by JG Loperfido

(lecture given at Syracuse Stage and Art Rage)

One of the most famous-- and possibly apocryphal-- Hitchcock anecdotes concerns Hitch in his childhood days, as he was sent by his father with a note to the local police station. The officer read the letter and, without further ado, locked young Alfred up for ten minutes. Then he let him go, explaining that this is what happens to people who do bad things. Hitchcock was frightened of the police from that day on.

True or not, this story and Hitchcock's Roman Catholic background encompass all the themes Hitchcock would later put in his work-- terror inflicted upon the unknowing, and sometimes innocent victim; guilt (both real guilt and the appearance of it); fear, and redemption.

A devout Catholic who attended church regularly throughout his life, Hitchcock was the son of greengrocers William and Emma Hitchcock and grew up with his older siblings, William and Ellen Kathleen in Leytonstone, part of London's East End.

Fascinated by numbers and technology, Alfred was educated at the Jesuits' St. Ignatius College, but left school at 16 to study engineering and navigation at the University of London.

Hitchcock's keen interest in cinema and art happily coincided with a job opening at Paramount studios in London as a title designer for silent films.

Enter early Syracuse film personality Carlyle Blackwell. His journey to Hollywood started in 1909 with Vitagraph Studio then World Studios. He appeared in over 89 movies, spanning 40 years from 1910 to 1947.

His first performance was “Uncle Tom's Cabin” (1910). Other notable films include “The Badge of Courage” (1912) and “She” (1915).  He was also a director, producer, and writer.  While his career may be obscure and mostly forgotten today, he was a top box office draw for many years in the silent era and an important figure in the Hollywood social set that lived life to its fullest. 

Gainsborough Pictures was formed by soon-to-be film tycoon Michael Balcon in 1924, and started by moving into Islington Studios, which had two small stages. Balcon also co-owned Piccadilly Pictures Studio with Carlyle Blackwell. Blackwell moved to Great Britain for work and to invest in a studio. Seems Carlyle married well and had money to invest. Together they developed a close and fruitful relationship with Ufa and the German film industry making 22 features released by either Gainsborough or Piccadilly. 

Both men were regarded as great nurturers of talent and used the German film industry as a kind of finishing school, sending seasoned professionals ready for their step up. By now Hitchcock worked his way up to assistant director.

Things soon changed and in June 1926 a corporate reorganization made Piccadilly Pictures, the controlling company of both Gainsborough and Piccadilly Studios Ltd, which at this point held the lease on Islington. Balcon and Blackwell were appointed joint managing directors of Piccadilly.

This was a time of great expansion and movement in the film industry. In March 1927 competitor Gaumont-British was rapidly expanding its operations on its way to become the largest producer-renter-exhibitor in Britain and quickly become the dominant force in the film industry. A force Balcon and Blackwell always assumed would be theirs. 

Blackwell sent him to Germany where he served an apprenticeship in the studio system there along with other promising young filmmakers like Robert Stevenson. (Mary Poppins, Son of Flubber, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Old Yeller, The Absent-Minded Professor, The Love Bug and King Solomon's Mines.)

Returning to Britain, Hitchcock began directing in earnest. and in 1922, at the age of 22, started work on the film No. 13. Unfortunately the film was never finished, but Hitchcock met his future wife, Alma Reville during production, and married her in December of 1926. 

While in Germany Hitch cut his director teeth on The Pleasure Garden (1925), debuted as a director with Virginia Valli and Carmelita Geraghty who star as two chorus dancers at a music hall called The Pleasure Garden. When their male companions travel to the Tropics, the two women are left to their own devices. 

Produced in Munich, Germany, custom officials confiscated the film stock during a "location shoot" in Austria.  Although shot a year before, the film wasn't released in the UK until after "The Lodger" was a hit in 1927.  It seems fate again played a strong hand in giving Hitchcock the needed boost to become who we all know today.

The Lodger (1926), stands out as the first truly "Hitchcockian" film. In it he introduced the themes he would explore in greater depth in his later, more famous films. These elements include the more-or-less innocent man caught up in events beyond his control, a female character who provides not only relief but actually aids him in solving the crime of which he was accused.

The stylistic flourishes for which he became famous, and even the brief cameos which helped him to become a star among directors started in The Lodger. It was a success and launched his career in England. He soon became the most successful and highest-paid director in England.

Again, The Lodger introduced the first appearance of the theme of many later Hitchcock films: that of the wrong man accused of a crime and his escape from the people in pursuit of him.

Fate, plays an important role in this film as Wardour, Hitchcock’s employers (Michael Balcon and Carlyle Blackwell) distribution company thought after viewing the first cut of “The Lodger” that it was terrible and canceled its booking.  “The Lodger” just could not interest them even with the drawing power of its star the great matinee-idol, Ivor Novello. 

