Overview (5)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (20)

[Hair] Likes to insert shots of a woman's hairstyle, frequently in close-ups.



[Bathrooms] Often a plot device, a hiding place or a place where lovemaking is prepared for. Hitchcock also frequently used the letters "BM", which stand for "Bowel Movement".



Always formally dressed, wearing a suit on film sets





In order to create suspense in his films, he would alternate between different shots to extend cinematic time (e.g., the climax of Saboteure (1942), the cropduster sequence in Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959), the shower scene in Psycho (1960), etc.) His driving sequences were also shot in this particular way. They would typically alternate between the character's point of view while driving and a close-up shot of those inside car from opposite direction. This technique kept the viewer 'inside' the car and made any danger encountered more richly felt.



[Profile] The famous profile sketch, most often associated with Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955) and Alfred Hitchcock zeigt (1962). It was actually from a Christmas card Hitchcock designed himself while still living in England.



In a lot of his films (more noticeably in the early black and white American films), he used to create more shadows on the walls to create suspense and tension (e.g., the "Glowing Milk" scene in Verdacht (1941) or the ominous shadow during the opening credits of Saboteure (1942)).

Inspired the adjective "Hitchcockian" for suspense thrillers





His "MacGuffins" were objects or devices which drove the plot and were of great interest to the film's characters, but which to the audience were otherwise inconsequential and could be forgotten once they had served their purpose. The most notable examples include bottled uranium in Berüchtigt (1946), the wedding ring in Das Fenster zum Hof (1954), the microfilm in Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959) and the $40,000 in the envelope in Psycho (1960).

He hated to shoot on location. He preferred to shoot at the studio where he could have full control of lighting and other factors. This is why even his later films contain special effects composite and rear screen shots.



Distinctively slow way of speaking, dark humor and dry wit, especially regarding murder



[Attribution] Name often appears before the film titles, as in "Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho".



Liked to use major stars in his films that the audience was familiar with, so he could dispense with character development and focus more on the plot.



Often makes the audience empathizes with the villain's plight, usually in a sequence where the villain is in danger of being caught.



Unusual subjective point of view shots





Always began episodes of Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955) with "Good evening"

Trivia (120)



According to many people who knew Hitchcock, he could not stand to even look at his wife, Alma Reville , while she was pregnant.

He once dressed up in drag for a party he threw. Footage of this was kept in his office, but after his death, his office was cleaned out and the footage not found. It is not known if the footage still exists.



According to Hitchcock himself, he was required to stand at the foot of his mother's bed, and tell her what happened to him each day.



He appears on a 32-cent U.S. postage stamp, in the "Legends of Hollywood" series, that was released 8/3/98 in Los Angeles, California.



As a child, Hitchcock was sent to the local police station with a letter from his father. The desk sergeant read the letter and immediately locked the boy up for ten minutes. After that, the sergeant let young Alfred go, explaining, "This is what happens to people who do bad things." Hitchcock had a morbid fear of police from that day on. He also cited this phobia as the reason he never learned to drive (as a person who doesn't drive can never be pulled over and given a ticket). It was also cited as the reason for the recurring "wrong man" themes in his films.





On April 29, 1974, the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York sponsored a gala homage to Alfred Hitchcock and his contributions to the cinema. Three hours of film excerpts were shown that night. François Truffaut who had published a book of interviews with Hitchcock a few years earlier, was there that night to present "two brilliant sequences: the clash of the cymbals in the second version of Der Mann, der zuviel wußte (1956) , and the plane attack on Cary Grant in Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959)." After the gala, Truffaut reflected again on what made Hitchcock unique and concluded: "It was impossible not to see that the love scenes were filmed like murder scenes, and the murder scenes like love scenes...It occurred to me that in Hitchcock's cinema...to make love and to die are one and the same.".



He never won a best director Academy Award in competition, although he was awarded the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Academy Awards.

In the 1980 Queen's New Year's Honours list (only a few months before his death), he was named an Honorary (as he was a United States citizen) Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.





