I wrote (in french, sorry but there are pictures) some lines about Marnie and Mad Men here : http://www.web-et-cinema.com/12-mad-men-the-grown…
To say it in english, let's say that the moment when Betsy meets Henry in the car really made me think about a shot in Marnie. And in Mad Men, at this moment you can here… The birds…

Not directly tied into NBNW, but Archibald is Cary Grant's real name; Cary was sort of a hobo; a Cockney member of a traveling circus troupe. Thinking of Hitchcock, he was a Catholic and Cockney and Chaplin had a miserable childhood (I believe he is part Jewish).

Great insights into Vertigo.

Actually, I find the end of the season has many references to Vertigo, especially in "The Gypsy and the Hobo" and "Shut the door. Have a seat." Most obvious it the revelation of Don/Dick identities, like Kim Novak's Madeleine/Judy character. Blonde Betty wears a lot of grey in "TG&tH" (an off color for a blonde) just like just like Madeleine and blond Judy wears the famous grey suit throughout most of the movie. Suzanne wears different shades of green just like the sweater dress Scottie first spies Judy in. Incidentally, it is obvious the busty Judy is not wearing a bra underneath, just like Suzanne likes to go au naturel jogging under the Bowdoin shirt.

Then there's the rejection when true identities are revealed. Betty rejects Dick; Scottie rejects Judy. And Scottie and Don both have violent reactions when they discover/assume their perfect blond ice queens have whored themselves to another man.

I don't know about any rumors about Stewart's sexuality, but one of the reasons cited for Rope's initial flop was the inability of the audience to believe him to be gay. Cary Grant was rumored to be bi-sexual because during his early career, he shared a home with Randolph Scott in Hollywood. Cary Grant was actually Hitch's first choice to play Cadell, having worked with him twice before.

I've also heard about Martin Landau's character's orientation in North by Northwest. Certainly, his attraction towards James Mason's character would explain why he was so suspicious of and out to get the mistress (Eva Marie Saint).

# 29 Aran…The Hays Office was keeping close tabs on the project, the final script was so discreet that Stewart never realized his character was gay.

That's interesting. Though, had he known, I wonder if Stewart would have still done the movie. Weren't there rumors about Stewart's sexuality floated early in his career?

FWIW, I've heard Martin Landau say in interviews that when he made North by Northwest, Hitchcock told him the character he was to play was a homosexual.

But getting back to filmmakers not understanding the script, Robert Wise DIRECTED the original The Day The Earth Stood Still and never realized that Klaatu was supposed to be Jesus Christ. I've always gotten a hoot out of that one!

Benjamin Spock's Baby and Child Care was published in 1946. It was far from the first book on child care, but was immediately popular & became mainstream very quickly.

Spock's ideas have become such a part and parcel of the parenting landscape that it's easy to forget how revolutionary they were. In post-war America, parents were in awe of doctors and other childcare professionals; Spock assured them that parents were the true experts on their own children. They had been told that picking up infants when they cried would only spoil them; Spock countered that cuddling babies and bestowing affection on children would only make them happier and more secure. Instead of adhering to strict, one-size-fits-all dictates on everything from discipline to toilet training, Spock urged parents to be flexible and see their children as individuals.

Perhaps most revolutionary of all, he suggested that parenting could be fun, that mothers and fathers could actually enjoy their children and steer a course in which their own needs and wishes also were met. All this and much more, including a wealth of helpful medical advice, was delivered in a friendly, reassuring, and common-sense manner completely at odds with the cold authoritarianism favored by most other parenting books of the time.
http://www.drspock.com/about/drbenjaminspock/0,17…

Later, Benjamin Spock came out against the Vietnam war and in favor of ideas like decriminalizing abortion & homosexuality. So the warmongers began calling his theories "permissive"–note that "discipline" is mentioned above. He was blamed for the evils of the Boomer generation–many of whom, had, in fact, been raised by parents who'd read his book–by the same people who wanted to send that generation off to die. A generation who honored their own fathers' battles in the past & realized that this was A Different War.

In the first season, Francine mentioned a book on child care she'd been reading, in answer to Betty bitching about her evil son; probably not Spock, since they keep publishing the stuff. Betty snippily answered that she didn't need to read a book to know what little boys wanted.

Poor Betty–she was going to raise her kids exactly as she had been raised. After all, she turned out just fine!