Wardour asked Gainsborough to make changes and scheduled a screening a few months after they were made. Balcon and Blackwell went to work on Hitchcock’s film. There is much debate as to who should get credit for changing the picture, be it Wardour, Hitchcock or Gainsborough. Whether Hitchcock planned to make the film with his now classic signature or not is a matter for film school essays. We do know that Wardour loved the second viewing and scheduled the film for release.  The die was cast.

At this point I am reminded of the story of two TV antennas on a roof. They fall in love and decide to marry.  Yes, the ceremony was great but the reception was brilliant!           PAUSE

By then, everyone knew that Hitch’s marriage with film was by then great but, moreover, his affair with suspense was indeed brilliant! He moved the camera around the set of actors and props with the same movements as when one would gaze upon the same.

This early period of his career came to an end with the coming of sound and his remarkable first talkie, Blackmail (1929), a film shot silent and then converted to sound. Hitchcock's ready grasp of the dramatic and symbolic possibilities of sound are evident in this film.

By now Hitch is telling his friends … “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” And, “Give them pleasure - the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.”

Not only did sound allow the director free play with language and all its nuances but also permitted him to extend the range of his art through expressionistic manipulation of sound effects as in the famous "knife" sequence and in his use of music not only for its psychological enhancement of audience response but also for its symbolic resonance, such as the bleeping car horns signifying a busy urban street, the muted dialogue that enticed and frustrated viewers and engaged them in the unfolding of the story.

During the 1930s Hitchcock established a solid reputation by directing a series of witty, relaxed, well-crafted films for which he became the most recognized of British directors: Murder! (1930), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), Secret Agent (1936), Sabotage (1936), and The Lady Vanishes (1938). Most of the films from this period deal directly with the deteriorating political climate in Europe by exploring various forms of international intrigue, and it is probably The 39 Steps in 1935, that best sums up this period of his career.

The 39 Steps is a spy tale based on an updating of a John Buchan pre-war novel. The spy-story background in this film offered Hitchcock an opportunity to create a sort of screwball comedy by pitting the characters played by Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll against each other in a battle of the sexes, a tension intensified because for a period of the film they are actually handcuffed together.

By combining sophisticated humor, adventure, and sly sexuality, Hitchcock established his reputation as a director of more than national interest and by the end of the 1930s he came to the attention of Hollywood.

It is an absolute classic which has been remade a couple of times – only really to show how good the original was. Alfred Hitchcock had received a contract to create spy thriller and this he did and then some… This film was the marker which established his reputation as the master of suspense, something which remained unchallenged throughout the remainder of his career.

There are also several Hitchcock hallmarks that would recur in his later films - the innocent man being suddenly catapulted by accident into the sinister world of spies and secret agents is very much like his later ‘North By Northwest’. There's a train journey as there are in many Hitchcock films, and of course, the icy, mysterious blonde, in this case the excellent Madeleine Carroll. The director cites this as one of his favorite films of all time – it contains all the requisite elements – pace, noir and at times black humor.

The film is in essence a spy story, with an innocent man Richard Hannay accused of murder right from the outset. At one point of the movie he is handcuffed to a beautiful girl but this gives the film its extra sexual edge and also Hitchcock the territory to exploit desperate situations for humor. Note should be taken of the risqué ‘stockings scene’ if I can call it that. Carroll removes her stockings whilst she is still handcuffed to Donat in a bedroom – by today’s standards I’m sure it’s laughable but not in 1935.

There are two criticisms commonly made of this film. The first is that there are logical imperfections in the story. This is true of almost all Hitchcock films (as well as those of most other directors). The second criticism is that this film, while based on John Buchan's novel of the same name, departs very considerably from the story in the book. Few films very closely follow the original book – simply because they are different mediums.

By now Hitch knew he had it, that certain something that made him special. Hitchcock never sat among the audience to watch his films. "Don't you miss hearing them scream?" he was once asked. "No," replied Hitchcock. "I can hear them when I'm making the picture."

When the shooting of The Thirty-nine Steps began, Hitchcock amused himself by handcuffing the star, Madeleine Carroll, to her co-star Robert Donat and pretended to lose the key until the end of the day. He was particularly interested in seeing how the unfortunate couple would cope with the inevitable demands of nature.

The 62 imported sheep, upon arriving at the sound stage, immediately went to work on the bracken and bushes that had been brought with them. The infuriated crew had to replace the real plants with ones hastily bought from a local nursery.

It shut the production down for a day and cut Hitch’s only musical number ever, I only have eyes for EWE! Just kidding!