From 1977 until his death, he worked with a succession of writers on a film to be known as "The Short Night". The majority of the writing was done by David Freeman , who published the final screenplay after Hitchcock's death.



His bridling under the heavy hand of producer David O. Selznick was exemplified by the final scene of Rebecca (1940). Selznick wanted his director to show smoke coming out of the burning house's chimney forming the letter 'R'. Hitchcock thought the touch lacked any subtlety; instead, he showed flames licking at a pillow embroidered with the letter 'R'.



First visited Hollywood in the late 1930s, but was turned down by virtually all major motion picture studios because they thought he could not make a Hollywood-style picture. He was finally offered a seven-year directing contract by producer David O. Selznick . His first project was supposed to be a film about the Titanic, but Selznick scrapped the project because he "couldn't find a boat to sink." Selznick assigned Hitch to direct Rebecca (1940) instead, which later won the best picture Oscar.

When finishing a cup of tea while on the set, he would often non-discriminatingly toss the cup and saucer over his shoulder, letting it fall (or break) wherever it may.





He delivered the shortest acceptance speech in Academy Award history: while accepting the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Academy Awards, he simply said "Thank you".

Lent his name and character to a series of adolescent books entitled "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" (circa late 1960s - early 1970s). The premise was that main character and crime-solver Jupiter Jones won the use of Mr. Hitchcock's limousine in a contest. Hitch also wrote forewords to this series of books. After his death, his famous silhouette was taken off the spine of the books, and the forewords (obviously) stopped appearing as well.



He was listed as the editor of a series of anthologies containing mysteries and thillers. However, he had little to do with them. Even the introductions, credited to him, were, like the introductions on his television series, written by others.



One of the most successful Hitchcock tie-ins is a pulp publication titled "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine". The publication is highly respected and has become one of the longest running mystery anthologies. It continues to be published almost a quarter century after Hitchock's death.



He allegedly refused the British honour of CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1962.



When he won his Lifetime Achievement award in 1979, he joked with friends that he must be about to die soon. He died a year later.





Was at his heaviest in the late 1930s, when he weighed over 300 pounds. Although always overweight, he dieted and lost a considerable amount of weight in the early 1950s, with pictures from sets like Über den Dächern von Nizza (1955) showing a surprisingly thin Hitchcock. His weight continued to fluctuate throughout his life.



Had a hard time devising one of his signature walk-ons for Das Rettungsboot (1944), a film about a small group of people trying to survive on a small boat. What he eventually came up with was to have his picture in a newspaper advertisement for weight loss that floated among some debris around the boat. He had happened to have lost a considerable amount of weight from dieting around that time, so he was seen in both the "Before" and the "After" pictures. The text of the ad uses the tag line, "Obesity Slayer".



Often said that Im Schatten des Zweifels (1943) was his favorite film among those he had directed.

Was a supporter of West Ham United Football Club. He told colleagues in Hollywood that he subscribed to English newspapers in order to keep track of their results.



He was infamous with cast and crews for his practical jokes. While some inspired laughs, such as suddenly showing up in a dress, most were said to have been a bit more scar than funny. Usually, he found out about somebody's phobias, such as mice or spiders, and in turn sent them a box full of them.





He almost never socialized when not shooting films, and spent most of his evenings quietly at home with his wife Alma Reville and daughter Patricia Hitchcock

He would work closely with screenwriters, giving them a series of scenes that he wanted in the films, thus closely controlling what he considered the most important aspect of the filmmaking process. Although the screenwriter would write the actual dialogue and blocking, many of the scripts for his films were rigidly based on his ideas.





Praised Luis Buñuel as the best director ever.



As with W.C. Fields and Arthur Godfrey before him, he was legendary for gently tweaking his sponsors during the run of his television show. One typical example runs, "We now interrupt our story for an important announcement. I needn't tell you to whom it will be most important of all.".

Ranked #2 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest Directors Ever!" in 2005.



Education: St. Ignatius College, London, School of Engineering and Navigation (Studied mechanics, electricity, acoustics and navigation); University of London (Studied art).





