I watched Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent this morning and was struck by the plot point in the Windmill where Jones (Joel McCrea) finds the real Van Meer (a doppleganger was shot just minutes before) and, doped-up and loopy, he scrawls an unintelligible note that looks very much like Aaaahhhhh. Hitch was just as much telling a joke as creating a necessary McGuffin for the plot to speed along. No doubt Monty Python were Hitch enthusiasts so perhaps this was an indirect influence, and they're merely expanding on a joke pitched by the Master.

Wow, Zach, some synchronicity at work there. Suspect you're probably right re MP and Hitchcock admiration. Thanks!