Ranking Hitchcock

 Last year, I made it my missions to watch every Alfred Hitchcock movie. There are exactly 52 of them (because one of the silents is lost), which meant I could watch one a week. I also threw in every TV episode he directed and a couple of odds and ends. So I can now say I've finally seen his entire oeuvre (again, apart from the missing silent film, The Mountain Eagle). 

So here I present my ranking of all of Hitchcock's films, from worst to my favorite. No doubt your list would differ from mine. I expect some consternation that at least one of these didn't make my top ten. But without further ado, here is Alfred Hitchcock Ranked!

 53. Champagne

At the very bottom we have an almost entirely forgettable silent comedy that only exists because Hitchcock said, "Let's make a movie called Champagne." The movie has a goofy tone, but it's never all that funny, and the plot, such as there is one, is almost incomprehensible. Frankly, I don't even remember any of it. The only memorable moment for me, and the one merit to it, is the shot through the bottom of a champagne glass. You can always rely on Hitch to devise these crazy shots, and he's especially inventive in the early days. But once that happens you can turn it off, because everything else is forgettable.

 

 52. Easy Virtue

Though Hitch is known these days as master of suspense, much of his early work is full of love triangles and bastard children (often both). The latter is the subject of this Noel Coward adaptation and unfortunately for Hitchcock, a Coward play just doesn't translate well to the silent medium, particularly not this one. The general melodrama is fine such as it is, but nothing about it being a film elevates it in any way, and when you add in film censorship of the time the plot is almost hard to follow through the insinuation and lack of dialogue. It's generally competent, but it's not Easy Virtue.

 

 51. Juno and the Paycock

His first all sound picture, it's another stage adaptation and you can tell he doesn't quite know what he's doing. Apart from the opening street scene, the movie is locked almost entirely in one apartment and the camera rarely moves. It feels like Hitch's heart wasn't in it because while it seems a fairly faithful presentation of the stage play, it just kind of sits there, making it boring. The ending brings out a little of the emotion, as Hitch finally moves the camera, but the rest is a slog. Also, the difficulty of the poorly recorded sound is only compounded by the thick accents of the actors, which may make this film near impossible for some viewers to get through or understand. However, the story when it comes across is a good drama and the actors seems to be giving it their best. But this should have been seen live, not through Hitchcock's camera.

 

50. The Farmer's Wife

Another stage comedy transposed to a silent film comedy. This time the story works and most of the time so does the comedy. The set up is a good one: a farmer's wife dies, and she gives him her blessing to remarry. He tries out three suitors who are terrible only to discover his true love is the maid who's been living in his house all along. Very sweet, and would be fun to do onstage some day. There is some very hammy silent film acting at times, which is overboard even for a comedy (the one suitor who laughs uncontrollably is played too broadly). And the unfortunate sin of the film is it's just too long. I enjoyed it for what it was, and it was a bright spot among the silent films (the "Hitchcock Nine" as they are called these days), but its length dragged it for me.

 

49. The Pleasure Garden

This is Hitchcock's first feature. It's a love triangle, and it's a weird little movie, but it has a number of tropes that pop up in later films. It's fine, not amazing, not too long, which is why it just edges out The Farmer's Wife on this list. It's not one you're going to pop in or seek out unless you're a hardcore completionist.

 

48.Mary

This is an obscure one! This is basically a shot-for-shot German language version of Murder! This was sometimes done in the 1930s, when films would be simultaneously shot on the same sets with different casts for differentl language markets. There's famously a Spanish version of Dracula from 1931. It is interesting Hitchcock shot this one himself. The performances are pretty good, and the direction is solid, it's just that the English version is better in almost every way, especially some of the visual humor.

 

47. The Manxman

This is the last of his all silent films, based on a novel and set on the Isle of Mann. It's another drama of infidelity and pregnancy, culminating in a legal drama. It's very well made for what it is, but it's so low on the list because by this time I was wearing of these tropes. However, if you only watch one or two of the silent films and you like marital melodrama, this might be the best of that bunch.

46. Downhill

This is the story of two elite schoolmates. One takes the fall for his friend's indiscretion and it completely ruins his life, sending him on a downhill slide into poverty. There is a lot of skillful filmmaking at play here. It's another stage adaptation, but in this case Hitchcock transposes it to the medium excellently. There's a brilliant reveal at one point where you think a character is working as a waiter and possibly stealing from customers, only for the camera to pull back and reveal that the entire scene we've been watching is onstage as part of a play. Yet for all the praise I can give this film as a silent melodrama, it has a fatal flaw: it is too long. The film just overstays its welcome with descent after descent into misery and eventually you want to throw up your hands and say "I got it!" 

45. Number Seventeen

The most forgettable of Hitchcock's sound thrillers. It's mostly set in this one building (the titular number 17), and while there are goings on of various characters with different goals, it just kind of lays there. It might make for an amusing stage play, but it's rather a weak film. There isn't much of Hithchcock's style to recommend it apart from some impressive miniature work in the film's climax.

44. Under Capricorn

I so wanted to like it. I even watched it twice to make sure, but man is this movie a slog. On paper, it should work. Ingrid Bergman reteaming with Hitchcock, now in gorgeous color, a romance, an exotic locale, and yet every scene just sort of sits there. There's no tension where there's meant to be. Still, the film ranks this high for the color cinematography, which really is great, and the costuming which complements it. The Irish character, for example, is dressed in greens. But Bergman deserved better than this script. There are some excellent long takes, but they are hard to appreciate when you just don't care about any of it. This film basically ruined Hitchcock's new production company, Transatlantic Pictures, which folded after just two films.

43. The Skin Game

There's a good cast in this one. It's another silent film dealing with romance and class issues. I can't remember much about it, but you can see that Hitch is learning and is honing his craft. I enjoyed the film for what it was, even if I can't cite specifics.

42. The Ring

One of the best of his early silents, though also a bit too long, The Ring tells the story of a young boxer who's also trying to court a young lady. There are a lot of elements involved, lots of character drama, and some very inventive camera work during the boxing sequence. Hitchcock comes up with some tricks to show his POV when he's knocked out, and it's really excellent stuff, especially for a silent film of the 1920s. This one works in the visual medium and is pretty engaging, even if you're not usually into silent film. 

