The Birds (1963) - News NEWS 14 December 2016 2:10 PM, PST | Rollingstone.com | See recent Rolling Stone news » The Breakfast Club, Rushmore, The Princess Bride and legendary punk documentary The Decline of Western Civilization are among the 25 films that have been inducted into the National Film Registry, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday. Disney's The Lion King , Who Framed Roger Rabbit ?

and Alfred Hitchcock 's The Birds are also in the Class of 2016's inductees in the registry, which showcases "the range and diversity of American film heritage to increase awareness for its preservation." The oldest film to be inducted in the Class of 2016 is 1903's Life of an American Fireman , » 14 December 2016 12:01 AM, PST | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news » With the addition of 25 new films — including “ The Birds ,” “ The Lion King ,” “ The Breakfast Club ” and “ Thelma & Louise ” — the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress now includes 700 films that span more than a century. The 2016 inductees into the registry include movies long considered classics, obscure documentaries and films once too racy or avant-garde to be accepted by the mainstream. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden made the selections after consulting with a panel of experts who make up the National Film Preservation Board.

Congress established the registry in 1988 with the National Film Preservation Act of 1988 — requiring the Library of Congress to designate and preserve films that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant. Films must be at least 10 years old to be chosen. Director Ridley Scott said he was “honored and proud” to have the 1991 feminist empowerment ode, “Thelma & Louise,” selected, noting it joined another of his films on the list. » - James Rainey 28 November 2016 6:59 PM, PST | TVLine.com | See recent TVLine.com news » It’s fall finale time for Jane the Virgin , which means no new episodes until January. (Can’t Rogelio release a Christmas album or something to help get us through this drought?) But Monday’s finale gave us plenty of plot twists to chew on during the long break… including a huge revelation for Rafael. Jane’s baby daddy starts out the episode by objecting to Jane taking Mateo to church. It seems like just another co-parenting tiff for these two… until Rafael flashes back to a traumatic childhood memory in a church.

Meanwhile, Michael’s investigation into Mutter turns » 18 November 2016 8:12 AM, PST | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news » Noel Marshall ’s legendarily wild and totally bonkers movie “ Roar ” has long been billed as one of the most dangerous movies ever made (if not the most dangerous), thanks to its use of a multitude of wild big cats, many of which have been blamed for harming scads of cast and crew. Marshall and his then-wife Tippi Hedren made the film back in the late seventies, casting their own family, including Hedren’s daughter Melanie Griffith and Marshall’s sons Jerry and John, as a clan terrorized by a pack of seemingly domesticated lions and tigers, oh my. (And the big cats? Those were theirs, too.) For years, rumors have persisted that 70 people were injured during the film’s spectacularly ill-fated shoot — when Drafthouse re-released the film in 2015, they used that number to frame up their catchy tagline: “No animals were harmed in the making of this movie. 70 members of the cast and crew were.

» - Kate Erbland 17 November 2016 7:17 AM, PST | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news » Actress Tippi Hedren ’s new memoir “Tippi” openly discusses her break with filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock , who cast her in his films “ The Birds ” and “ Marnie .” She explains his obsession with her and the sexual abuse she experienced while making the films. After a falling out with the director, her career faced a major setback and she was forced to rebuild. In a new interview with Variety, Hedren discusses the abuse and why she went public with the story in the first place. Read More: Tippi Hedren Confirms Alfred Hitchcock Sexually Assaulted Her, Details Secret Door Connecting His Office to Her Dressing Room “This is legion all over the world. There’s nothing unique about it,” says Hedren in regards to why she came forward with the abuse allegations. “Women complain all the time about somebody trying to make a pass at them or have a relationship in which they are not interested.

» - Vikram Murthi Tippi Hedren shot to fame as one of Alfred Hitchcock ’s classic blonde heroines, turning heads in “ The Birds ” and “ Marnie .” Like Grace Kelly before her, Hedren seemed destined to be a huge star, as an impossibly cool and elegant screen goddess. But a falling out with the director put her career in a tailspin and she struggled to build on that early promise. In her new memoir, “Tippi,” Hedren opens up about her break with the legendary filmmaker. Her account of his dangerous obsession and the sexual abuse she was forced to endure while making the film has made headlines and even resulted in some blowback from the director’s loyalists. Hedren tells Variety that she decided to share her story in the hopes of encouraging other women to stand up for themselves.

Though Hedren may not have maintained a spot on the A-list, she found her life’s » - Brent Lang 11 November 2016 6:56 AM, PST | Cinemaretro.com | See recent CinemaRetro news » This Post Has Been Updated On November 11, 2016 Tippi Hedren was a model with no acting experience when director Alfred Hitchcock cast her as the female lead in his 1963 classic " The Birds ". The announcement surprised the entertainment industry, given Hitchcock's penchant for casting well-known actresses in his films. He saw Hedren by chance in a TV commercial and immediately set his sights on the beautiful blonde. Hedren was recently divorced at the time and in need of a new career in order to care for her young daughter, future actress Melaine Griffith. In her just-published autobiography "Tippi: A Memoir", the 86 year-old actress says that Hitchcock manipulated her when she was vulnerable by signing her into an exclusive contract that gave him dictatorial power over her career. He promised he would cast her in high profile films that would establish her as a major star.

However, her dreams were shattered when Hitchcock » - nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro) 5 November 2016 5:05 PM, PDT | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news » Actress says she repelled advances on The Birds set but film crew dispute story Cinema historians, former cast and crew and Alfred Hitchcock ’s official biographer have rushed to the defence of the director after claims that he sexually harassed and bullied actress Tippi Hedren during the filming of The Birds in the 1960s. In her new book, Tippi: A Memoir, published on 17 November, Hedren alleges that the director made sexual approaches to her and regarded her as his personal property. In one passage she also describes her genuine horror during the filming of the attic scene in The Birds when she was attacked by real birds. “It was ugly, brutal and relentless,” she writes, adding that Cary Grant , visiting the set that week, had told her how brave she was.

Continue reading » 1 November 2016 5:39 PM, PDT | PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news » It is now no secret that Tippi Hedren ‘s relationship with Alfred Hitchcock was intense and potentially abusive. In her new memoir, Tippi, the legendary actress and Hitchcock muse recounts several stressful and haunting encounters with the director: allegations of sexual assault during filming of The Birds and Marnie and the inhumane conditions Hedren endured (upon which Hitchcock insisted) while filming the climactic scene in the 1963 horror-thriller. “Everything was building toward the famous ‘bedroom scene,'” Hedren writes of the scene in which her character Melanie suffers a vicious on-camera attack by the birds. Up until the day of filming, » - Kara Warner 1 November 2016 2:16 PM, PDT | Entertainment Tonight | See recent Entertainment Tonight news » Three generations of Hollywood has never looked so good. Legendary actress Tippi Hedren recently sat down with both her daughter, Melanie Griffith , and her granddaughter, Dakota Johnson , for an incredible family portrait for Vanity Fair.

Hedren, 86, looks regal as ever in an embroidered nude gown, as 27-year-old Johnson embraces her in a demure, blush pink dress. Meanwhile, 59-year-old Griffith holds her mother's hand in a one-shoulder red gown. Coliena Rentmeester exclusively for Vanity Fair Pics: She Gets It From Her Mama -- Celebrity Mother/Daughter Doppelgangers The ladies clearly had fun on the photo shoot, sharing some laughs while posing together. The pics mark the first time the three ladies have ever been photographed together for publication. "The three generations just made me think about Mom, born in 1930, and me, in the '50s, and Dakota, in the '80s," Griffith tells the magazine about coming together to celebrate Hedren's new memoir, Tippi, in which » 31 October 2016 6:26 AM, PDT | avclub.com | See recent The AV Club news » In her new memoir, actress Tippi Hedren alleges that Alfred Hitchcock sexually assaulted her on the sets of some of their films.

