MovieChat Forums > Family Plot (1976) Discussion > Madeline Kahn as Blanche

Madeline Kahn as Blanche


Hey just thought I'd throw this out there. High Anxiety, Mel Brooks's spoof on Hitchcock films was made the year after Family Plot. I read that Hitchcock actually liked the movie quite a lot. Personally, I thought Madeline Kahn was excellent in High Anxiety (as she was in really anything she ever appeared in). My questions is, had Hitchcock seen her performance before Family Plot was made, do you think he would have casted her for the part of Blanche? I think she would have had both the comedy and suspense chops to really take that part to the next level. The seance scene would have been particularly more effective. Not that I'm dissing on Barbara harris - I just think had High Anxiety been made before Family Plot, Hitchcock might have wanted Kahn in what would turn out to be his final film.

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Apparently Hitchcock had really wanted only Barbara Harris for the part of Blanche as he had wanted to work with her for a while but she was either unavailable or not interested before. Plus if you've seen Barbara Harris's other films you'll see this part was clearly designed for her. All the improvisational quirks and comical timing was very much her style and what she was largely known for in film. Such a great actress, there's no question of anybody else playing a part she played instead of her

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I think that 'High Anxiety' is a great Hitchcock spoof. But it has to be Barbara Harris for 'Family Plot' I feel.

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