41. Mr. and Mrs. Smith

A lot of Hitchcock movies have funny moments. He's good at comedy, and yet he seems to constantly fail at making straight comedy films. Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a sort of stereotypical 1930s screwball comedy about a married couple who are in an argument and find out that due to a mixup with the marriage license, they might not actually be married at all, so now are free to see other people. It's a VERY sitcom plot. While it's fine, I would suggest superior movies like The Awful Truth for similar entertainment. This one is okay, but it never really takes off and the lead couple are  never likable enough. Unlike later projects that use this title, however, neither is a secret spy. So if you go in expected action shenanigans, you'll be even further disappointed.

40. Rich and Strange

This is one of the romantic comedies that I will defend. It's bizarre and not everyone's cup of tea, but I found it amusing enough. It concerns a bored middle-class couple who suddenly fall into some money and take a trip around the world and they find that the high life comes with its own problems. Their marriage is tested, some goofy stuff happens, and all ends as it began. The highlight of the film is the opening sequence, which uses choreographed umbrellas to great effect. It's a brilliant visual sequence that tells you everything you need to know about this man's life.

39. Secret Agent

As you can guess, this movie concerns a secret agent. Unfortunately, this basically describes a fair number of Hitchcock movies and they start to run together in my mind which is why this one ranks lower. It's just less memorable. It does however have one intense sequence in the Alps and a murder that occurs there. 

38. Jamaica Inn

The second of Hitchcock's Daphne Du Maurier adaptations, it's less successful than Rebecca, but still lavishly produced and pretty fun at times. The standout of this one is Charles Laughton, hamming it up. Good costumes, good sets, a horse in a dining room, pirates, not a bad way to spend a couple hours.

37. Notorious

Okay, I'll say it. I don't like this movie. I know it's one of the ones EVERYONE talks up. I like Cary Grant, I like Ingrid Bergman, I like reparte, I like them both in Hitchcock films, but this movie does NOT work for me. I've seen it now probably 4 or 5 times and every single time I am quickly bored. There are a couple of memorable bits, and there's some suspense with a teacup, but in the end I just don't care at all about the story. Whatever they were trying to say with this movie, about a notorious woman, just never got across for me. I don't like the dialogue, I don't care much for the performances, I don't think much of it is shot particularly interestingly, apart from a few bits toward the end. So this is my first act of Hitchcock heresy, but if I never watched Notorious again, I wouldn't miss it.

36. The Trouble With Harry

It's a dark comedy and I want to like it. I really do. But for me, like the body in question throughout the film, it just lies there. The color cinematography is gorgeous. It looks exactly like Vermont on film. If you want to watch a movie that feels like New England in the fall, this one does. It's also the screen debut of Shirley MacLaine. There are scenes and scenarios that should be hysterical on paper, and yet for me they are just leaden in the execution. The dialogue often isn't snappy enough from some of the cast, meanwhile MacLaine is doing her best to keep it lively. Maybe someone could remake this script and give it the zest it needs, but Hitchcock played it so droll that it stopped being funny. And when you're not enjoying the joke, then the story is just macabre. Ultimately a failed experiment which is a real shame because it looks so pretty.

35. The Wrong Man

Another failed experiment is this "docudrama" ripped from the headlines, the true story of a man wrongfully accused of murder and the toll it takes on his marriage. Henry Fonda is the perfect sort of everyman choice for the lead. The movie sticks fairly close to actual events, which do make it difficult to keep it dramatic, as so much is taken up with his legal defense. The more interesting element is that the stress causes his wife to have a full psychological breakdown and be committed, which ultimately leads to the film's biggest flaw: the ending. Mandated by the studio, there's a tacked on bit of text at the end saying she eventually got out completely cured and they lived happily ever after. It just strikes such a weird tone in the moment, when the punch is much stronger leaving the story lingering that he's been acquitted but at what cost? Otherwise a solidly made film and an interesting twist on the typical Hitchcock "wrong man" thriller because it was true.

34. Lifeboat

An interesting experiment, the whole film is set on a lifeboat after a shipwreck during World War II. There's a lot of tension built up regarding survival and whether there's a killer in their midst. It's a well-made diverting film, but I found I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I hoped I would. After awhile, there were just so many characters in this boat, it started to strike me as a little silly. But it's a good contained little war drama and if you like stories set in one tight contained setting, you might enjoy it.

33. Torn Curtain

That's the Iron Curtain for those wondering. Here we have a cold war spy story, with a romance angle thrown in. There are some wonderful scenes. Julie Andrews and Paul Newman star, though it's hard to see chemistry between them. It's pretty well made, but not nearly as interesting as this sort of thing should be.

32. The Paradine Case

I'll be honest, of all the Hitchcock legal dramas, I remember this one the least. It's definitely one of the least remembered, falling between better movies. As I recall, this is the one where the lawyer pulls a legal strategy that on The Practice they would call "Plan B". That is, they scheme to accuse someone else of the crime in open court to save their client. As an old legal drama it's a fine way to pass the time, but no classic. As Hitchcock, it's nothing special. There are some good long take shots though.

31. Blackmail

Released in both a silent version and one with sound sequences, the sound version is the way to go. This was the very first British sound picture and there is an extremely memorable and effective sequence at a dinner table where the word knife keeps coming up that must be seen. It's exceptional inventive filmmaking, especially when you consider how new these tools are. Hitchcock was already a master of sound.

30. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Fans debate which version of the film is superior. I've always held the remake to be better, though my appreciation for this version improved and the latter did feel a bit bloated on my last watch. Both are worth seeing, this one for Peter Lorre. But the movie loses me a little when the climax hinges on a wife who just happens to be an Olympic sharpshooter.

 

29. Foreign Correspondent

A tight little spy thriller that becomes a call to action for America to get involved in the war. There are fun memorable set pieces, like the windmill, and if you want a pretty enjoyable movie about espionage in Europe, you could do worse. This one was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but lost to Hitchcock's other film from that year, Rebecca.

 

28.  Topaz

I had the hardest time figuring out what to do with this movie. Where do I place it? It's Hitchcock's penultimate film and it's got a lot of good and a bit of confusion. The ending was enough of an issue that they shot and edited multiple versions. Based on a novel inspired by the Sapphire Affair, Topaz is a spy thriller about the growing Soviet presence in Cuba. It's good, but it's also missing something. However, the color, the layout, and certain sequences show Hitch still in good form.

