tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7219214733140697041.post5879116232216369028..comments2023-05-30T05:51:00.400-07:00Comments on Alfred Hitchcock Geek: John Calvin and "The Trouble with Harry"Joel Gunzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02597499250122165168noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7219214733140697041.post-4907577307573929582014-12-25T14:56:36.116-08:002014-12-25T14:56:36.116-08:00Additionally, I think it's also plausible that...Additionally, I think it's also plausible that Hitch and Hayes took advantage of the coincidence to play up the Calvinistic aspects of Calvin Wiggs as they developed the character. Joel Gunzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02597499250122165168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7219214733140697041.post-67766769591357195782014-12-25T14:54:00.686-08:002014-12-25T14:54:00.686-08:00Thanks for that research, and the correction, Guy!...Thanks for that research, and the correction, Guy! (I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't read the novel.) It was Ken Mogg's suggestion -- not mine-- that Calvin Wiggs was named *in part* after Calvin Coolidge, as well as John Calvin. Ken insists that Coolidge had to have been on screenwriter John Michael Hayes' and Hitch's mind, but his evidence is circumstantial, and I just don't buy it. <br /><br />(And I think it's entirely likely that Jack Trevor Story had John Calvin in the back of his head in the writing of the novel.) Joel Gunzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02597499250122165168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7219214733140697041.post-45447905909796513322014-12-25T14:32:14.374-08:002014-12-25T14:32:14.374-08:00I had a feeling the dialogue you quote came pretty...I had a feeling the dialogue you quote came pretty much from Jack Trevor Story's original novel, so I checked, and it does. Pretty much verbatim. <br />So the naming of a character as Calvin may well have occurred for the reason you suggest, but we must conclude that Hitchcock or Hayes found the idea lurking in the original novel.<br />Which was of course set in Old England, in the United Kingdom, not New England, USA!Guy Lawleyhttp://www.jacktrevorstory.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7219214733140697041.post-83903341496388047242010-06-23T10:29:16.913-07:002010-06-23T10:29:16.913-07:00Aw, I love you too, Jenny! I'm gonna guess tha...Aw, I love you too, Jenny! I'm gonna guess that Hitch had a pretty good feel for American culture and its idiosyncracies. In fact, you've inspired me. watch this space for a new blog post.Joel Gunzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02597499250122165168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7219214733140697041.post-75836885610112157662010-06-23T07:56:43.028-07:002010-06-23T07:56:43.028-07:00Have I told you lately that I love you, Alfred Hti...Have I told you lately that I love you, Alfred Htichcock Geek? Seriously this post is all kinds of awesome. I think this this post is predetermined to go to all kinds of paradise, dude. I never noticed the Calvinist connection, but yeah you are totally right, that is a classic New England/Calvinist reaction. I can't imagine that Hitchcock had much familiarity with this part of the American psyche. I mean Sarah Vowell wasn't even born yet. Did Hitchcock ever spend any supstantial amount of time in New England?Jennythenipperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04570881559181199994noreply@blogger.com