Due to his death in 1980, he never got to see Psycho II (1983). It remains unsure as to whether or not he was approached regarding the second movie, or any other " Psycho (1960) - Expansion" motion picture.



Although some of the movie going public knew him, his fame really took off after 1955. That was when Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955) started. When the show was broadcast in homes week after week, it gave him a much bigger exposure in the public eye. He also became quite rich from the show when it was syndicated in the United States and overseas.



For Psycho (1960), he deferred his standard $250,000 salary in lieu of 60% of the film's net profits. His personal earnings from the film exceeded $15 million. Adjusted for inflation, that amount would now top $150 million in 2006 terms.

Is the "voice" of the "Jaws" ride at Universal Studios.



On August 2, 1968, he visited Finland to scout filming locations for his next film "The Short Night". Of course, the film was never made. In the airport, he was interviewed by Finnish reporters. He was asked why his films were so popular. His answer was: "Everybody likes to be scared".



He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6506 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 7013 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.



A statistical survey he did among audiences revealed that according to moviegoers the most frightening noise in films was the siren of a police patrol-car, followed by the crash of a road accident, cracklings of a burning forest, far galloping horses, howling dogs, the scream of a stabbed woman and the steps of a lame person in the dark.



Though he was Oscar-nominated five times as best director, DGA-nominated six times as best director, and received three nominations from Cannes, he never won in any of these competitive categories, a fact that surprises fans and film critics to this day.





He suggested some improvements to a scene in Vom Winde verweht (1939) but the shots integrating his improvements were not used.

He was naturalized as a United States citizen in 1956.





Walt Disney refused to allow him to film at Disneyland in the early 1960s because Hitchcock had made "that disgusting movie Psycho (1960)".

In addition to his fear of the police, Hitchcock possessed one other phobia: eggs.





As a long-time friend of Sidney Bernstein (the pair had formed production company Transatlantic Pictures together in the 1940s), Hitch was the first celebrity visitor to the set of long-running British soap opera Coronation Street (1960), during a June 1964 visit to the Manchester studios of Granada Television which Bernstein co-founded with his brother Cecil.



During production of Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955) he was said to have hid from producer Joan Harrison every time there was a problem with production. His favorite hiding place was behind the couch in his office.



Appears on a 44¢ USA commemorative postage stamp, issued 11 August 2009, in the Early TV Memories issue honoring Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955).



He appears momentarily in a trademark/cameo role in all of his movies. In addition the neon silhouette in Cocktail für eine Leiche (1948), he is seen walking down the street during the opening credits. During the movie, the characters of Mrs. Atwater and Janet are discussing a movie whose one-word title they can not remember. It was a plug for one of Hitchcock's other movies, Berüchtigt (1946).



Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville , was one day younger than him. They were born on August 13 and August 14, 1899.



Donald Spoto wrote that Hitchcock hid behind the door when Bernard Herrmann went to see him after Der zerrissene Vorhang (1966) break up. Herrmann's third wife Norma denied this in an interview with Gunther Kogebehn in June 2006. In June 2006 interview with Kogebehn, Norma Herrmann states that she and Bernard Herrmann "together" visited Alfred Hitchcock.



In the Press Conference for Familiengrab (1976), Alfred Hitchcock revealed that his least favorite film out of all the films he directed was Champagne (1928).



From 1942 until his death, the Hitchcocks lived at 10957 Bellagio Road, Bel Air, California. They had been living at 609 St. Cloud Road in Bel Air in a home leased from friends Carole Lombard and Clark Gable



His Bei Anruf Mord (1954) was re-released in 3D in 1980.



Deliberately shot much of the setups in Das Fenster zum Hof (1954) so they would appear voyeuristic.



Director Alexander Payne could not imagine Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) in color because it's more chilling in black and white, but it was later remade in color as Psycho (1998), to universal disapproval.



British author Anthony Horowitz is a huge fan of Hitchcock and will often pay homage to his work.