27. Murder!

This is a great little movie! A real surprise from the early 1930s, and not one that gets talked about very often. There is a lot going on subtextually regarding gender. A woman is accused of murder and we follow her legal defense and the attempts to root out who the real killer is. The opening murder scene is very well staged. If you've never heard of this one, and you like early cinema, seek it out.

26. Waltzes From Vienna

Okay, okay, I'm sure I have some fans scratching their heads here. Waltzes From Vienna, also known as Strauss's Last Waltz, tells the (wholly fictional) story of how Johann Strauss composed The Blue Danube waltz. Yes, despite being based on real people, nothing in this film is truthful. And yet it settles nicely into that era of film with biopics like The Story of Louis Pasteur. At it's heart, it's both a family drama and a romantic comedy. A lot of people will consider it forgettable, but honestly, I don't care. I had a blast watching this movie. It was light and fun and funny and forgettable. It's everything you could want in disposable entertainment, showing that Hitchcock can successfully make a movie like this that isn't all thrillers and intrigue. So you can have your Notorious, I'll keep my Waltzes From Vienna.

25. I Confess

The best of the Hitchcock legal dramas, I Confess concerns a priest who is bound by church law not to present evidence in a murder case that he learned in confession. Again, not one of the obvious standouts, but I enjoyed it and had no real complaints. There were just other movies that were better.

24. Sabotage

This film is most remembered for a very suspenseful sequence involving a bomb that is set to go off at a specific time. It also features the use of a Disney cartoon (Who Killed Cock Robin?) in its climactic sequence. Setting a movie around a movie theater is an interesting gimmick, as is transporting things in film canisters. But unfortunately the movie loses steam after that famous sequence.

23. Family Plot

Though he was prepping another script after this, Hitchcock ultimately chose to retire and that film was never made, meaning Family Plot is his last movie. He puts all his years of experience to good use in this story about riches, psychics, and jewel thieves. The best way to describe it is it's a cozy mystery. There's some clues to follow, some fun little excursions, humor, relationships, and a punny title. If you like that sort of thing, I think you'll really appreciate the tone of this movie. If you go in expecting Strangers on a Train or something you might be disappointed. But if you want a nice little thing to curl up with some evening, it's fun and a nice note to end his career on.

22. Suspicion

Another nominee for Best Picture, Suspicion concerns a wife's growing... suspicions that her husband is planning to murder her. Scene after scene builds the suspense and the movie becomes very engaging. Cary Grant is perfectly cast, and he always seems to have reasonable explanations, and yet... It's a really fun little thrill ride where so much of the drama plays out in the mind. Unfortunately, the ending wraps up the whole thing in a way that's not really satisfactory.

21. The 39 Steps

Another spy thriller that has very little to do with its original source material, but 39 Steps is classic Hitchcock, a trek from setting to setting in search of some MacGuffin. The trope is done I think better in other films, but a lot of the groundwork is laid here.

20. Stage Fright

People sleep on this one, but I had a good time with it. Hitch's daughter Pat puts in a great performance. Do I remember what it was about? Nope! But I liked it enough that it's top 20.

19. Saboteur

Not to be confused with Sabotage, Saboteur is the superior film where a man is accused of causing a serious act of sabotage at his factory and being a foreign agent. The rest of the movie is a chase as he tries to clear his name, culminating in a showdown at the Statue of Liberty and if all this sounds similar to North By Northwest, maybe you should make it a double feature.

18. Spellbound

Ingrid Bergman plays a pyschoanalyst helping a man get to the heart of some dark secrets from his past and interpret his dreams. The dream sequences were devised with the help of Salvador Dali and they do get rather surreal at times. The ultimate explanation is kind of silly, but there's some good drama at play here. Watch out for the few frames of color in this black and white movie!

17. The Lady Vanishes

A bit of a silly mystery on a train, where an old woman tasked with delivering crucial secrets by train suddenly disappears. What follows is a fun little romp to locate her or stop those who are after her and entrust the information gets into good hands. 

16. The Lodger

The best of Hitchcock's silent work is also the one that's most like his later films. The Lodger concerns a couple who take in a mysterious man to rent an upstairs room, a man who it turns out may actually be a murderer. There is a lot of good tension and misdirection, some very good technical work too. There's a sequence where they can hear him pacing the floor above them, and Hitchcock conveys this by superimposing images of the man walking on a glass floor, so we see his feet moving across the ceiling. It's a well-made silent thriller and a real surprise it took him so long to return to this grenre.

15. Young and Innocent

Part "wrong man on the run" and part screwball comedy, this one really worked for me in a way it might not for others. It's got elements of 39 Steps, but I like the characters and their banter and there's more comedy to this one. There's also some more good miniature work, which Hitch got better and more ambitious with as he made each film.

14. Rope

Set entirely in one room and playing out in real time and meant to appear as almost one continuous shot, Rope is more interesting as a technical feat than a drama, but the drama still works. Inspired by the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case and adapted from a stage script, Hitchcock's moving camera and brilliant choreography keeps it from ever being stagey while also being claustrophobic when needed. The story is that two kids, inspired by their professor, murder a classmate just for a lark to see if they can get away with it, then host a dinner party while the body is in a trunk. Jimmy Stewart is good in it, but at times isn't always convincing when the character's darker elements come into play. He sells those final monologues though. And the way the large windows are used to show the passage of time, and the use of color, it's a very well-made experiment.

13. Dial M for Murder

Another fairly amusing little crime thriller, this one was similarly an experiment in 3D. Unfortunately, the fad had already died down and the frequent use of rear projection probably didn't look great in 3D. I wasn't able to watch it in 3D (a bluray does exist, but requires a 3D television), but I have seen some of the sequences in 3D and they work. Even in 2D, it's a tight little suspense story and Grace Kelly is good in it. It's not as good or as memorable as it could be, but it's a good time. Thankfully the 3D shots, even when you can tell they are supposed to be dimensional, don't come off as too gimmicky.

12. To Catch a Thief

I struggled with placing this one. It's a good time, but almost too cute for its own good. But when I made the list, I liked that stuff. It concerns a cat burglar gone legit who's being framed for other thefts. This is the one Hitchcock film that Paramount retains the rights to. There is something hokey about two characters kissing and immediately cutting to fireworks.

