Alfred Hitchcock was arguably one of the most prominent filmmakers of the 20th century.  Best remembered for captivating movies like "Vertigo" (1958), "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943), "Rear Window" (1954), "Notorious" (1946) and of course Psycho (1960)!  He was the 'Master of Suspense,' keeping audiences on the edge of their seats and clearly why his influence on cinema is still so widely loved, watched and studied today.

Alfred Hitchcock Biography

Hitchcock's early years

Born on 13 August 1899 in London, Hitchcock grew up with a strict Catholic family in the flat above his parents' leased greengrocer's shop in Leytonstone. His father was a greengrocer, as was his grandfather. Growing up a rather well-behaved child, his father liked to call him his "little lamb without a spot."

Hitchcock enjoyed sharing a childhood story to interviewers about how his father sent him to the police station one day with a note when he was just five years old. The policeman sighted his father's note and locked him in a cell for a few minutes, saying, "This is what we do to naughty boys." This experience left Hitchcock with a lifelong fear of policemen. Even as an adult, he was scared of anything to do with the law.

Hitchcock's later years

In his later years and after the war, Hitchcock developed an interest in creative writing. He ended up becoming the founding editor and business manager of The Henley Telegraph, an in-house publication of Henley's, in June 1919, and submitted a few short stories. Later, he was promoted to the advertising department where he wrote copy and created graphics for electric cable advertisements.

Hitchcock enjoyed his job and was often seen staying back late to examine the proofs, which he considered to be his "first step toward cinema". He became a real fan of American cinema, read the trade papers from the age of 16, watched films of Chaplin, Griffith, Keaton and particularly admired Fritz Lang's Der müde Tod (1921).

Hitchcock early filmography

Hitchcock's first major success came in 1927 with his film, "The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog." The movie was a critical and commercial success and helped shape the exciting new thriller genre - it certainly established Hitchcock as a major talent in the film industry as well! Hitchcock went on to make many more successful films, including "Psycho," "Rear Window," "The Lady Vanishes", "Vertigo" and "Birds".

Hitchcock's use of suspense

One of the things that made Hitchcock's movies so popular and so captivating was his use of suspense. He was a master at building tension and creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty.

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

This quote of his perfectly captures Hitchcocks approach to filmmaking - that the fear of what might happen was often more frightening than the actual event itself.

"My suspense work comes out of creating nightmares for the audience. And I play with an audience. I make them gasp and surprise them and shock them. When you have a nightmare, it's awfully vivid if you're dreaming that you're being led to the electric chair. Then you're as happy as can be when you wake up because you're relieved."

Hitchcock's use of visuals

Another aspect of Hitchcock's films that made them so memorable, was his use of iconic visuals. The very iconic shower scene in "Psycho" for example, is certainly one of the most famous scenes in all of cinema history. The combination of the screeching violins, the sound of the shower and the image of that dreaded knife is still incredibly powerful today as it was back in the 1960s. Hitchcock was also very famous for his use of close-ups which helped convey the full detail of emotion on his characters' faces.

Hitchcock's love of storyboards

Alfred Hitchcock was not only a master director, but he also loved writing screenplays. He meticulously planned his scripts with his writers and supervised every draft, always asking that they tell the story visually. In fact, he considered finishing the screenplay as the end of the fun. Hitchcock told Roger Ebert of this in 1969:

"Once the screenplay is finished, I'd just as soon not make the film at all. All the fun is over. I have a strong visual mind. I visualise a picture right down to the final cuts. I write all this out in the greatest detail in the script, and then I don't look at the script while I'm shooting. I know it off by heart, just as an orchestra conductor needs not look at the score. It's melancholy to shoot a picture. When you finish the script, the film is perfect. But in shooting it you lose perhaps 40 percent of your original conception."

Hitchcock's strong visual mind was known for extensively storyboarding his films to the finest detail, although the myth of storyboards being the sole blueprint of his films has proven to be more perpetuated by Hitchcock himself or the publicity arm of the studios. Despite being a little hard to please, Hitchcock was flexible enough to change a film's conception during production, and his tendency to shoot alternative takes of scenes allowed him to give himself options in the editing room.

Hitchcock's dark sense of humour

Hitchcock was also known for his dark sense of humour. He believed that humour was an essential component of filmmaking and used it to great effect in his movies. Referring to "Psycho" again, there is a scene where Norman Bates talks about how he likes to stuff birds. This line comes across both funny and unsettling at the same time, adding to the overall sense of unease throughout this classic Hitchcock film.

Hitchcock's favourite movie

Alfred Hitchcock shared in an interview with host Dick Cavett in 1972,  that "Shadow of a Doubt" was his favourite movie "...because it was true" and portrayed characters in a real and believable way. His daughter Pat explained that the film resonated with her father because it brought danger and menace into a seemingly safe and small town. 

Legacy

Alfred Hitchcock received numerous accolades and honours for his contributions to the film industry. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and in 1978, John Russell Taylor described him as "the most universally recognizable person in the world". He has also been recognised as one of the most influential directors of his time by MovieMaker in 2002. In 2007, a critics' poll conducted by The Daily Telegraph ranked him as Britain's greatest director. He has also been included in several "top 10" or "greatest" director lists, such as the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll and Total Film magazine.

Hitchcock has won two Golden Globes, eight Laurel Awards and five lifetime achievement awards, including the first BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award and the AFI Life Achievement Award. His films have received so many nominations and awards, one of which includes Best Picture for "Rebecca", which was one of nine films to be preserved by the US National Film Registry.

Alfred Hitchcock was no doubt one of the most significant and influential filmmakers of the 20th century. His use of suspense, iconic visuals and dark humour created some of the most memorable films in cinema history. While he was not without his critics, his influence on filmmaking is still strongly felt and admired today.

Alfred Hitchcock passed away from kidney failure in his Bel Air home on the 29 April 1980.

Hitchcock once said, "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." And this is undoubtedly true for all your movies Mr Hitchcock.

Rest in peace, Alfred Hitchcock, you were indeed a true master of your craft and your movies will continue to entertain and intrigue audiences for many generations to come.

By Kirsten Jakubenko