By Chicago Times Magazine –
August 13, 2024
Alfred Hitchcock was born on this day in 1899 and was known as one of the most influential film directors, producers, and screenwriters of the 20th century. Known as the “Master of Suspense”, Hitchcock directed over 50 feature films over six decades and hosted the famous television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1955 to 1965. Hitchcock would receive 46 Academy Award nominations with 6 wins, though would never win the award for best director.
Hitchcock, who was born in Leytonstone, London, began his career in the film industry in 1919 as a title card designer and made his directorial debut in 1925 with The Pleasure Garden. Yet, his first successful film was the 1927 feature film The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. Hitchcock directed the first British “talkie” film, Blackmail, in 1929. Both films would help shape the “thriller” film genre. During the 1930s, Hitchcock would have continued success with the feature films The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes, which would both become considered one of the greatest British films of the 20th century.
By the 1940s, Hitchcock had established himself as a major international filmmaker and teamed up with film producer David O. Selznick in Hollywood. The two would go on two produce and direct several successful feature films including Rebecca (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Notorious (1946), Lifeboat (1944), and Spellbound (1945). Rebecca won the Academy Award for Best Picture, though Hitchcock would lose the nomination for best director.
Hitchcock was famous for mimicking the human viewpoint when framing shots. Frame shots would be lengthy and flowing as if the “viewer” were in control of how the scene was shot. This also brought the viewer closer to the fear and anxiety Hitchcock was trying to portray in the film.
Hitchcock had further success throughout the 1950s and 1960’s in suspense feature films, such as Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), & The Birds (1963).
Despite Hitchcock’s creative successes and well-known flops, he always said his favorite film was Shadow of a Doubt starring Joseph Cotten. Alfred Hitchcock passed away on April 29, 1980 at his Bel Air home. His ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean the following May.
Feature image: Alfred Hitchcock | Ante Brkan