As the onset of World War II loomed over Europe, Hitchcock emigrated to the U.S. to direct Rebecca (1940) for David O. Selznik, starring Laurence Oliver, Joan Fontaine, and Judith Anderson in an adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier's best-selling novel. It began the third, and the most important period of his career.

While the film won an Oscar, Hitchcock did not win for Best Director (and never would, although he would receive honorary Oscars.)

 As the decade unfolded he directed such masterpieces of suspense as Foreign Correspondent (1940), Shadow of a Doubt (194s), Spellbound (1945). Notorious (1946), and The Paradine Case (1947).

Working with many of the major stars of the period, Gregory Peck, Cary Grant, Joseph Cotton, Ingrid Bergman, Carol Lombard, and Talula Bankhead - Hitchcock's films exhibited an increasing sophistication in both style and theme.

He explored the Psychological more deeply in Spellbound, the universal nature of evil in Shadow of a Doubt, and the central place of the couple in Notorious. He even made a true screwball comedy in the now little seen Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941).  

And with Strangers on a Train (1951), based on the Patricia Highsmith suspense novel, he began the most remarkable decade of his career. 1950-1960 was an amazingly productive decade for Hitchcock. He made several films that would become minor classics (Dial "M" for Murder, To Catch a Thief, Strangers on a Train) and four masterpieces: Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho.

Hitchcock wrote, produced and directed films up until 1979. His best-known later works include The Birds, Marnie, and Family Plot. Despite his penchant for murder, mayhem and shock, Alfred Hitchcock and his family led a quiet and unassuming life, preferring the comforts of home to the Hollywood milieu around them.

In the last year of his life, Hitchcock received the American Film Institute's lifetime achievement award which broke a record ………………..and was knighted in England. He died in 1980 in Los Angeles.

By now, Hitchcock once dryly noted that, "Even my failures make money and become classics a year after I make them." Movies by Alfred Hitchcock range from the irrefutable masterpieces to minor classics to astonishing experiments in the language of film. Amazingly enough, Hitchcock never won a best director Oscar in competition, although he was awarded the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Oscars. He did receive the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1979 and his homeland made sure he was properly acknowledged: In the New Year's Honors list of 1980, he was named a Knight Commander of the British Empire.

Hitch had problems dealing with the egotism actors brought to the set, 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.' And got in trouble when he said, I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle.

Alfred Hitchcock was once stopped at the French border by a suspicious customs official. Eyeing the space where Hitchcock listed his profession as "producer," the official demanded, "And what do you produce?" "Gooseflesh," Hitchcock coolly replied.

(Hitch in his early silent days)

Movies by Alfred Hitchcock

The Lodger (1926 - Silent)
Starring: Ivor Novello and Marie Ault
Taut thriller of a lodger accused of murder by a jealous detective.

The Ring (1927 - Silent)
Starring: Carl Brisson and Ian Hunter
Jealous lovers and an angry prizefighter combine in this suspenseful film.

Easy Virtue (1927 - Silent)
Starring: Isabel Jeans and Ian Hunter
Drama of a woman torn between her alcoholic husband and suicidal lover.

Champagne (1928 - Silent)
Starring: Betty Balfour and Gordon Harker
Gorgeous cinematography and classic story of a rich father trying to teach his daughter an important lesson make this a must-see for many Hitchcock fans.

The Farmer's Wife (1928 - Silent)   Starring: Jameson Thomas and Lillian Hall-Davies
In this silent comedy, a lonely widower enlists the aid of his housekeeper to choose a new wife, then fruitlessly woos and outrages local women until he realizes the ideal "farmer's wife" has been right under his nose.

Manxman (1929)   Starring: Carl Brisson and Anny Ondra
Timeless story of love and betrayal on the Isle of Man.

Blackmail (1929)   Starring: Anny Ondra and John Longden
First British sound picture features tale of a blackmailed Scotland Yard inspector.

Juno and the Paycock (1930)   Starring: Sara Allgood and Edward Chapman
Adaptation of Sean O'Casey's seriocomic play of life in Dublin slums.

Murder! (1930)   Starring: Herbert Marshall and Nora Baring
When a lone juror believes the defendant in a murder trial is innocent, he's determined to find the real killer himself.

Skin Game (1931)   Starring: Edmund Gwenn and Jill Esmond
Two families-- one wealthy, one poor-- battle over land in this saga.

Rich and Strange (1932)  Starring: Henry Kendall and Joan Barry
A leisurely trip around the world for a wealthy couple is interrupted by a shipwreck.