The star of The Birds and Marnie has spoken up about the director’s controlling behavior in the past, which was dramatized for the HBO film, The Girl. But in her book, Tippi, Hedren claims that Hitchcock’s obsession with her culminated in sexual assault. The New York Post is reporting from excerpts of the book, which details Hitchcock’s alleged shift from starmaker to harasser—according to Hedren, he watched her every move, limited her contact with the other actors, and had her handwriting analyzed. The actress also writes of a brief struggle with Hitchcock in the back of a limo, where he asked her to “touch him” and tried to kiss her.

Things got worse on the set of Marnie , as Hedren says the director installed » - Danette Chavez 31 October 2016 4:42 AM, PDT | The Guardian - Film News | See recent The Guardian - Film News news » Star of The Birds and Marnie says director grabbed her, attempted to kiss her and had a secret door installed between his office and her dressing room Tippi Hedren has revealed how Alfred Hitchcock allegedly sexually assaulted her while they were working on the films The Birds and Marnie . The actor has spoken in the past about the director’s treatment of her, much of which was portrayed in the 2012 HBO movie The Girl, but she goes into fresh detail in a new autobiography, Tippi: A Memoir.

Continue reading » 30 October 2016 10:49 AM, PDT | The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News | See recent The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News news » Tippi Hedren , star of Alfred Hitchcock 's 1963 avian horror classic The Birds , alleges in her new memoir, Tippi, that the late Oscar-nominated director sexually assaulted her, according to excerpts obtained by the New York Post. On one particular occasion, Hedren claims, Hitchcock came into her dressing room on the set of Marnie and "put his hands on me. It was sexual, it was perverse.

The harder I fought him, the more aggressive he became.” Hedren, a 31-year-old actress living in New York, was recently divorced from adman Peter Griffith at the time Hitchcock saw her in read more 30 October 2016 10:13 AM, PDT | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news » Tippi Hedren , who starred in Alfred Hitchcock ’s “ The Birds ” and “ Marnie ,” claims the director stalked and sexually assaulted and harassed her when she worked with him in the 1960s. In an excerpt from her new memoir “Tippi,” obtained by the New York Post, Hedren details her relationship with Hitchcock in the ’60s, after she moved from New York City to Los Angeles following her divorce from Peter Griffith . Hitchcock, who died in 1980, tracked her down after seeing her in a commercial for meal replacement shakes, and signed her to a five-year movie contract. After that, Hedren alleges, Hitchcock developed an unhealthy relationship with the actress.

While working on 1963’s “ The Birds ,” the role that shot Hedren to stardom, Hedren claims that he was extremely possessive of her, warning her castmates, including co-star Rod Taylor , not to “touch her.” She claims that if Hitchcock even saw her talking to another man, » - Alex Stedman 30 October 2016 9:29 AM, PDT | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news » Alfred Hitchcock ’s relationships with his leading ladies have long been the source of controversy. Tippi Hedren , who was discovered by the filmmaker in a commercial and went on to star in his “ The Birds ” and “ Marnie ,” has written in her upcoming book “Tippi: A Memoir” that Hitchcock repeatedly sexually harassed her during her six months making “ The Birds ,” reports the New York Post.

Read More: ‘Welcome to Hitchcock’ Anthology Series Announced by the Alfred Hitchcock Estate In “Tippi,” which is being released on Tuesday, the actress states that castmates were told not to socialize with her or “touch The Girl”; whenever Hitchcock caught sight of her laughing or even talking with a man, he would become “petulant” and “icy” and look at her with an “expressionless, unwavering stare…even if he was talking to a group of people on the other side of the soundstage.” Once, she writes, he » Tippi Hedren claims she was sexually assaulted by director Alfred Hitchcock while working on his films The Birds and Marnie . In her upcoming memoir, Tippi, the legendary actress and Hitchcock muse, 86, says that celebrated director would have his driver drive past her home, and also asked her to “touch him” while they were working on The Birds , according to excerpts featured by The New York Post. She also says Hitchcock once tried to force her to kiss him in the back of a limo. “It was an awful, awful moment,” she writes in the book.

However, she didn’t tell » - gabrielleolya1 28 October 2016 12:40 PM, PDT | Entertainment Tonight | See recent Entertainment Tonight news » The Lou Pearlman television series has found its leading man, Et confirms exclusively. Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor Toby Jones has signed on to star as the late boy band producer in a limited TV series that stems from the New Yorker article titled "We Live in a Pop-Culture World that Lou Pearlman Created," which tells of Pearlman's rise from struggling business owner to music mogul, as well as his fall to fraud. Watch: Justin Timberlake Reacts to Lou Pearlman 's Death -- 'I Hope He Found Some Peace' This isn't the first time Jones -- perhaps best known for his roles in The Hunger Games and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy -- will portray a real-life person in the entertainment industry. In 2012, he took on the role of Alfred Hitchcock in the HBO TV movie, The Girl , alongside Sienna Miller as The Birds star, Tippi Hedren .

"We’re beyond excited to have someone of Toby's caliber on board » 5 October 2016 10:00 AM, PDT | Variety - TV News | See recent Variety - TV News news » Fox has added two pivotal cast members to “24: Legacy,” Variety has learned exclusively. Veronica Cartwright (“ Alien ,” “ The Birds ”) and Laith Nakli (“ The Visitor ”) have both been cast in the “24” revival, which debuts midseason on Fox. Cartwright has joined as a series regular. She will play Margaret Donovan , Senator John Donovan ’s ( Jimmy Smits ) mother. Described as well-heeled and connected, the character is formidable in business and politics and has lost very few battles in her life. Nakli, in a recurring role, will portray one of the series’ bad guys. His character Kusuma is a battle-hardened jihadist and fighter.

Both new cast members join series star Corey Hawkins , who takes on the central role of Eric Carter in the reboot of the beloved action series, which is based on the original “24” that starred Kiefer Sutherland (who is an executive producer, but is not in the show, as he’s currently starring on ABC’s “ Designated Survivor ”). Miranda Otto » - Elizabeth Wagmeister 5 October 2016 9:01 AM, PDT | Cineplex | See recent Cineplex news » Godzilla, Batman , and Benedict Cumberbatch top the list of Cineplex Events in OctoberGodzilla, Batman , and Benedict Cumberbatch top the list of Cineplex Events in OctoberJenny Bullough10/5/2016 11:01:00 Am From Frankenstein ’s monster to Godzilla and more, there’s a lot going on in Cineplex Events this month! Here are some highlights of what’s onscreen in October besides great new movies.

October 10 – Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders Inspired by the comics of the 1960s, Batman and Robin spring into action when Gotham City is threatened by a quartet of Batman ’s most fiendish foes – Penguin, The Joker, Riddler and Catwoman. Pop culture icons from the TV series Adam West , Burt Ward , and Julie Newmar return to voice Batman , Robin, and Catwoman! Stay until the end to see a special featurette! Watch the trailer then click here for more information including tickets and showtimes: October 12 – Shin Godzilla (aka Godzilla Resurgence » - Jenny Bullough 7 Alfred Hitchcock Leading Ladies - Blonde Stars MGM Home Entertainment 2. Ingrid Bergman She once called Hitchcock an "adorable genius," but it was Ingrid Bergman whose beauty and talent lit up the screen in some of the director's most acclaimed films. In Spellbound, she was a psychoanalyst who falls for her new boss ( Gregory Peck ), and learns that he's a troubled amnesiac and possibly even a killer.