If you watch his films closely noting the endings or portrayal of cops, you will see that if a cop is required to die, the death will be slow, gruesome or uncompromisingly grisly. If cops survive they are nearly always portrayed as baddies, though in reality they are the good guys. This is because Hitchcock had a life-long phobia of policemen.





In 1964, he visited the set of Coronation Street (1960) and had a drink at the Rovers Return.



In the early 1950s, he planned an adaption of David Duncan 's novel The Bramble Bush about a disaffected Communist agitator who, on the run from the police, is forced to adopt the identity of a murder suspect. The story would be adapted to take place in Mexico and San Francisco. The project, originally to come after Zum Schweigen verurteilt (1953) as a Transatlantic Pictures production to be released by Warner Brothers, had a high budget which made it a difficult project. Hitchcock did not feel that any of the scripts lifted the movie beyond an ordinary chase story, and Warner Brothers allowed him to kill the project and move on to Bei Anruf Mord (1954).





Hitchcock and Lehman made an appearance before MGM executives telling the story of

The Hammond Innes novel The Wreck of the Mary Deare was optioned by MGM with the intention of having Hitchcock direct and Gary Cooper star. Hitchcock had long wanted to work with Cooper, but after developing the script with Ernest Lehman for several weeks, they concluded that it couldn't be done without turning the movie into "a boring courtroom drama".Hitchcock and Lehman made an appearance before MGM executives telling the story of Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959), and said that MGM would get two films out of Hitchcock under his contract with MGM. However, eventually Hitchcock abandoned the idea of Mary Deare and went ahead with that film instead.



British thriller writer Dennis Wheatley had been a guest on the set of many of the early Hitchcock movies, and when The Forbidden Territory was published in January 1933, he presented the director with a copy. Hitchcock so enjoyed the book that he wanted to make a film of it, but he was just in the process of moving to Gaumont-British studios to work for Michael Balcon ; he asked Wheatley to hold onto the rights until he could persuade his new employer to purchase them. When the time came, however, Balcon wasn't interested and instead insisted that Hitchcock direct the musical Waltzes from Vienna. Hitchcock then approached Richard Wainwright , a distinguished producer who had been head of UFA films in Germany, and had recently relocated to Britain. Wainwright was keen to pick up a promising subject for his first British film, and immediately bought the rights. Although there was a verbal understanding that Hitchcock was to direct, Balcon refused to release him, and instead began production of Der Mann, der zuviel wußte (1934). Wainwright, committed to studio space, technicians and actors, had no alternative but to proceed without him, and placed the film into the hands of American director Phil Rosen . In 1936, at Hitchcock's instigation, Wheatley wrote a screenplay The Bombing of London, but the controversial project could find no backer and was shelved.



Hitchcock remarked in a British film journal interview just before leaving for Hollywood that he hoped to make a film about the tragic loss of RMS Titanic, as the inherent drama of the ocean liner's sinking appealed to him. He went on to make Rebecca (1940) instead.



Following Psycho (1960), Hitchcock re-united with Ernest Lehman for an original screenplay idea: A blind pianist, Jimmy Shearing (a role for James Stewart ), regains his sight after receiving the eyes of a dead man. Watching a Wild West show at Disneyland with his family, Shearing would have visions of being shot and would come to realize that the dead man was in fact murdered and the image of the murderer is still imprinted on the retina of his eyes. The story would end with a chase around the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary. Walt Disney reputedly barred Hitchcock from shooting at Disneyland after seeing Psycho (1960). Stewart left the project, Lehman argued with Hitchcock, and the script was never shot.