11. Vertigo

Just missing my top ten, yes Vertigo is a well-made movie, but I'm just not as enamored with it as everyone else is. The basic plot concerns a man falling for a mystery woman, witnessing her murder, and then unable to get over her so he starts dating some other woman and turning her into the dead one. Oh yeah, and he's a former cop with vertigo and a psychological hangup because it cost him a case and broke his leg. This is a very weird movie. The use of color, the fancy lens tricks, the cast, that's all good. Honestly what hurts the movie for me is that the script gives him a female roommate, ostensibly as a way of getting exposition out, but I always think he has more chemistry with her than with the other woman. So I am left not caring about any of this, get back to the sexual tension with Midge! The movie also ends incredibly abruptly and it's just too abrupt for me. So I'm sorry fans, but Vertigo isn't quite it for me.

10. Marnie

Sean Connery in a Hitchcock movie! This is a good psychological thriller involving the mystery of Marnie's interior blockage, which we eventually learn was due to child sex abuse and her witnessing terrible acts. It's a mature story with a good cast that's well made. There's a controversial scene which is interpreted by some as rape (it caused the film to lose its original screenwriter), but I don't think it mars the overall impact of the film. 

 

9. Frenzy

Hitchcock went all out in the 1970s making a very adult thriller. There's actual nudity in this one. The film stars Michael Caine in the story of a rapist and murderer and the investigation on his trail. There are some very tense sequences, but also the movie is kind of a dark comedy. There are moments of very black humor that I really enjoyed. If you've only seen the "safe" Hitchcock films and want something else after Psycho, this is a good follow-up.

 

8. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

I do go back and forth about how much I like this one versus the original and struggle with whether I'm ranking it too high. But I think it's a really good movie, now in color, retelling the main story beats of the first movie but embellishing. Now, some of that embellishment may be overdone and the film is noticeably longer than the original. But Jimmy Stewart puts in a good performance, as does Doris Day. I enjoy the use of singing in the climax of the film, and I think it's more believable than the original. 

 

7. The Birds

The Birds is a weird movie. It's creepy and the tension builds up but there's never any explanation for any of it. It's just a bizarre tale of a town suddenly overrun by flocks of birds that terrorize the public until the family drives away. No lessons learned, no answers given, just preying on a natural aversion to animal life. Is it a statement about nature versus civilization? Maybe. Or just an exploration of primal fears? Maybe. But it's surprisingly scary, especially in scenes where children are attacked or terrorized. A young Veronica Cartwright gives a standout child performance. She would go on to great success in other genre films such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Alien.

6. North By Northwest

I don't like it as much as others do, but it is a slickly made quintessential Hithchcock movie. If you were to narrow down the Hitchcock tropes of the 1940s and '50s into one film, North by Northwest is pretty much it. The story follows Cary Grant as the everyman mistakenly wound up into an intricate nation-hopping plot. It's got fun set pieces and iconic moments, so it's undeniable one of Hitchcock's most enduring classics. 

5. Rebecca

The Academy Award-winning adaptation of Daphne DuMaurier's novel is a masterpiece, even when some of its story elements had to be toned down for Hollywood censorship. When I first saw it, I was a little bored for the first hour or so. It was fine, but just seemed to be taking its time. Yet you need that deliberate pace because it creates a kind of increasing confusion and tension as we build to a climax of revelation after revelation which blew my mind when I was younger. The basic plot is that a man remarries and the new wife is constantly under the shadow of the first wife, especially under the disdainful eye of the housekeeper. It's a great film, a solid adaptation of the book, and builds to a tremendous conclusion.

4. Rear Window

This movie is excellent! It's no surprise it's been remade several times, both as a direct modern remake starring Christopher Reeve (post-accident, an inspired idea), and in some reworkings like Disturbia. The set is amazing; Hitchcock has an entire apartment complex and courtyard with various little characters in each of the windows. Jimmy Stewart is great here as a photojournalist turned voyeur recovering from a broken leg who may have stumbled upon a murder! Grace Kelly also puts in a good performance. Easily one of Hitch's best suspense films.

The last three films are so good and so close in my mind as to be basically interchangeable. On another day, I might shift the order. But this is how they shake out for now.

3. Strangers on a Train

Based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train tells the strange tale of a couple guys who meet on a train and the more psychotic of the two suggests a plan to "swap murders". He wants his father dead, and the other fellow, a tennis star, wants out of his current marriage. Things take a terrible turn when the maladjusted fellow thinks they have a real arrangement and begins plotting to murder the wife. It's a a great story where neither guy is entirely likeable but the cast is great. There are amazing sequences with iconic shots, such as a very key scene involving a pair of glasses (with a great performance from Hitch's daughter Pat). There's great model work in the climax with a runaway carousel. This film also inspired a later comedic retelling, Throw Momma From the Train, directed by Danny DeVito.

2. Psycho

Everything just works in Psycho. It's a gritty little picture that shows Hitchcock can make tense, weird, sexual, disturbing horror films and not just slick popcorn entertainment like North By Northwest. Anthony Perkins gives a perfect performance. The narrative shifts the movie takes keep the audience guessing and have inspired countless ripoffs and homages in later films. That piercing score is still relevant and heart-pounding. Eventually the movie would inspire three direct sequels, a shot-for-shot remake, and a spinoff TV series. It's often cited as the favorite of Hitchcock fans. I've seen it so many times now since I first saw it in high school and it still holds up. If it at all seems tame to modern audiences, it certainly didn't in 1960. It's no exaggeration to say that Psycho changed cinema.

1. Shadow of a Doubt

Like I say, on another day, Psycho might take the top spot and maybe I'm just being contrarian right now as that seems to obvious. But I have always maintained that Shadow of a Doubt is my favorite early Hitchcock film (think of that as basically everything pre-Rear Window). The story of Shadow of a Doubt concerns a teen girl whose uncle comes to visit and she begins to strongly suspect he is not a good guy. It's a simple premise that is told very well with a great cast. If I have only one complaint, it's that I think the opening scene sets the film up in a way that changes the tensions in the rest of the story. But it is otherwise a perfect Hitchcock film about terrible things coming into quaint suburbia. Hitchcock cited it as possibly his favorite film he'd made. I love it and I think more people should check it out. If Psycho is too much for you, you should definitely be able to handle this one. It's got suspense and thrills, but it's not too shocking. And it remains among my very favorites.