Notorious starred Bergman as the daughter of a convicted spy, who is tasked by a government agent ( Cary Grant ) to seduce and marry the head of a group of former Nazis relocated to Brazil. She joined forces with Hitchcock a third time for the lesser-appreciated Under Capricorn, in which she was the alcoholic wife of a prominent businessman and former convict (Joseph Cotten) who took the blame for a murder she committed. Though never Oscar-nominated for her Hitchcock performances, Bergman was widely regarded as his finest leading ladies, with her turn in Notorious ranking as one of the best in her decorated career. Paramount Pictures 3. Grace Kelly Without a doubt the most elegant of Hitchcock's actresses, Grace Kelly broke the mold of the traditional icy blonde in favor of a warmer, more vivacious leading lady. In Dial M for Murder, she was the unfaithful wife of an ex-tennis pro (Ray Milland) who is targeted for murder after her husband discovers her affair with a crime-fiction author (Robert Cummings).

That same year Kelly starred opposite James Stewart in one of Hitchcock's greatest films, Rear Window , playing the socialite girlfriend to Stewart's wheelchair-bound photojournalist who plays along with his idea that one of his neighbors killed his wife. Her third and last film with Hitchcock was 1955's To Catch a Thief , in which she was the target of a copycat burglar mimicking the modus operandi of a notorious, but retired jewel thief (Grant). Though she left acting to become the Princess of Monaco, Kelly's three films with Hitchcock were the highlights of her short career. Universal Pictures 4. Kim Novak Both aloof and sensual, Kim Novak was cast by Hitchcock in Vertigo after original actress, Vera Miles, left due to pregnancy. Novak played the dual role of Judy Barton/Madeleine Elster, who becomes the sole obsession of acrophobic police detective John "Scottie" Ferguson (Stewart). He first becomes infatuated with Madeleine, who herself is obsessed with her own death, after a friend asks him to tail her.

When Scottie's vertigo stops him from saving her life, he meets Judy, a dead-ringer for Madeleine whose deeply held secrets causes his world to spin anew. Novak's icy seductive qualities were put to great use and the role defined her for the rest of her career. The film was a high watermark for the actress, as Novak never managed to reach such heights again. Warner Home Video 5. Eva Marie Saint Though an Oscar-winner for her performance in On the Waterfront, Evan Marie Saint was easily more identified for the role of Eve Kendall in North by Northwest. her only Hitchcock film. She played a seemingly innocent woman on a train who helps Roger Thornhill (Grant), a suave accountant wrongly accused of murder hide from the police. Little does Thornhill know, she's actually working for a shadowy syndicate that would like nothing more than to kill him. But when her own life becomes endangered by the same people, Eve and Thornhill conspire stop a conspiracy involving hidden microfilm. And, of course, they fall in love. While Saint's career was largely cast in the shadow of North by Northwest, she went on to further acclaim and decades later won an Emmy. Universal Pictures 6.

Janet Leigh Though only on screen for the first third of the movie, Janet Leigh's appearance in Hitchcock's Psycho was the most famous of his leading ladies, thanks to the now-infamous shower scene. She played Marion Crane, a secretary who embezzles $40,000 from her employer in order free her lover (John Gavin) from debt. On a drive from Phoenix to California, Marion stops at the isolated Bates Motel, where she meets the repressed Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). Bates lives at the hotel with his abusive mother, who chastises him for wanting to have an affair with Marion. Meanwhile, Marion resolves to return the money and face the consequences, only to be viciously stabbed in the shower. Though her starring turn was brief, Leigh had the distinction of being in one of the most famous scenes in cinema history. Universal Pictures 7. Tippi Hedren Tippi Hedren was the last of the classic Hitchcock leading ladies and starred in the last of his great films .

In The Birds, she was a wealthy young socialite who travels to a seaside California town in pursuit of a new beau (Rod Taylor), only to find herself among the townspeople being pecked to death by swarms of seagulls. She next starred opposite Sean Connery in Marnie, widely considered to be Hitchcock's final masterpiece. Hedren played a trouble young woman with a penchant for theft, with Connery as her boss-turned-husband who begins digging into her dark past. Hedren was hailed as a promising newcomer thanks to both roles, but spent the rest of her spotty career struggling to gain her due respect. A Look At 'The Girl' Who Caught Hitchcock's Eye : NPR A Look At 'The Girl' Who Caught Hitchcock's Eye Embed Embed A Look At 'The Girl' Who Caught Hitchcock's Eye A Look At 'The Girl' Who Caught Hitchcock's Eye Embed Embed Tippi Hedren (played by Sienna Millier) starred in two of Alfred Hitchcock's (Toby Jones) films: Marnie and The Birds.

Kelly Walsh/HBO hide caption toggle caption Rated TV-14 for adult content, language and mild violence With: Sienna Miller, Toby Jones Watch Clips 'I Love You' Credit: HBO "Blondes make the best victims," according to Alfred Hitchcock. Think Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder or Janet Leigh in Psycho. A new HBO movie called The Girl explores the unnerving events that went on behind the scenes in his 1963 movie, The Birds. The blond victim — on and off screen — was a young, unknown actress named Tippi Hedren, played by Sienna Miller in The Girl. Hitchcock was riding high in the early '60s. His most recent movie, Psycho, had been nominated for four Oscars. He wanted his follow-up to be bigger and scarier than ever. He plucked Hedren from obscurity after seeing her in a TV commercial. Naturally she was — at first — elated to be cast in a film by one of Hollywood's hottest directors. For actor Toby Jones, portraying one of the most popular, eccentric and analyzed filmmakers of all time was a daunting task.

The real Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren explore Cannes together after the premiere of The Birds in 1963. Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Getty Images The real Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren explore Cannes together after the premiere of The Birds in 1963. Getty Images "You have to keep saying, 'Yes, it will be OK' — even in the midst of extreme panic," says Jones. To prepare for the role, he studied Hitchcock's voice, which he describes as a mixture of cockney, Los Angeles, wine and cigars. Particularly useful, says Jones, was the extended interview Hitchcock did in 1962 with French filmmaker Francois Truffaut. "This is Hitchcock very relaxed, and there's candor," says Jones. "Because we only know the public persona of someone, you're always after, well, what's it like when the mask slips." Article continues after sponsorship Hedren collapsed after filming The Birds' iconic attic scene, according to Miller (pictured), who got to know the actress while making the HBO movie.

Kelly Walsh/HBO hide caption toggle caption Kelly Walsh/HBO Hedren collapsed after filming The Birds' iconic attic scene, according to Miller (pictured), who got to know the actress while making the HBO movie. Kelly Walsh/HBO When Hitchcock's mask slipped, he could be controlling, self-loathing and abusive, according to many sources. Probably not surprising, given the dark nature of his films. In the HBO movie, he becomes obsessed with Hedren and tries to mold her into the "perfect blonde of his imagination," as screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes puts it. She based the script for The Girl largely on Donald Spoto's biography of Hitchcock and on interviews with people who worked on The Birds. Hughes says it was a story about life imitating art. YouTube "Tippi Hedren, in real life, was a Hitchcock blonde, and his growing interest in her, which became an obsession, was ... the kind of thing he might have made a film about in a different universe," she says. When Hedren rebuffed Hitchcock's sexual advances, there were dire consequences for her career. But that's not the only way she suffered.