After a disappointing research trip to South Africa where he concluded that he would have difficulty filming, especially on a budget - and with confusion of the story's politics and the seeming impossibility of casting Kelly, Hitchcock deferred the project and instead cast Stewart in

In 1956, he planned a big-budget adaptation of Laurens van der Post 's novel Flamingo Feather, a story of political intrigue in Southern Africa. James Stewart was expected to take the lead role of an adventurer who discovers a concentration camp for Communist agents; Hitchcock wanted Grace Kelly to play the love interest.After a disappointing research trip to South Africa where he concluded that he would have difficulty filming, especially on a budget - and with confusion of the story's politics and the seeming impossibility of casting Kelly, Hitchcock deferred the project and instead cast Stewart in Der Mann, der zuviel wußte (1956). Hitchcock travelled to Livingstone at The Victoria Falls and was a guest of Harry Sossen one of the prominent inhabitants of this pioneer town. Hitchcock and Sossen were photographed together at the newly opened Livingstone Airport and the event was recorded in the local papers. Sossen was also in communication with Laurens van der Post who gave him a signed copy of the book Flamingo Feather during a visit to the Falls (staying at the Victoria Falls Hotel). Sossen's daughter Marion is in possession of the book today and a number of letters between her father and van der Post.





The first writer assigned to the picture,



After a while, Hitchcock accepted that he needed another writer to work with him, and Universal suggested

Hitchcock's last, unfinished project was The Short Night, an adaptation of the spy thriller of the same name by Ronald Kirkbride . A British double agent (loosely based on George Blake) escapes from prison and flees to Moscow via Finland, where his wife and children are waiting. An American agent - whose brother was one of the traitor's victims - heads to Finland to intercept him but ends up falling for the wife. It was Hitchcock's third attempt - after Der zerrissene Vorhang (1966) and Topas (1969) - to produce a "realistic Bond film". Clint Eastwood , and Sean Connery were possible male leads. Liv Ullmann was asked to play the double agent's wife. Catherine Deneuve was also asked to star. Walter Matthau was considered for the villain role. Ed Lauter was also discussed for a role as one of Matthau's prison mates.The first writer assigned to the picture, James Costigan , quarreled with the director, who asked for him to be paid off. Then Ernest Lehman agreed to work on the script. Lehman felt the story should focus on the American spy, and left out the double agent's jailbreak. Lehman left the film too, and Hitchcock asked old friend Norman Lloyd to help him write a long treatment. Lloyd, like Universal, was concerned that Hitchcock's failing health meant that the movie might not get made. When Hitchcock suggested moving straight on to the screenplay, Lloyd objected saying they were unprepared. Hitchcock reacted angrily, fired Lloyd, and worked on the treatment himself.After a while, Hitchcock accepted that he needed another writer to work with him, and Universal suggested Dave Freeman , helped Hitchcock complete the treatment and wrote the screenplay. He wrote about his experiences in the 1999 book The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock, which includes his completed screenplay. The circumstances surrounding Hitchcock's retirement were given by producer Hilton A. Green during the documentary Plotting "Family Plot". According to Green, during pre-production for The Short Night Hitchcock met Green to tell him that his poor health would prevent him from making the film that was to be the follow-up to Family Plot. After trying to talk Hitchcock out of his decision, Green agreed to Hitchcock's request to bring the news of his decision to retire to studio head Lew Wasserman , a long-time friend of Hitchcock.

In 1963, he was scheduled to direct Trap for a Solitary Man in widescreen by Twentieth Century-Fox. The story, based on the French play Piege Pour un Homme Seul by M. Robert Thomas, follows a young married couple on holiday in the Alps. The wife disappears, and after a prolonged search the police bring back someone they claim to be her; she even says she is the man's wife, but the man has never seen her before.





In 1964, Hitchcock re-read another Richard Hannay novel by John Buchan , The Three Hostages, with a mind to adapting it. As with Greenmantle a quarter of a century earlier, the rights were elusive. But also the story was dated, very much rooted in the 1930s, and the plot involved a villain whose blind mother hypnotizes the hero. Hitchcock, in interviews, said that he felt that the portrayal of hypnosis did not work on film, and that films that attempted this portrayal, in Hitchcock's opinion, turned out poorly.



In the late 1940s, Hitchcock had plans to make a modernized version of Hamlet. Hitchcock's Shakespearean vision was of a "psychological melodrama" (set in contemporary England, and starring Cary Grant in the title role). The project was scrapped when Hitchcock's studio caught wind of a potential lawsuit from a professor who had already written a modern-day version of Hamlet.