Boy, that took a long time to complete! This year, I'm working through Martin Scorsese's entire filmography. Perhaps I will rank him too. We'll see.

EMMYS 1970: My World...and Welcome To It

 NETWORK: NBC

 

                

For one season, there was a series on television that was both ahead of its time and came too late. That series was My World... and Welcome to It. This was a series a decade in the making and yet when it was finally picked up by the network, it was doing such strange and innovative things that I am not sure audiences knew what to make of it. And yet with hindsight, one can see how forward-thinking it was and how elements at play here would become major stylistic choices of successful series over 20 years later. The series is unique and strangely out of sync with its time, and perhaps that's why it initially struggled to find an audience. Yet it's a shame that now it hasn't gained more of a cult following because it was an innovative series with a lot to recommend about it.

My World... and Welcome to It was inspired by the writings and drawings of American humorist James Thurber; the title taken from one of his books. Thurber was a columnist and cartoonist for The New Yorker magazine from the late 1920s through the 1950s. It's no surprise that his popular work would eventually be sought for television adaptation. The series revolves around a Thurber analog, John Monroe, who works as a cartoonist for a magazine called The Manhattanite (get it?). And yet, as mentioned, this project took a decade to get right.

Series creator Melville Shavelson (who also created Make Room For Daddy) initially created a sort of backdoor pilot for a potential series with an episode of NBC's Alcoa Theatre anthology series called "Cristabel". This script would later be revived for the 1969 series, and it's interesting to compare how two completely different casts approach the material, and how differently it is directed. That full episode is available on YouTube for those curious. However, no series was spawned from that initial burst and it wouldn't be until 1969 when NBC would give Shavelson another go at putting John Monroe back on the air. Thurber died in 1961, and I wonder too if this distance from the originator of a lot of these ideas left the audience on unsteady footing.

The series is unique in that it incorporated drawings and animations in Thurber's style. Many of the exteriors are done as black and white line drawings with series star William Windom superimposed. Just the technical effort alone of including these kinds of gags, with Windom interacting with an elevator full of cartoon people, for example, or walking out of his house that then turns to keep his wife's watchful eye on him are surprising for a weekly television series. In some episodes, we are treated to fantasy sequences also heavily influenced by drawings. In the first episode, Monroe helps his daughter, Lydia, understand her history lesson and the show transforms to a set modeled on line drawings. It's very clever production design, and there's a lot of variety in the series. Sometimes Monroe will have a full conversation with a cartoon. Other times we are treated to fantasies that don't involve drawings at all. What's central to the show is the family dynamic and the character of John Monroe. The series experiments a lot with different ways to approach this, and doesn't ever settle too long on any one gag or pattern to make the show stale. Some episodes are very light on the fanciful, and others have whole plots built around it.

 For example, when a sexy woman moves in next door, John finds himself fantasizing about a world without his wife. The series constantly breaks the fourth wall, and John invites us to imagine with him. Amusingly, he turns his fantasy on and off with a snap of his fingers, but loses track of when it's on or off and we the audience, if we've been keeping track, watch him stumble into hilarious misunderstandings. Every episode opens with Monroe addressing the audience, often before inviting us into the house as he opens his front door. This sort of storytelling is commonplace now, but was much more innovative for weekly television back then.

One can see some of the new cultural attitudes creeping in as we approach the 1970s. Despite the fact that the series is incorporating a number of stories and ideas from Thurber's old writings, there are some subtle changes in how the show approaches its characters. Little details crop up that are more true to life and that we haven't really seen in television comedies before, like the fact that Lydia has to wear dental headgear at night (her animated counterpart does as well). Lydia is ten, and the shifting attitudes of the time are more shockingly apparent when she is invited to a party and is excited to wear "her first miniskirt", and later worries that she's not sexy. No series before this would ever have a ten- or eleven-year-old girl referring to herself as "sexy", and no series nowadays would dare for fear of giving the wrong idea. Another quaint element of the show is her mother undressing her for bed at night. This is a bit of familiar domesticity that you might not have seen on television before now, but at the same time it is also very unlikely you would ever see a show today where a child actress is stripped to her underpants, even briefly. The show has a kind of innocence to it, even when pushing the envelope into stories about marital jealousy and such. I grew up with two sisters, so seeing a little girl dressed for bed is familiar, and yet was a little shocking to see in a television show with that kind of frankness. Today there's so much concern for child exploitation (and rightly so) that it really took me back and reminded me times were different.

William Windom is very engaging here, as he has to carry a lot of the series by himself, talking directly to camera and interacting with bare sets. I only knew him from his guest spot on Star Trek, where he played a very different character, so his sardonic persona here was a delight. The show is at its best when using him fully. Some stories revolve around his work life and others around his home life; many intersect. There's a similarity to prior series like The Dick Van Dyke Show in that respect, and yet this show is totally unique in its approach. It's very cleverly written and the key is that sometimes John is an audience surrogate while others he's clearly wrong and trying to justify himself. He's not an idiot, and yet he often thinks he's the smartest guy in the room which sets himself up for a fall. He's a kind of perfect medium between the "father knows best" archetype and the bumbling oaf that would typify later comedies. He's a good father, but struggles.

My favorite example of this is the Christmas episode, which starts with a basic sitcom premise before going in a completely unexpected direction. It's Christmas Eve and John has neglected to purchase a gift for Lydia. So he is sent to the mall for a specific toy, and of course there's only one left. This could all seem very familiar. But what happens next? He stumbles into another store before the mall closes, and Christmas morning Lydia is gifted with a huge American flag. Now we're playing with the sitcom trope of the somewhat clueless dad who makes a crazy decision, but it's such an out there thing for a Christmas episode it's immediately funny. And John is insistent that he chose this on purpose, to instill national pride in his daughter. It's bizarre, but there's merit to it. And this is all just the first half of the episode! The story goes on to show how the neighbors in town try to shame the Monroe family for flying the flag because it's so out of the ordinary. A historical society even shows up to discourage it, because it makes them look bad! Rumors fly that they must be doing something suspicious and that they are flying the flag to cover it up. There is so much fascinating sociology packed into this story and it is one that modern audiences should really stop and take a look at. It explores national pride and societal peer pressure in an engaging but meaningful way. And all this in a Christmas episode! This is not a typical sitcom.