In the famous scene where she's attacked in the attic, he used real birds instead of the mechanical ones he used for other scenes — this was before CGI special effects. But Hitchcock didn't tell Hedren until just before the filming began. "They had a chain-link fence built around the door [through] which I enter," Hedren told NPR in 2010, "and there were about three or four cartons of raven and seagull, and a few pigeons thrown in, which they hurled at me for five days." "She certainly could've lost an eye. A bird narrowly missed her eye," says Sienna Miller, who got to know the real Hedren during the filming. "She endured an awful lot. She collapsed after that scene and slept for a week. She went through the mill." Had The Birds been made today, Hedren probably could have sued Hitchcock for what he put her through. Julian Jarrold, who directed The Girl, says Hitchcock was indeed a very strange man. "He was obsessed by beauty and almost put [Hedren] on a pedestal like a goddess. But at the same time, he found some kind of beauty in the way she was suffering. ...

I think there's a real mystery at the heart of Hitchcock." As for Hedren, she won a Golden Globe for The Birds, and went on to star in Hitchcock's next film, Marnie. She wanted that to be the end of her relationship with Hitchcock, but he wouldn't release her from her contract to let her work with anyone else. Though she would eventually manage to pick up roles in TV and film, Hitchcock's intransigence effectively ended Hedren's run on the Hollywood A-list. She's long said that her proudest achievement is the Shambala Preserve in Southern California, which provides a home for lions, tigers and other big cats that have been mistreated. "He ruined my career," the actress said recently, "but he didn't ruin my life." Alfred Hitchcock’s Top 25 Films, Ranked | IndieWire Alfred Hitchcock’s Top 25 Films, Ranked Happy Birthday, Hitchcock: His 25 Best Films, Ranked Aug 13, 2015 4:59 pm Share This Article Talk Debates about Alfred Hitchcock have been raging for decades.

Was he a cruel genius who treated his actors like cattle, torturing his icy blondes’ performances out of them? (Some, like established movie star Grace Kelly, handled him better than others.) Some critics prefer the more whimsical British Hitchcock, tongue tucked in cheek, although his first breakout hit "The Lodger" (1927) was a sign of things to come. Clearly, Hitchcock learned from early Hollywood mentor David O. Selznick, who taught him a great deal, points out David Thomson in "The New Biographical Dictionary of Film." Over 50 years, the filmmaker always had visual flair and a distinct style, and knew how to implicate audiences in his dark, often opaque characters. Cary Grant, especially, excelled at playing charismatic men whose motives and true nature were open to interpretation, from "Suspicion" to "Notorious." Hitchcock was a true artist in the sense that he often pursued his muse even when projects without obvious commercial promise were not supported by the studios. But he always balanced the occasional experimental flop with plenty of mainstream hits.

He didn’t care that his obsession with genre elements– that are so prized as commercially "safe" today–were not approved by the Hollywood establishment, which deemed them B movies. He proved the suits wrong over and over again, because he understood better than any filmmaker perhaps until Steven Spielberg what audiences really want. Clearly, he enjoyed shocking and frightening them. And more than most filmmakers, Hitchcock took into his control the development and production of his stories, and embraced television as a medium, which helped, along with his film cameos, to create a persona who was recognizable by the public. One of the earliest to instinctively understand the power of branding, "Hitch" became the most famous director who ever lived. He had an instinct for self-promotion, putting himself in his own movie trailers. He created a wry comedic persona –the director who winks at the audience as he sets out to scare the bejeezus out of them. Do we defend Hitchcock’s use of rear screen projection until the bitter end, when it was no longer in vogue? I remember laughing at the fake road curves in "Family Plot." But all in all, that stubborn habit was a minor transgression.

As a restored version of Hitchcock’s voyeuristic classic "Rear Window" returns to circulation , the TOH gang ranks the top 25 Hitchcock films. Yes, we leave out some amazing movies. Feel free to tell us where we went wrong–especially in our choice of Number One. Do we go along with Sight and Sound’s consensus choice? Read it and weep. –Anne Thompson 25. “The Paradine Case” (1947) Napoleon had Waterloo; the Red Army hockey team had Lake Placid; The Beatles had “Mr. Moonlight”; George Clooney has “Monuments Men.” Everybody’s got something to hide and, for Hitchcock, it’s this hammily acted courtroom-drama-meets-psychological thriller starring Gregory Peck ("Spellbound"), Alida (“The Third Man”) Valli, Ann Todd, Charles Laughton and Hitchcock regular Leo G. Carroll, all directed by someone calling himself Alfred Hitchcock. In actuality, Hitchcock was at the end of his contract with David O. Selznick (who big-footed it all over the production), and really just wanted out. As will anyone who sits down to watch the results.—John Anderson 24.

"Lifeboat" (1944) One of Hitchcock’s experiments in the use of a single setting can feel a bit stagey if downright corny occasionally when each survivor of a sinking ship who are forced to share the title craft must represent a slice of humanity, from the religious black man Joe (Canada Lee) and William Bendix’s dumb-lug Gus to Walter Slezak’s callous Nazi Willi to Heather Angel’s unstable woman clinging to her dead baby. But it’s Tallulah Bankhead as cynical reporter Connie with her marvelously deep-throated line readings (“Dying together’s even more personal than living together”) and glamorous accessories that float away one by one that keeps this dramatic rig afloat. The wartime premise allows Hitchcock to forthrightly address the issue of God’s role in humanity’s fate. Meanwhile, Connie often surprises both her boat mates and the audience with her spontaneous actions, such as when she kisses Gus before his leg must be amputated or reapplies her lipstick as a kind of cosmetic life preserver.—Susan Wloszczyna 23.

"Frenzy" (1972) Just when most fans had given up hope of Sir Alfred ever delivering another thriller that merited goose bumps, along came a darkly nasty late-life delight – his second to last movie. This variation on the familiar theme of a man (then-rising-star Jon Finch) wrongly accused of a crime as a so-called “Necktie Strangler” stalks London was his first British production in ages and took advantage of the era’s loosening of graphic restraint. Overlook the stodgier aspects of the plotting and instead savor how Hitchcock portrays twisted appetites both carnal (psychopathic fruit vendor Barry Foster sexually attacks his female prey before choking them) and culinary (Alec McCowen’s police inspector is forced to dine on his wife’s horrifically inedible gourmet creations). There are numerous brilliantly staged scenes often employing silence. But the sequence that gets me every time is when Foster realizes that the victim he stuffed into a potato sack and tossed on a truck filled with spuds is clutching his signature tie pin.

His desperate attempt to yank it from the clutches of a stiff corpse that involves breaking a finger is macabrely echoed in a parallel shot of McCowen’s wife snapping a breadstick.—Susan Wloszczyna 22. "The Wrong Man" (1956) This black-and-white thriller adapted by Maxwell Anderson from his own novel "The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero" closely mirrors the real-life story of an innocent man wrongly accused of armed robbery. Hitchcock swears "every word is true." While that may be true, the film’s bold and impressionistic style gives "The Wrong Man" the quality of a dream. Henry Fonda conveys mountains of disquiet and frustrations as a string bassist caught in a Kafkaesque legal merry-go-round whose desperate plan to borrow against his wife’s (Vera Miles) life insurance goes hideously awry and lands him in jail. Hitchcock’s prisons and courtrooms crawl with shadows and silhouettes, with composer Bernard Herrmann pulling back on his usual musical flair to create a musical score whose subtly feels subversive for a 1956 film. In retrospect, this was likely too grim and depressing a noir for the masses.

