Movie MacGuffins — Part 1
TCM, beginning at 7 p.m.
In fiction, particularly in films, “MacGuffin” is a term that has been coined to refer to an object or event that serves to propel a story’s action and characters’ motivations but is ultimately unimportant and may not actually ever be seen by the viewer or reader or be resolved. Tonight and next Friday night, TCM will air films with some of the greatest MacGuffins ever. Alfred Hitchcock helped popularize MacGuffins and used them often in his films, so it makes sense that tonight features three of those Hitch classics. The evening begins with the spy thriller The 39 Steps (pictured) (1935), an early example of a MacGuffin in the form of designs for a secret military airplane engine coveted by enemy agents. Next, in the landmark thriller Psycho (1960), the audience’s journey with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) as she goes on the lam after stealing $40,000, including her near-misses at being caught along the way, takes an abrupt and shockingly different turn about midway through the film. Finally, in North by Northwest (1959), stolen microfilm containing government secrets is just an excuse to have Cary Grant’s Roger Thornhill thrillingly chased halfway around the country by enemy spies, police and federal agents. In fact, this particular MacGuffin isn’t even made evident until near the end, but of course, the wild journey to get there is the more important part of this fun flick.