 And yet perhaps its creativity was eventually the series' downfall. Despite the fact that ratings were actually pretty solid and picking up by the end of the season, NBC decided to end the show after one year. This would only embarrass them when the Emmy award ceremony honored the now-cancelled series as the best comedy series of  the 1969-1970 season, and William Windom as best lead actor in a comedy series. Windom went on to tour the country in a one-man stage show where he portrayed James Thurber. The unique elements of the show like a lead addressing the camera, making cartoons, and getting lost in fantasy worlds, would eventually find their way into other innovative successful series in the 1990s such as Dream On, Doug, and Ally McBeal.

Though the series did appear in syndication for awhile, it has never been released on DVD. Surprisingly, it hasn't even garnered a large cult following. And yet, I'm sure many people are out there thinking, "I remember that show!" I had to watch it all on bootleg home recordings. Most, if not all, episodes are now viewable in some form on YouTube. But considering the pedigree and that it was an award-winning series, it's shameful that these fuzzy bootlegs are currently the only way to watch it. My World... and Welcome to It really deserves better, and a broader audience because it was doing a lot of interesting things before they were cool.

FAVORITE EPISODE: Rally Round the Flag

UP NEXT: All in the Family

The Beatles: Inner Grooves

 If you're a fan of The Beatles, you may be aware that they've had a few compilation albums put out over the years. From A Collection of Beatles Oldies through the "Red" and "Blue" albums (1962-66 and 1967-70 respectively) of the '70s to the 21st Century with 1. And they're fun albums and mostly really good. The Red and Blue are particularly good career retrospectives. However, there's one major failing that all of these compilations have when taken as a whole: they focus almost exclusively on the "hits". 1 for example includes only their Number 1 songs. And even the really good compilations that pull album tracks often hit only the well-known songs that become popular. 

This is all fine, of course and they make for good listening experiences, but I was feeling recently that it would serve a compilation well to highlight some "deeper cuts", beyond the "I Want to Hold Your Hand"s and "Yesterday"s and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"es (weepses?). The community would be served by a companion piece to the 1 album, a career retrospective that hits the lesser remembered highlights and B-sides of the Beatles career. So I've taken to putting one together myself, and I'm calling it The Beatles' Inner Grooves.

Due to runtimes of the songs and difficulty in selecting songs, this collection will be a double album. In choosing songs for this list, I looked at the entire official catalog and eliminated any song that appeared on 1 and numerous other collections. So none of the heavy hitters are on here. I then went on and, with two exceptions, eliminated all the other tracks from the Red and Blue albums. This helped narrow things down, but ultimately the final choices came down to my personal taste, a desire to be eclectic, and to showcase George and Ringo as much as John and Paul. I also tried to find songs that showed various sides of the members, so it wasn't all Paul ballads and John rockers, and so that Paul doesn't dominate the later material.  I decided to sequence it roughly in chronological order. I imagine it being available for both CD and vinyl, so I will present it as I envision each vinyl side. So without further ado, here is my track list for the proposed Beatles Inner Grooves double album.

DISC 1 - side 1

1. Please Please Me -- The 1962-66 album is the only major compilation to include this, which is criminal.

2. Misery -- a great early Lennon-McCartney tune

3. Don't Bother Me -- Harrison's debut

4. This Boy -- B-side to "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and showcasing their great 3-part harmonies

5. If I Fell -- a more mature Lennon ballad and one of the highlights of A Hard Day's Night

6.  Any Time at All -- we shift out of the ballads with the snap of a rim shot

7. Every Little Thing -- a hidden gem from Beatles For Sale

8. Bad Boy -- Lennon's vocal is the best of the three Larry Williams covers and it's a shame this is a lost classic. It's the only cover on this collection but it was so good it needs more attention.

9. I Need You -- George breaks out the volume pedal and we move into the Help! era

10. I'm Down -- Paul rocks out his Little Richard voice and closes us out side one

DISC 1 - side 2

1. I've Just Seen a Face -- we'll open side two the way the US Rubber Soul opened.

2. You're Going to Lose That Girl -- a John classic from Help!

3. You Won't See Me -- for some reason this Rubber Soul track is a go-to song for me. When I was trying to pare the list down I seriously considered dropping it, but just couldn't.

4. What Goes On -- and Ringo makes an appareance!

5. Wait -- As long as this is a double-album, we'll keep this Rubber Soul favorite of mine

6. If I Needed Someone -- a George highlight just before he went full Indian in his influences

7. Rain -- John's rocking B-side to "Paperback Writer" with it's hard drums and backwards vocals is the perfect segue to the Revolver material

8. Here, There, and Everywhere -- a McCartney classic that's slowly becoming every bit as notable in the popular consciousness as "Yesterday"

9. And Your Bird Can Sing -- I just find this one lots of fun.

10. Getting Better -- And now we've reached a peak of the career, getting to 1967 and this peppy number from Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to close out the first disc. But as the album is called Inner Grooves, side 2 will actually end with the inner groove nonsense that closes out Sgt. Pepper.

Sgt. Pepper inner groove

DISC 2 - side 3

1. Good Morning, Good Morning -- and the rooster wakens us up to the start of disc 2!

2. Baby, You're a Rich Man -- a 1967 B-side

3. Your Mother Should Know -- the highlight songs of Magical Mystery Tour are already known and elsewhere compiled. But we shouldn't abandon this jaunty McCartney number, chosen to showcase his music hall style.

4. It's All Too Much -- George Harrison's psychedelic masterpiece has been too long overshadowed by his later material and the Lennon/McCartney '67 stuff. If possible, I would include the longer version with the extra verse.

5. Hey Bulldog -- I've placed the Yellow Submarine material here before we get to the other 1968 stuff because it makes more sense sonically; this is when these things were recorded. I almost didn't include "Hey Bulldog", because in recent years it's become almost too popular, but it's a Lennon highlight of the later era.