(It was a flop at the time, but has since been critically reappraised.) But from a distance, its jaded, world-weary spirit feels apropos of the here and now. —Ryan Lattanzio Watch: Martin Scorsese Talks Hitchcock, ‘Taxi Driver,’ and Story vs. Plot with Jon Favreau 21. “Saboteur”(1942) One of the more iconic sequences among Hitchcock’s films is this wartime thriller’s climactic chase atop the Statue of Liberty, with Teutonic-accented evildoer Norman Lloyd trying unsuccessfully to escape Robert Cummings. (And who can blame him? Cummings is among the least convincing actors ever; Lloyd may have thought the condition contagious.) This is transitional Hitchcock: His first U.S. production, “Rebecca,” was really English; “Saboteur,” with a “story” by the director (and a screenplay co-written by Dorothy Parker) is really “The 39 Steps” without the throwaway bon mots and general air of sophistication.

Instead of the relatively edgy Madeleine Carroll and the great Robert Donat, Hitchcock has Cummings and Priscilla Lane as well as a dramatic conflict he would revisit his entire career – that of the wrongly accused against an only vaguely defined force of evil. In “Saboteur,” it’s all a bit obvious. —John Anderson Watch: Saul Bass’s Most Iconic Title Sequences, from Scorsese to Hitchcock 20. "The Man Who Knew Too Much"(1956) The master of suspense’s remake of his 1934 British thriller featured one of his favorite collaborators, James Stewart, as an American doctor on an overseas trip whose young son is kidnapped by an international terrorist ring involved in an assassination plot. The foreign villains here are sadly one-note. But the standout performance comes from an unexpected source: Musical comedy star Doris Day in a rare dramatic role. She manages to impressively break the mold of the impassive Hitchcock blonde by nakedly expressing the agony of a mother whose child has been snatched away. She is the instrument that drives the film’s terrific centerpiece where a crashing cymbal during a concert performance is the intended signal for the killer to shoot his target.

And the lovely sequence where Day serenades her child as he prepares for bedtime with the Oscar-winning song “Que Sera, Sera” is bookended by a reprise of the tune that she bravely performs at an embassy to alert her hidden-away child that she is near. —Susan Wloszczyna Read Review: ‘The Hitchcock 9’ Silent Film Festival 19. "Dial M For Murder" (1954) Grace Kelly stabbing her attempted murderer with a pair of scissors is right up there with the "Psycho" shower slash as one of Hitchcock’s most technically impressive sequences. A tawdry thriller of adultery and blackmail, "Dial M" offers Kelly the plum role of a socialite wife whose jealous husband (Ray Milland), learning of her affair with a writer (Robert Cummings), coerces a criminal into offing her. But of course, everything goes magnificently awry. It’s pure entertainment, less freighted with the Freudian clues and codes of Hitchcock’s later films, but nonetheless hair-splittingly suspenseful. —Ryan Lattanzio 18.

“Blackmail” (1929) This is one of the most classically Hitchcockian of the recently released "Hitchcock 9" silents in its criminal setting, motifs, and use of suspense — not to mention the first use of a chase sequence around a famous location, in this instance the British Museum. ("Blackmail" also exists in a part-talkie version, in which, bizarrely, the Czech actress Anny Ondra mouthed words voiced just off-camera by Brit actress Joan Barry.) The BFI’s glowing restoration (from the original negative) is a revelation. —Meredith Brody 17. “Foreign Correspondent” (1938) Two of Hitchcock’s films were in the running for Best Picture in 1941 – the relatively stodgy “Rebecca” (which won) and this charmer, about an American reporter in Europe, stumbling onto the launch pad of World War II.

It’s funny how the film’s star, Joel McCrea, has faded from public consciousness in a way that, say, Cary Grant hasn’t: McCrea had Grant-like versatility with both comedy and drama, could summon up the folksiness of a Gary Cooper and was as virile as any star in Hollywood. As Johnny Jones – redubbed “Huntley Haverstock” by a publisher (Harry Davenport) who thinks it sounds better – he suggests Tom Sawyer, Secret Agent: When a Dutch diplomat (Oscar nominee Albert Bassermann) is shot on the rainy steps of a cathedral-like conference hall in Amsterdam, it provides for one of Hitchcock’s iconic moments – a crane shot that shows, not the fleeing assassin, but the ripple he causes through a crowd of umbrellas — and sets Huntley on the trail of agents intent on setting the world aflame. “Foreign Correspondent’ may not be better than “Rebecca,” but god it’s a lot more fun. —John Anderson 16.

"Suspicion" (1941) In the mold of “Notorious” and “Rebecca,” this relationship mystery noir (based on a popular novel) hinges on the idea that shrinking violet Joan Fontaine does not trust her charming rake of a new husband, Cary Grant, who’s ambitious to be more than he is. Is it her fanciful imagination that runs away with her, as she uncovers his gambling and other secrets, or is her gut telling her to be afraid, very afraid? Hitchcock snakes us through the ebbs and flows of their evolving emotions, manipulating us at every hairspin turn. Fontaine won the only Best Actress Oscar for the under-appreciated Hitchcock, who was nominated for five Oscars but had to settle for the Irving Thalberg honorary Oscar in 1968. —Anne Thompson 15. “The Lady Vanishes” (1938) Primo English Hitchcock except for a bit of sluggishness aboard the train, where Margaret Lockwood tries to find the tweedy English lady whom she’s sure she met (Dame May Whitty), and who shared her tea before disappearing into the gaping maw of international railroad-traveling espionage.

It’s a sterling example of what distinguishes early and late Hitchcock — Michael Redgrave, for one thing, as the glibly charming musicologist whose skepticism about Lockwood’s story gradually evaporates and who is motivated as much by romance as mystery. The pacing, too, feels imported: It’s almost half an hour before Hitchcock bothers to get everyone on that train, during which time we are thoroughly acquainted with the characters and their supreme self-interest (which, rather than pure evil, is the on-board source of malignancy). Noteworthy among the cast are Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford as the comically effete cricket fans Caldicott and Charters, who conspire to keep the mystery train moving, lest they miss their match in Manchester. —John Anderson Watch: Hitchcock’s Thwarted Holocaust Documentary 14. "To Catch a Thief" (1955) "To Catch a Thief" is Hitchcock on holiday. Set against the glittering vistas of the French Riviera, Cary Grant and glam Grace Kelly are irresistibly charming in this airy, sun-soaked romantic caper.

Grant plays a retired jewel thief implicated in a new string of robberies who’s out to prove his innocence, while Kelly plays the daughter of a moneyed American family in possession of some of the Riviera’s most coveted jewels. She loves a little danger, throwing herself into the mystery while looking fabulous in Edith Head’s now legendary gold masquerade gown, among other knockout dresses. (The couple banter over cold chicken parts; fireworks go off after they kiss.) Dashing leading man Grant had already logged successful pairings with Hitchcock on "Suspicion" and "Notorious" before his iconic turns in "To Catch a Thief" and 1959’s " North by Northwest ." —Ryan Lattanzio Watch: Every Hitchcock Cameo in One Video 13. "Marnie" (1964) Though the efforts of The New Yorker’s Richard Brody, among others, have gone some way to reclaiming “Marnie” from the ash heap of Hitchcock’s misfires, this portrait of a damaged con artist (Tippi Hedren) and the man (Sean Connery) who marries her remains one of the director’s most slippery, challenging works.