The Italian screenwriters struggled with the story, and were not helped by the language barrier. Universal Studios were not keen on the idea and persuaded Hitchcock to move on to something else.

Hitchcock approached Italian comedy-thriller writers Agenore Incrocci and Furio Scarpelli (Age & Scarpelli), writers of Diebe haben's schwer (1958), to write a screenplay around an original idea Hitchcock had carried in his head since the late 1930s. A New York City hotel run by an Italian immigrant and his family who, unknown to him, are using the hotel as cover for crimes, including the theft of a valuable coin from a guest of the hotel. (R.R.R.R. is the highest value of coin.)The Italian screenwriters struggled with the story, and were not helped by the language barrier. Universal Studios were not keen on the idea and persuaded Hitchcock to move on to something else.



Hitchcock had long desired to turn J.M. Barrie 's 1920 play Mary Rose into a film. In 1964, after working together on Marnie (1964), Hitchcock asked Jay Presson Allen to adapt the play into a screenplay. Hitchcock would later tell interviewers that his contract with Universal allowed him to make any film, so long as the budget was under $3 million, and so long as it was not Mary Rose. Whether or not this was actually true, Lew Wasserman was not keen on the project, though Hitchcock never gave up hope of one day filming it.





However, a reconstruction of the film was aired as Memory of the Camps in 1984-85 in the UK and the US. The US version was shown on the PBS series

In 1945, Hitchcock was brought in as a supervising director for a documentary film about Nazi crimes and Nazi concentration camps. The film was originally to include segments produced by military film units from the UK, US, France, and the USSR. Cold War developments meant that the USSR segment was withdrawn, and the film remained uncompleted, with some footage kept in the collection of the Imperial War Museum.However, a reconstruction of the film was aired as Memory of the Camps in 1984-85 in the UK and the US. The US version was shown on the PBS series Frontline (1983) on May 7, 1985. In October 2014, a new documentary about the unfinished film, Night Will Fall (2014), premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.

Hitchcock bought the rights to the 1960 novel Village of Stars by David Beaty (written under the pen name Paul Stanton) after The Blind Man project was cancelled. The book follows a RAF V bomber crew given an order to drop a nuclear bomb, only to have the order aborted. Unfortunately, the bomb is resisting attempts to defuse it and the plane can only stay in flight for a limited time.



He was the first to be shown a galley of Ira Levin's "Rosemary's Baby." He passed on it. It was then shown to producer/director William Castle who jumped at the chance to buy it. The film adaptation became a sensation with Castle producing and Roman Polanski directing.



He was given an Honorary Doctorate by Great Britain's Royal College of Art.



All copies of The White Shadow (1924) were thought to be lost but 3 reels containing the first half of the film were found in the vaults of the New Zealand Film Archive in 2011.



"The Lodger" was the first of many to feature Hitchcock making a cameo in his own movies.



Thanks to fellow filmmaker Francois Truffaut, Alfred Hitchcock finally began being taken seriously as an artistic film director from the mid 1960s to this day. This was courtesy of the book which Truffaut had published, which consists of the various discussions concerning Hitchcock's career.



In spite of his rather stolid exterior, Hitchcock was known to his family and close associates for his sense of humor. Home movie footage has recently surfaced, showing the director larking about with various people.



Hitchcock stated in an interview that working and training to become a director in Germany, was the best experience he could have had.



Throughout their long and fruitful collaboration, Hitchcock always relied upon Mrs. Alma Hitchcock having the final word in choosing their next film project.



For interviews, the director made it known that he wouldn't allow any questions regarding his private life.



A good deal of controversy has surfaced, regarding Hitchcock's alleged treatment of leading lady Tippi Hedren. She maintains that Hitchcock tried to possess and control her whilst under contract to him.



His latter years were marred by ill health and this affected Hitchcock's film output.