6. The Inner Light -- George at his most Indian, this is the B-side to "Lady Madonna"

7. I'm So Tired -- a Lennon classic from the double album that I would put right up there with "Happiness is a Warm Gun"

8. I Will -- Paul's simple solo groove will be a delightful palate cleanser as we shift gears.

9. Julia -- In my mind, "I Will" and "Julia" are always a pair. They close out the first disc of the White Album and it's hard to hear one without the other. We've got a lot of passionate, rocking, shouty John on this disc, so it made sense to highlight his music at some of its most beautiful and vulnerable. And just as it does on the White Album,  it will close out this side of our compilation.

DISC 2 - side 4

1. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey -- we start the flipside with a rocker

2. Cry Baby Cry -- another deep hidden gem of the White Album. I'll include the linking Paul bit of "Can You Take Me Back?" which will transition us into...

3. Two of Us -- I've chosen for sequencing purposes to put the Let It Be material before Abbey Road. It's up to you which version of this you use, whether from the album or the Naked version. I think track transition works better in any case without the opening studio chatter, but if you can't think of the song without it, you can include it.

4. Let It Be (album version) -- All the compilations have it, but they all have the single version. I want to highlight the version from the album which is easily overlooked. It has a grungier guitar solo and slightly different feel.

5. Dig a Pony -- we'll leave Let It Be with this rooftop performance of a groovy John song. The words don't matter; it feels cool.

6. You Never Give Me Your Money -- I'm shaking up the Abbey Road tracks a tiny bit. Mostly this is being included so that the melody's reprise later feels more natural and not isolated. The one issue in this fantasy mix is that on the album this song fades into the atmospherics for "Sun King", so we would really want a clean fade for this compilation. But there's precedent for that. We fade out on the chanted nursery rhyme so we can get to our next track, a children's song...

7. Octopus's Garden -- Ringo's return! This one was included on the Blue album, but it's too much fun to leave off and Ringo deserves another song, especially one he wrote himself.

8. I Want You (She's So Heavy) -- John Lennon's bluesy hardcore 7-minute groove slots here. While the abrupt stop doesn't end a side on our compilation, it does allow the listener a sudden stop to take a breath before we tranistion to the final medley.

9. Golden Slumbers

10. Carry That Weight -- gotta get one more Ringo vocal

11. The End -- And we close out the record with each of the Beatles giving a solo and saying goodbye. I know the recent iTunes comp ended with this song too, but that was the Anthology edit, and this song is just the natural close.

Well, that's my playlist. Feel free to try it out on your own if you want to put it in Spotify or search for the playlist Beatles Inner Grooves on YouTube. I think it makes a solid listening experience and a good companion piece to other collections for new fans. And if anyone in the official Beatles camp happens to read this, please take notice!

We Breathe the Same Air

 Bob Dylan's 80th birthday was this year. For decades now he has been constantly touring, so when the COVID pandemic shut down all travel last year, he had to cancel any upcoming dates and put things on hold. During lockdown, he unexpectly graced the world with an 18-minute meditation on the Kennedy assassination, "Murder Most Foul", and eventually followed that up with his most recent album, Rough and Rowdy Ways. This was enough to hold Dylan fans over for awhile, but all were jolted with the announcement a couple months ago that he was going back on tour, and taking the new album on the road. As you'd expect, fans began snatching up tickets.

I was among those fans. When I saw he was playing one date in Boston, I had to get tickets. I have seen Dylan live only once before, back in 2011 during the ballpark tour. As Bob gets older, these opportunities grow slimmer, so I was glad to take advantage of this one. 

And that's how I found myself at the Wang Theater last night seated up in the balcony just right of center awaiting to hear what oldies he would dust off and reintepret, and how he would sound on the new material. The pandemic has thankfully waned enough that it was a pretty crowded event. I don't know if it was completely sold out, but it was full. It was rather annoying to have to show proof of vaccination upon entry. I almost didn't go on principle, but Dylan's 80, so I let it go. Boston is still obsessed with mandates over COVID. What's most frustrating is that despite vaccination proof, it was also still required we all wear masks. You'd think if we all had to be masked it shouldn't matter (that is, if masks actually work). Also worth noting that some of the ushers did not practice very good mask protocol, as I noticed some wearing them under their nose and one who had it down over his chin, so what was even the point? This actually bothered a concert-goer near me, who seemed still a little paranoid around crowds.

What's interesting about an audience at a Dylan concert (and probably some other '60s performers still touring), is the wide demographic of fans. You get a lot of twentysomethings and college kids, folks my age, and the old-timers who've been around for years. I saw one little girl who couldn't have been more than six. I was seated next to an older couple who had seen Bob play in Lowell back during the legendary Rolling Thunder Revue. After the show, a group of girls were leaving who were probably teens or early twenties. I heard one of them almost in awe saying, "We breathed the same air as him!" 

One thing that was annoying is how many people did not arrive on time. During the first several numbers there were still people filing in and finding their seats. There was no opening act; it was just Dylan and his band for 90 minutes. Multiple times people were in the wrong seats and had to move. Was a little distracting. But I appreciate that Dylan didn't hold the house or anything. He started on time and did what he came to do.

Since the start of the tour, set lists of the previous dates have been out there. I tried to avoid them so as not to have preconceived notions of what he might play, apart from the understanding that the set would heavily feature the new album. Part of the fun with a Dylan live show is he'll alter the arrangements on his back catalog so you don't always know what he's playing until he starts singing (and sometimes not even then). I remember the last concert, he opened with "Cat's in the Well" of all things! Last night he opened with "Watching the River Flow", and followed it up with a pretty faithful arrangement of "Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)". Then of course he did the first couple selections from the new album. His band of course is fantastic. They've been playing with him for decades now and they always sound great. Particularly on the new numbers though, you can tell that Dylan and the band are really in a groove on these new songs. Dylan seems to take more care singing them, unlike the old ones where we all know the words already (until he decides to change them). He spent most of the night behind the piano, but every now and then he would come out from behind to sing. 

He seemed interested this tour in dusting off the songs of the late '60s and early '70s. I wonder if this is tied to some of the more recent Bootleg Series releases being of that era, or if that's just what he felt like this (4th) time around. After "Watching the River Flow", we had "When I Paint My Masterpiece", which had opened all the dates of Rolling Thunder back in 1975. I had heard rumor this would be his opener, but it turned out not to be the case. He also did one track each off John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline. His current version of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" was certainly a surprise. 