With wild splashes of crimson and Bernard Herrmann’s lush, piercing score, it turns up the four-hankie melodrama to a full boil—and, intermittently, allows it to curdle. Nevertheless, “Marnie,” anchored by Hedren’s stricken performance, is a dauntless attempt to render psychosexual trauma in the syntax of film form; even when it stumbles, Hitchcock’s obsessed near-masterpiece bristles with bold, expressionist fervor. —Matt Brennan 12. "North by Northwest" (1959) Hitchcock gave several leading men the best roles of their careers. Cary Grant was at his most suave as an ad man mistaken for a secret agent who has to live by his wits to survive assault from unexpected quarters, including a cropduster in a cornfield, one of the most famous of Hitchcock’s bravura set pieces. Grant also memorably makes love to Eva Marie Saint on a train…and clambers over craggy presidents at Mount Rushmore.

Hitchcock had always wanted to shoot there, and developed the convoluted spy thriller with scriptwriter Ernest Lehman (recommended by composer Bernard Herrmann, whose score starts off the movie against iconic Saul Bass titles), who set out to deliver the ultimate Hitchcock movie. And so he did. At least, it may be the most entertaining. –Anne Thompson 11. "The 39 Steps" (1935) Hitchcock had already produced such laudable efforts as "The Lodger" (1927), "Blackmail" (1929), and "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934) when he directed "The 39 Steps," an unbalancing act of the first order. This frothy, witty caper, starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll as unhappy allies in a race to secure military secrets, is essentially a feature-length MacGuffin, but it dances along with such fleet intelligence that the narrative is almost superfluous.

Full of twisty reversals and canny humor—it’s certainly funnier than the director’s "black comedy," "The Trouble with Harry" (1955)—the film is an early example of Hitchcock’s light touch, constructed with brilliant, barbed economy. By the time Donat’s Richard Hannay stumbles into giving a rousing political speech, in which he longs for a world "where everyone gets a square deal and a sporting chance," "The 39 Steps" seems no less significant than a premonition: it may well be Hitchcock’s first classic. —Matt Brennan 10. "Rebecca" (1940) His first film under producer David O. Selznick, whose entertainment-mongering sensibilities clashed with the Englishman’s perverse streak, was this Daphne du Maurier gothic melodrama. Judith Anderson turns in a wicked performance as Mrs. Danvers, the spinster housekeeper obsessed with the dead wife of her aristocratic master Max de Winter (Laurence Olivier). In line to become the second Mrs.

de Winter, Joan Fontaine’s heroine suffers Danvers’ psychological torture and is nearly pushed into madness (probably not unlike Hitch’s many lady muses) and suicide. In black-and-white, "Rebecca" casts a ghostly spell even if its freakier side, including the implications of Danvers’ all but sexual fixation on a dead woman, was tempered by the Production Code. But one of the pleasures of viewing Hitchcock in the 21st century is that such sly peculiarities survive anyway. —Ryan Lattanzio 9. "Rope" (1948) Hitchcock’s first Technicolor outing stars John Dall and pretty boy Farley Granger as Brandon and Phillip, two bored and indifferent pals who strangle a former classmate in their apartment almost as a lark, and then stage a party in their apartment for the victim’s friends and fiancee. All the while, the corpse stiffens in a chest at the center of the room. Enter the quizzical Rupert Cadell (Jimmy Stewart), a former mentor and philosophe who gave them the idea of killing as an intellectual exercise.

Long before "Birdman" spread its wings, Hitchcock stitched together ten takes to create the illusion of real-time, pushing the state of cinematic art at a time when cameras only held up to ten minutes of film. In the famous Truffaut interviews, Hitchcock wrote off the film’s technique as a "stunt" and a "gimmick"—but we should interpret this as the director’s typically self-effacing refusal to let the cat out of the bag. The homosexual subtext of Brandon (Dall) and Phillip’s (Granger) relationship has, since the passing of Hays Code-era 1948, been accepted by the cognoscenti as the true text of a film that is everything about male anxiety and dread. —Ryan Lattanzio 8. "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943) These days, mass killings by assailants whose deadly intentions go unnoticed by friends and relatives are tragically commonplace. While Hitchcock’s films often relied on the theme that appearances are deceiving, few of his titles strike as close to home and seem as relevant as this unveiling of the dark underbelly of seemingly wholesome small-town USA.

Teresa Wright is highly relatable as Charlotte, a teenager dissatisfied with her middle-class existence who idolizes her charismatic and worldly Uncle Charlie (charmingly monstrous Joseph Cotten). She feels as if they are psychically connected–she’s nicknamed Little Charlie in his honor– and is looking forward to his visit. But when he starts to hide newspaper clippings about the “Merry Widow Murderer,” she suspects that he might be behind the crimes. The noirish thriller is a bit like Nancy Drew detective story, but with an undercurrent of an incestuous attraction between the two main characters, as young Charlie loses her innocence while driven to confirm her uncle’s terrible deeds despite putting herself in peril. Hitchcock himself considered “Shadow of a Doubt” to be one of his favorites, no doubt partly because it carries his use of doubles to a transfixing extreme. —Susan Wloszczyna 7. “Spellbound” (1945) First-rate Hitchcock and a direct precursor to “Vertigo,” a tense thriller about psychology and murder, abetted by its setting in a hospital for the insane; the fragile performance by Gregory Peck as the distinguished but deeply troubled Dr.

Anthony Edwards; and that celebrated sequence designed by Salvador Dali, intended to illustrate the slalom-like process of Ballantyne’s mind. Hitchcock’s foray into surrealism is a tickle, of course, but we still prefer that shot of the pistol from the villain’s POV — turning, turning, and finally firing into the camera. —John Anderson 6. "Strangers on a Train" (1951) Bookended by first- and last-act fairground sequences—the former, with its lurid silhouettes in the Tunnel of Love, is a one of the director’s finest set pieces—“Strangers on a Train” hurtles toward its conclusion with the speed of a runaway carousel. In between, playboy Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) pursues handsome tennis player and reluctant accomplice Guy Haines (Farley Granger) with lascivious abandon, criss-crossing his repressed desires with his plan for the perfect murder. If Bruno’s instinct for predation at times suggests Hollywood’s long history of homophobic stereotypes, however, the shiver of illicit energy between Bruno and Guy electrifies a film that is otherwise a model of cool control.

Until the climax sees the conspiracy spin off its axis, that is, in an explosion of action to which any studio tentpole would do well to aspire. —Matt Brennan 5. "The Birds" (1963) No one will ever know how cruel Hitchcock really was to Tippi Hedren , as he forced the poised but inexperienced model-turned-actress to fend off live attacking birds for a week until she collapsed in a doctor’s care. She has accused the "evil and deviant" Hitchcock of sexual harassment that would be against the law today, and of making, then ruining, her career after she resisted his advances. (He referred to her only as "the girl"). Hedren’s elegant French-twisted city prankster Melanie Daniels in "The Birds" is the iciest of Hitchcock’s blondes, so when flocks of ravens, gulls, crows, sparrows and pigeons turn against the inhabitants of a California seaside village, she gives way to harrowing vulnerability. She flees a glass phone booth and eventually holes up at the home of Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), another man who defers to his mother (Jessica Tandy).