According to fellow director Roy Ward Baker when he worked for him, Hitchcock was meticulous in every detail of his productions.



Before entering the film industry, Hitchcock had ambitions toward becoming an engineer.



Although his wife Alma was an excellent cook, Hitchcock liked to give the Mrs. a break and dine out with her from time to time. His Hollywood restaurant of choice was Chasen's, where he reserved a booth every Thursday night (when he was in town) for over 30 years.



Hitchcock had a love-hate relationship with food, which led him to alternately binge-eat and then crash-diet for much of his life. He was phobic about eggs, especially with runny yolks, and wouldn't eat them on their own in any form. His other food fears included cheese and cold deli meats.



Prior to making 'North by North West' the studio wanted Hitchcock to do the Wreck of Mary Deare but screenwriter Ernest Lehman couldn't see how it could be done and wanted to leave, Hitch said stay and do something without telling the studio.



Personal Quotes (62)



There is a dreadful story that I hate actors. Imagine anyone hating James Stewart ... Jack L. Warner . I can't imagine how such a rumor began. Of course it may possibly be because I was once quoted as saying that actors are cattle. My actor friends know I would never be capable of such a thoughtless, rude and unfeeling remark, that I would never call them cattle... What I probably said was that actors should be treated like cattle.



[on his cameos] One of the earliest of these was in Der Mieter - Eine Geschichte aus dem Londoner Nebel (1927), the story of Jack the Ripper. My appearance called for me to walk up the stairs of the rooming house. Since my walk-ons in subsequent pictures would be equally strenuous - boarding buses, playing chess, etc. - I asked for a stunt man. Casting, with an unusual lack of perception, hired this fat man!

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.



There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.





To me, Psycho (1960) was a big comedy. Had to be.

Even my failures make money and become classics a year after I make them.



Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.



Drama is life with the dull bits left out.





[His entire acceptance speech for the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award] Thank you.



[when accepting the American Film Institute Life Achievement award] I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat [ Patricia Hitchcock ], and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are Alma Reville



[on Michelangelo Antonioni and his film Blow Up (1966)] This young Italian guy is starting to worry me.

Some films are slices of life, mine are slices of cake.



I enjoy playing the audience like a piano.





[to Ingrid Bergman when she told him that she couldn't play a certain character the way he wanted because "I don't feel like that, I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion."] Ingrid - fake it!

I was an uncommonly unattractive young man.



It's only a movie, and, after all, we're all grossly overpaid.



There is nothing quite so good as a burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating.



Man does not live by murder alone. He needs affection, approval, encouragement and, occasionally, a hearty meal.





[on Claude Jade , who starred in Topas (1969)] Claude Jade is a brave nice young lady. But I don't give any guarantee what she will do on a taxi's back seat.



[on directing Charles Laughton ] You can't direct a Laughton picture. The best you can hope for is to referee.

The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book -- it makes a very poor doorstop.



Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders.





I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella (1937), the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.

If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.



A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it.



In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.





[on Die Vögel (1963)] You know, I've often wondered what the Audubon Society's attitude might be to this picture.



Cary Grant is the only actor I ever loved in my whole life.



Walt Disney ] has the best casting. If he doesn't like an actor he just tears him up.

Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.



I am scared easily, here is a list of my adrenaline-production: 1: small children, 2: policemen, 3: high places, 4: that my next movie will not be as good as the last one.



When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, "It's in the script". If he says, "But what's my motivation?", I say, "Your salary".



I don't understand why we have to experiment with film. I think everything should be done on paper. A musician has to do it, a composer. He puts a lot of dots down and beautiful music comes out. And I think that students should be taught to visualize. That's the one thing missing in all this. The one thing that the student has got to do is to learn that there is a rectangle up there - a white rectangle in a theater - and it has to be filled.



To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script.





[on Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959)] Our original title, you know, was "The Man in Lincoln's Nose". Couldn't use it, though. They also wouldn't let us shoot people on Mount Rushmore. Can't deface a national monument. And it's a pity, too, because I had a wonderful shot in mind of Cary Grant hiding in Lincon's nose and having a sneezing fit.

