‘film noir’ which almost exclusively used the aspects of mystery, suspense, and thrills to weave its stories. So much so, that it raised this type of film to an art form. If you haven’t done so already, seek these movies out and enjoy the timeless appeal of all that the mystery, suspense, thriller has to offer. 
 

Tags: alfred hitchcock, Film Noir, mystery, suspense, thriller

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Mystery/Suspense. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.