Classics such as Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho have made Alfred Hitchcock one of the most popular and celebrated of all film makers. He was also one of the 20th-century's most enthusiastic practitioners of the creepy and sometimes warped practical joke.

Hitchcock, who was born on August 13, 1899 and died at the age of 80 on April 29, 1980, admitted to Francois Truffaut in 1966 that, "I do have a weakness for practical jokes and have played quite a few in my time."

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock's pranks varied from ostensibly harmless japes, through dark mind games, and on to sadistic humiliation. Some pranks were simply amusing. Hitchcock would often enlist a colleague to help with a joke. He would tell the person a tantalising story in a loud voice while they were in a packed lift. He would perfectly time his exit just before the punchline and then bow politely as he exited, leaving the eavesdropping passengers frustrated and bewildered.