I made a remark a long time ago. I said I was very pleased that television was now showing murder stories, because it's bringing murder back into its rightful setting - in the home.



[on his lifelong fear of eggs ("ovophobia")] I'm frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes... have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I've never tasted it.



Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It's just a different wolf. This fright complex is rooted in every individual.



[When asked by a member of the press why, at his advanced age, it took so long for the British government to grant him the title of Knight] I think it's just a matter of carelessness.





[Part of his publicity campaign prior to the release of Psycho (1960)] It has been rumored that Psycho is so terrifying that it will scare some people speechless. Some of my men hopefully sent their wives to a screening. The women emerged badly shaken but still vigorously vocal.

All love scenes started on the set are continued in the dressing room.



[on his history as a practical joker] I once gave a dinner party, oh many years ago, where all the food was blue.





[on the making of Psycho (1960) and a fake torso made by the special effects department that spurted blood when stabbed with a knife] But I never used it. It was all unnecessary because the cocking of the knife, the girl's face and the feet and everything was so rapid that there were 78 separate pieces of film in 45 seconds.



I wanted once to do a scene, for Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959) by the way, and I couldn't get it in there. I wanted it to be in Detroit, and two men walking along in front of an assembly line. And behind them you see the automobile being put together. It starts with a frame, and you just take the camera along, the two men are talking. And you know all those cars are eventually driven off the line, they load them with gas and everything. And one of the men goes forward, mind you you've seen a car from nothing, just a frame, opens the door and a dead body falls out.



[A portion of his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech] Had the beautiful Ms. Reville [his wife Alma Reville ] not accepted a lifetime contract without options as Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock some 53 years ago, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock might be in this room tonight, not at this table but as one of the slower waiters on the floor.

Reality is something that none of us can stand, at any time.



I like stories with lots of psychology.



Everything's perverted in a different way.



Cartoonists have the best casting system. If they don't like an actor, they just tear him up.



The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.



[on how to properly build suspense] Four people are sitting around a table talking about baseball or whatever you like. Five minutes of it. Very dull. Suddenly, a bomb goes off. Blows the people to smithereens. What does the audience have? Ten seconds of shock. Now take the same scene and tell the audience there is a bomb under that table and will go off in five minutes. The whole emotion of the audience is totally different because you've given them that information. In five minutes time that bomb will go off. Now the conversation about baseball becomes very vital. Because they're saying to you, "Don't be ridiculous. Stop talking about baseball. There's a bomb under there." You've got the audience working.



[to an interviewer on why he does not make comedies] But every film I made IS a comedy!



[1972] Puns are the highest form of literature.





[1955, as host of his television series Alfred Hitchcock präsentiert (1955)] For those of you watching this show in the year 2000, write us a letter and tell us how things are going where you are.

I deny I ever said that actors are cattle. What I said was, "Actors should be treated like cattle.".



If you've designed a picture correctly, the Japanese audience should scream at the same time as the Indian audience.



It is terribly embarrassing to be sick. And one's own death is so undignified.





[on Mary Anderson in Das Rettungsboot (1944)]One of the young ladies in the boat had great ambitions to become a film star. And I discovered that she was stuffing kleenex into her brassiere to build herself up. And one day she said to me, "Oh Mr. Hitchcock, which do you think is my best side?" And I said, "You're sitting on it, my dear."



[In Der unsichtbare Dritte (1959) he wanted to avoid clichés in the scene where Thornhill is chased, so instead of setting it in dark, wet moonlit streets with pursuit by a black limousine, he instead set it in the open on a sunny day, with pursuit by crop-duster plane. However this has now been copied in other films] What was once the avoidance of a cliché has become a cliché.

Films should not be photographs of people talking.



I am pro-young. I wrote my first script at the age of 22 and directed my first film at 25. So I'm for the young. And when people say I'm 70, I say that's a confounded lie. I'm twice 35, that's all.



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