Hitchcock broke the rules again by shooting this terrifying movie with no score. We hear the wind and the batting of wings and the sounds of beaks hitting flesh. The nature vs. man trope is all to familiar now, but it wasn’t then. –Anne Thompson Read an Excerpt from Andy Warhol’s Delightfully Morbid 1974 Hitchcock Interview 4. "Rear Window" (1954) “Lisa.” Flick. “Carol.” Flick. “Freemont.” Flick. My three favorite words in the cinema come courtesy of Grace Kelly, as her intrepid socialite turns on the lights in the opening minutes of “Rear Window.” Swooning and stylish, as urbane as Franz Waxman’s hot-to-trot score, Lisa’s first exchange with her laid-up lover, injured photojournalist L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies (James Stewart), sets the tone for Hitchcock’s voyeuristic mystery from the start. Constrained to a single room, the director fashions a world in miniature, peering in on newlyweds and lonelyhearts alike with an assist from Jeff’s long, thick… lens.

Weaving romance, suspense, and even terror from the ambient sights and sounds of the distant city, all leavened by Thelma Ritter’s quippy nurse, "Rear Window" emerges as a paean to the power, and the perversity, of looking, a reminder of why we fell for the movies in the first place. —Matt Brennan 3. "Psycho" (1960) "Psycho" is so embedded in the culture that it’s hard to imagine how radical and strange it was 55 years ago. It was as though Steven Spielberg had gone indie rogue, breaking every rule in the canon as he went. In the opening shot the camera as voyeur swoops into a hotel room to watch a half-naked Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) trysting with a married man (John Gavin). We trustingly follow Marion as she steals money, buys a car and checks into the Bates Motel, where we and taxidermist Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) watch through a keyhole as Marion undresses.

Hitchcock’s go-to composer Bernard Herrmann reaches new heights of screeching terror in the ultimate quick-cutting murder sequence to be forever known as The Shower Scene, as our leading lady is killed off before the film’s halfway mark. Hitchcock manipulated time, space and the viewer, and critics didn’t know what to make of it.Generations of cinephiles have studied those shots. Of all the imitative horror films that have followed, none have topped "Psycho." Nor will they.–Anne Thompson 2. "Vertigo" (1958) It’s this simple: If you don’t like "Vertigo," you don’t like the movies. In Hitchcock’s mesmeric, fantastical 1958 mystery—which still sits proudly atop Sight and Sound’s Greatest 50 Films of All Time poll, dethroning the long-reigning "Citizen Kane"—chilly blonde Kim Novak dazzles in dual roles as Jimmy Stewart’s acrophobic Scottie prunes and preens her into the ultimate fetish object.

This remains Hitchcock’s most palpably perverse picture, thrumming with all kinds of strangeness we never quite grasp—like the last image of a nun tolling the bells of the mission tower as Judy plunges to her doom. Hitchcock pioneers the narrative bait-and-switch that drives many contemporary thrillers, by offering at first the chintzy ghost story yarn of is-she-or-isn’t-she-possessed Madeleine, only to deflower the story and reveal a deeper psychological tale of disguise and desire.–Ryan Lattanzio 1. "Notorious" (1946) Hitchcock’s films are often psychologically complex and mordantly funny, but they’re rarely deeply romantic. "Notorious" is a dark World War II spy thriller written by Ben Hecht in which intelligence man Devlin (Cary Grant) persuades sexily carefree Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) to infiltrate a group of Nazis in South America. As the duo fall in love –and enjoy one of the screen’s longest kisses–Alicia feels good about serving a higher purpose. But things get muddled when old family friend Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains) proposes to Alicia.

She and Devlin are both conflicted about doing the right thing for each other and for their country, and they send mixed messages. So she goes ahead and puts herself in great danger. In a stunning sequence, Devlin comes to a lavish party where he and Alicia, who has stolen the wine cellar key from her husband, explore the cellar and embrace to make Alexander think that Devlin is just making advances to her. Alexander’s mother divines the truth, and starts to poison Alicia. Devlin has to figure out how to save her. Grant, Bergman and Rains are all at the top of their persuasive powers. And so is Hitchcock.–Anne Thompson Alfred Hitchcock - Profile of the Famous British Film Director Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock British Film Director Known for Suspense Studio headshot portrait of British film director Alfred Hitchcock. (Circa 1963). (Photo by Gene Lester/Getty Images) By Shelly Schwartz, Contributing History Writer Updated July 01, 2016. Who Was Alfred Hitchcock? Known as the “Master of Suspense,” Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most famous film directors of the 20th century.

He directed more than 50 feature-length films from the 1920s into the 1970s . Hitchcock’s image, seen during Hitchcock’s frequent cameos in his own films and before each episode of the hit TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents, has become synonymous with suspense. Dates: August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980 Also Known As: Alfred Joseph Hitchcock , Hitch, Master of Suspense, Sir Alfred Hitchcock Growing Up With a Fear of Authority Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899, in Leytonstone in the East End of London. His parents were Emma Jane Hitchcock (neé Whelan), who was known to be stubborn, and William Hitchcock, a grocer, who was known to be stern. Alfred had two older siblings: a brother, William (born 1890) and a sister, Eileen (born 1892). When Hitchcock was just five years old, his strict, Catholic father gave him quite a fright.

continue reading below our video Profile of Alfred Hitchcock Attempting to teach Hitchcock a valuable lesson, Hitchcock’s father sent him to the local police station with a note. Once the police officer on duty read the note, the officer locked young Hitchcock in a cell for several minutes. The effect was devastating. Although his father was trying to teach him a lesson about what happened to people who did bad things, the experience left Hitchcock shaken to the core. As a result, Hitchcock was forever fearful of the police. A bit of a loner, Hitchcock liked to draw and invent games on maps in his spare time. He attended St. Ignatius College boarding school where he stayed out of trouble, fearful of the strict Jesuits and their public canings of boys who misbehaved. Hitchcock learned draftsmanship at the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation in Poplar from 1913 to 1915. Hitchcock’s First Job After graduating, Hitchcock got his first job in 1915 as an estimator for W.T. Henley Telegraph Company, a manufacturer of electric cable.

Bored by his job, he regularly attended the cinema by himself in the evenings, read the cinema trade papers, and took drawing classes at London University. Hitchcock gained confidence and began to show a dry, witty side at work. He drew caricatures of his colleagues and wrote short stories with twist endings, to which he signed the name “Hitch.” Henley’s Social Club magazine, The Henley, began publishing Hitchcock’s drawings and stories. As a result, Hitchcock was promoted to Henley’s advertising department, where he was much happier as a creative advertising illustrator. Hitchcock Gets Into Filmmaking In 1919, Hitchcock saw an ad in one of the cinema trade papers that a Hollywood company named Famous Players-Lasky (which later became Paramount) was building a studio in Islington, a neighborhood in Greater London. At the time, American filmmakers were considered superior to their British counterparts and thus Hitchcock was extremely excited about them opening up a studio locally. Hoping to impress those in charge of the new studio, Hitchcock discovered the subject of what was to be their first motion picture, bought the book it was based on, and read it.