Peppered between were a few more Rough and Rowdy tracks. "Black Rider" sounded really good live, and the audience at the Wang seemed to be really into it. Dylan also brought out "Early Roman Kings" with a slightly different tempo. I've always thought of it a one of the lesser tracks on the Tempest album, but this version wasn't bad. Then after powering through a version of "To Be Alone With You" all dressed up for dancin', they began playing "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)", one of the centerpieces of the new album, and a fairly long song. It was rather hypnotic.

But then came for me what was one of the highlights: a seriously rocking new arrangement of "Gotta Serve Somebody". Without the gospel back up singers, Dylan and company rocked it up and sped it up. And because it's basically a list song, Dylan indulges himself in singing lots of new lyrics. None of them come to mind at the moment, but there were very few lyrics from the original record, apart from the important ones: "Might be the Devil, might be the Lord, but you've got to serve somebody." And on the last repeat, he even emphasized, "You've really got to serve somebody!"

What followed was "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" from the new album and I cannot think that sequencing was a coincidence. The song, a gentle ballad, is easily taken as a love song (particularly with the reference to "her" at one point), but considering Dylan chose to follow "Serve Somebody" with it, I couldn't help feeling the religious overtones in the song. Especially with such lyrics as "I'd preach the gospel, the gospel of love/a love so real, a love so true/I've made up my mind to give myself to you." It honestly had shadows of "I Believe in You" or perhaps with the "is it about God or a girl" angle, a song like "Covenant Woman" or "Precious Angel". We had just seen our first snowfall in Eastern Massachusetts the previous night, so when Dylan stepped out from behind the piano and sang "I saw the first fall of snow," there were little cheers form the audience. It was a very moving performance.

Dylan then slipped briefly into crooner mode to dust off one of the standards from his Sinatra period of a few years ago. Throughout the night he seemed in rather good voice. He continued with a lovely performance of "Mother of Muses", before capping things off with "Goodbye Jimmy Reed". The band is great on the album there, but I think this is one of the songs that they've tightened up musically while on the road.

As the night was coming to a close, Dylan got a little playful, saying "It's good to be in Boston, home of Bunker Hill and Beacon Hill and Blue Hill... Lot a hills around here!" Then he got to talking about Paul Revere, and had us all give a cheer for Paul Revere. He even then threw in a nod to his recent dabbling in iron sculpture by noting, "Paul Revere was an iron worker. You know, I've done some iron work myself!" Seemed in good spirits, which was delightful.

There were no encores, no dragging out "Like a Rolling Stone" for those who expected it. Instead, he introduced the band and then gave us one final closer, an unexpected and wonderful choice, "Every Grain of Sand." After the one-two punch of "Serve Somebody" and "I've Made Up My Mind", coupled with the meditative mood of "Mother of Muses", it felt appropriate to end the evening on this call to God. Dylan the elder statesman seems rather reflective these days. For me, there was no better song to close with. The arrangement played very faithful to the version on Shot of Love (though sadly no harmonica), but with the "perfect finished plan" lyric, which I loved. 

Maybe some were disappointed there was nothing more to follow, but it was a nice way to spend 90 minutes. And I have to respect Dylan for not doing an encore in a time when it's become obligatory. I'm glad I got the chance to see him and if I never do again, I can consider myself blessed that the last thing I heard him sing live was "I am hanging in the balance of a perfect finished plan/like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand." After two years of paranoia and pandemics it was a thrill for us all to come together last night and breathe the same air.

Psalm 119/8

  Psalm 119 is a 22-stanza poem of 8 lines each wherein each line begins with the same Hebrew letter. For this week, I've re-compiled it into 8 different acrostic poems.

 

Psalm 119/8

I will keep your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly!
I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.
I will run the course of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart.
Behold, I long for Your precepts; revive me in Your righteousness.
My hands also will lift up to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes.
This has become mine, because I kept your precepts.
The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy; teach me Your statutes.
The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, that I may not be ashamed.
Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
I have seen the consummation of all perfection, but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate very false way.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the very end.
My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.
Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way.
Rivers of water run down from my eyes, because men do not keep Your law.
The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; give me understanding and I shall live.
Concerning Your testimonies, I have known of old that You have founded them forever.
The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments.

Psalm 119/7

 Psalm 119 is a 22-stanza poem of 8 lines each wherein each line begins with the same Hebrew letter. For this week, I've re-compiled it into 8 different acrostic poems.

 Psalm 119/7

I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments.
I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.
Princes also sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
I cling to Your testimonies; O LORD, do not put me to shame!
Turn away my reproach which I dread, for Your judgments are good.
And I will delight myself in Your commandments, which I love.
I remember Your name in the night, O LORD,and I keep your law.
I am a companion of all who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
Let those who fear You turn to me, those who know Your testimonies.
They also made an end of me on earth, but I did not forsake Your precepts.
The wicked wait for me to destroy me, but I will consider Your testimonies.
How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross; therefore, I love your testimonies.
Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!
Make Your face shine upon Your servant, and teach me Your statutes.
Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, yet Your commandments are my delights.
You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are truth.
Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.
My sou keeps Your testimonies and I love them exceedingly.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; and let Your judgments help me.

Psalm 119/6

 Psalm 119 is a 22-stanza poem of 8 lines each wherein each line begins with the same Hebrew letter. For this week, I've re-compiled it into 8 different acrostic poems.

 Psalm 119/6

Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments.
I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies.
I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me.
Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing you.
I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
Your statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
At midnight, I will rise to give thanks to You, because of Your righteous judgments.
Their heart is as fat as grease, but I delight in Your law.
Let the proud be ashamed, for they treated me wrongfully with falsehood; but I will meditate on Your precepts.
All Your commandments are faithful; they persecute me wrongfully. Help me!
I am Yours, save me; for I have sought Your precepts.
I have not departed from Your judgments, for You Yourself have taught me.
The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.
You reject all those who stray from Your statutes, for their deceit is falsehood.
It is time for You to act, O LORD, for they have regarded Your law as void.
Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts.
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth.
They draw near who follow after wickedness; they are far from Your law.
I see the treacherous and am disgusted, because they do not keep Your word.
LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments.
I long for Your salvation, O LORD, and Your law is my delight.