Hitchcock then drew up mock title cards (graphic cards inserted into silent movies to show dialogue or explain action). He took his title cards to the studio, only to find that they had decided to film a different movie. Undaunted, Hitchcock quickly read the new book, drew up new title cards, and again took them to the studio. Impressed by his graphics as well as his determination, Islington Studio hired him to moonlight as their title-card designer. Within a few months, the studio offered 20-year-old Hitchcock a full-time job. Hitchcock accepted the position and left his steady job at Henley to enter the unsteady world of filmmaking. With calm confidence and a desire to make movies, Hitchcock began to help out as a screenwriter, assistant director, and set designer. Here, Hitchcock met Alma Reville, who was in charge of film editing and continuity. When the director fell ill while filming the comedy, Always Tell Your Wife (1923), Hitchcock stepped in and finished the film. He was then offered the opportunity to direct Number Thirteen (never completed).

Due to a lack of funds, the motion picture abruptly stopped filming after a few scenes were shot and the entire studio shut down. When Balcon-Saville-Freedman took over the studio, Hitchcock was one of just a few people asked to stay on. Hitchcock became the assistant director and screenwriter for Woman to Woman (1923). Hitchcock hired Alma Reville back for continuity and editing. The picture was a box-office success; however, the studio’s next picture, The White Shadow (1924), failed at the box-office and again the studio shut down. This time, Gainsborough Pictures took over the studio and Hitchcock was again asked to stay. Hitchcock Becomes a Director In 1924, Hitchcock was the assistant director for The Blackguard (1925), a film shot in Berlin. This was a co-production deal between Gainsborough Pictures and UFA Studios in Berlin. Not only did Hitchcock take advantage of the Germans’ extraordinary sets, he also observed the German filmmakers using sophisticated camera pans, tilts, zooms, and tricks for forced perspective in set design.

Known as German Expressionism, the Germans used dark, moody thought-provoking topics such as madness and betrayal rather than adventure, comedy, and romance. The German filmmakers were equally happy to learn an American technique from Hitchcock whereby scenery was painted onto the camera lens as a foreground. In 1925, Hitchcock got his directorial debut for The Pleasure Garden (1926), which was filmed in both Germany and Italy. Again Hitchcock chose Alma to work with him; this time as his assistant director for the silent film. During filming, a budding romance between Hitchcock and Alma began. The film itself is remembered for the myriad of troubles the crew ran into during filming, including having customs confiscate all of their unexposed film as they crossed the international border. Hitchcock Gets “Hitched” and Directs a Hit Hitchcock and Alma married on February 12, 1926; she would become his chief collaborator on all his films. Also in 1926, Hitchcock directed The Lodger, a suspense movie filmed in Britain about a “wrongly accused man.” Hitchcock had chosen the story, used fewer title cards than usual, and tossed in bits of humor.

Due to a shortage of extras, he had made a cameo appearance in the film. The distributor didn’t like it and shelved it. Stunned, Hitchcock felt like a failure. He was so despondent that he even contemplated a career change. Luckily, the film was released a few months later by the distributor, who had been running short on films. The Lodger (1927) became a huge hit with the public. Britain’s Best Director in the 1930s The Hitchcocks became very busy with filmmaking. They lived in a country house (named Shamley Green) on the weekends and lived in a London flat during the week. In 1928, Alma delivered a baby girl, Patricia – the couple’s only child. Hitchcock’s next big hit was Blackmail (1929), the first British talkie (film with sound). During the 1930s, Hitchcock made picture after picture and invented the term “MacGuffin” to illustrate that the object the villains were after needed no explanation; it was just something used to drive the story.

Hitchcock felt he didn’t need to bore the audience with details; it didn’t matter where the MacGuffin came from, just who was after it. The term is still used in contemporary filmmaking. Having made several box-office flops in the early 1930s, Hitchcock then made The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). The film was a British and American success, as were his next five films: The 39 Steps (1935), Secret Agent (1936), Sabotage (1936), Young and Innocent (1937), and The Lady Vanishes (1938). The latter won the New York Critics’ Award for Best Film of 1938. Hitchcock caught the attention of David O. Selznick, an American film producer and owner of Selznick Studios in Hollywood. In 1939, Hitchcock, the number one British director at the time, accepted a contract from Selznick and moved his family to Hollywood. Hollywood Hitchcock While Alma and Patricia loved the weather in Southern California , Hitchcock was not fond of it.

He continued to wear his dark English suits no matter how hot the weather. In the studio, he worked diligently on his first American film, Rebecca (1940), a psychological thriller. After the small budgets he had worked with in England, Hitchcock delighted in the large Hollywood resources he could use to build elaborate sets. Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1940. Hitchcock was up for Best Director, but lost to John Ford for The Grapes of Wrath. Memorable Scenes Fearing suspense in real life (Hitchcock didn’t even like driving a car), he did enjoy capturing suspense on screen in memorable scenes, which often included monuments and famous landmarks. Hitchcock planned every shot for his motion pictures beforehand to such an extent that filming was said to be the boring part to him.

Hitchcock took his audiences to the domed roof of the British Museum for a chase scene in Blackmail (1929), to the Statue of Liberty for a free fall in Saboteur (1942), to the streets of Monte Carlo for a wild drive in To Catch a Thief (1955), to the Royal Albert Hall for an assassination misfire in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956),underneath the Golden Gate Bridge for a suicide attempt in Vertigo (1958), and to Mt. Rushmore for a chase scene in North by Northwest (1959). Other Hitchcock memorable scenes include a glowing poisoned glass of milk in Suspicion (1941), a man chased by a crop duster in North by Northwest (1959), a stabbing scene in the shower to shrieking violins in Psycho (1960), and killer birds gathering in a schoolyard in The Birds (1963). Hitchcock and Cool Blondes Hitchcock was known for engaging the audience with suspense, accusing the wrong man of something, and portraying a fear of authority.

He also threw in comic relief, portrayed villains as charming, used unusual camera angles, and preferred classic blondes for his leading ladies. His leads (both male and female) portrayed poise, intelligence, underlying passion, and glamour. Hitchcock said audiences found classic blonde females to be innocent looking and an escape for the bored housewife. He didn’t think a woman should wash the dishes and go see a movie about a woman washing the dishes. Hitchcock’s leading ladies also had a cool, icy attitude for added suspense -- never warm and bubbly. Hitchcock’s leading ladies included Ingrid Bergman , Grace Kelly , Kim Novak , Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedron. Hitchcock’s TV Show In 1955, Hitchcock started Shamley Productions, named after his country home back in England, and produced Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which turned into the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. This successful TV show aired from 1955 to 1965. The show was Hitchcock’s way of featuring mystery dramas written by various writers, mostly directed by directors other than himself.

Before each episode, Hitchcock presented a monologue to set up the drama, beginning with “Good Evening.” He came back at the end of each episode to tie up any loose ends about the culprit being caught. Hitchcock’s popular horror movie, Psycho (1960) , was filmed inexpensively by his Shamley Productions TV crew. In 1956, Hitchcock became a U.S. citizen, but remained a British subject. Awards, Knighthood, and Death of Hitchcock Despite being nominated five times for Best Director, Hitchcock never won the Oscar. While accepting the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Oscars, he simply said, “Thank you.” In 1979, the American Film Institute presented Hitchcock with its Life Achievement Award at a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He joked that he must be about to die soon. In 1980, Queen Elizabeth I I knighted Hitchcock. Three months later Sir Alfred Hitchcock died of kidney failure at the age of 80 in his home in Bel Air. His remains were cremated and scattered over the Pacific Ocean.

Question: Who was the female star of the Alfred Hitchcock directed films The Birds and Mamie?
Answer: TIPPI HEDREN