Number 17 (1932)  Starring: Leon M. Lion and Anne Grey
This comic thriller follows the escapades of a luckless hobo who happens on a thief's hidden fortune.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)  Starring: Leslie Banks and Edna Best
Political adventure-thriller of an American couple caught in an assassination plot later remade by Hitchcock himself.

The 39 Steps (1935)  Starring: Madeleine Carroll and Robert Donat
Spies, murder and mistaken identity combine in this espionage thriller.

Secret Agent (1936)  Starring: Madeleine Carroll and John Gielgud
Tension-filled thriller explores spies in Switzerland.

Sabotage (1936)  Starring: Sylvia Sidney and Oscar Homolka
This comic thriller features a theater cashier who suspects her husband is a terrorist.

Young and Innocent (1937)  Starring: Derrick DeMarney and Nova Pilbeam
A man accused of an actress' murder is aided by a young woman in clearing his name.

The Lady Vanishes (1938)  Starring: Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave
A woman is drawn into a web of intrigue when her companion on a train disappears.

Jamaica Inn (1939)  Starring: Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara
Suspenseful melodrama focuses on daring orphan who uncovers smugglers' ring.

Rebecca (1940)  Starring: Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine
Adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's famous novel of a couple tormented by the presence of the husband's dead wife.

Foreign Correspondent (1940)  Starring: Joel McCrea and Laraine Day
An unsuspecting crime reporter gets swept up in an international espionage conspiracy in this fast-paced adventure.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)  Starring: Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery
Hilarious screwball comedy about the merry mishaps that befall a couple after they discover they weren't legally married.

Suspicion (1941)  Starring: Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine
Subtle suspense and fine-drawn tension in this mystery of a wealthy woman who suspects her playboy husband wants to murder her.

Saboteur (1942)  Starring: Priscilla Lane and Robert Cummings
False accusations of murder and sabotage leads to some surprising consequences in this chilling film.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)  Starring: Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright
Woman suspects her loving uncle of murder. Hitchcock's own personal favorite.

Bon Voyage & Aventure Malgache (1944)  Starring: John Blythe
Directed by Hitchcock for the war effort in Britain during WWII, this pair of short films details a British pilot behind enemy lines.

Lifeboat (1944)  Starring: Tallulah Bankhead and William Bendix
Psychological thriller about survivors trapped on a lifeboat with limited supplies. Features nail biting suspense and fine performances.

Spellbound (1945)  Starring: Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck
An amnesiac impersonating a famous psychologist. The doctor who wants to save him-- even if he is guilty of murder.

Notorious (1946)  Starring: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman
A classic tale of love and betrayal-- an FBI agent must send the woman he
loves to seduce a Nazi conspirator.

The Paradine Case (1947)  Starring: Gregory Peck and Alida Valli
Courtroom melodrama about a lawyer who falls for his client.

Rope (1948)  Starring: James Stewart and Farley Granger
Compelling tale of murder between friends, famed for its basis on Leopold & Loeb case and experimental cinematography.

Under Capricorn (1949)  Starring: Ingrid Bergman and Joseph Cotten
Period drama details saga of an English lady who falls in love with her cousin.

Stage Fright (1950)  Starring: Jane Wyman and Marlene Dietrich
A young man whom a drama student admired accused of murder must battle to prove his own innocence.

Strangers on a Train (1951)  Starring: Farley Granger and Ruth Roman
A must-see classic, this tale of strangers who take on each other's murders builds to a nail-biting climax.

I Confess (1953)  Starring: Montgomery Clift and Anne Baxter
Thoughtful character study of a priest who hears a murderer's confession-- only to fall under suspicion himself.

Dial M for Murder (1954)  Starring: Ray Milland and Grace Kelly
An heiress and her husband's oh-so-perfect plot to kill her make up this taut thriller.

Rear Window (1954)  Starring: James Stewart and Grace Kelly
One of the Master's finest-- a photographer laid up with a broken leg finds himself caught up in his neighbors' lives-- and one of their murders.

To Catch a Thief (1955)  Starring: Grace Kelly and Cary Grant
Romance and intrigue combine in a seaside resort when a reformed jewel thief is suspected of a rash of burglaries.

The Trouble with Harry (1955)  Starring: Edmund Gwenn and John Forsythe
In this black comedy, a small town has a big problem-- a body that won't stay put.

The Wrong Man (1956)  Starring: Henry Fonda and Vera Miles
It's noir à la Hitchcock in this stark, gritty tale of a wrongly-accused jazz musician.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)  Starring: James Stewart and Doris Day
Hitchcock's edge-of-your-seat remake of his own 1934 movie involves Americans caught up in an assassination plot.

Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock (1958)  Starring: James Stewart and Kim Novak
Considered Hitchcock's masterpiece-- caught in a never-ending spiral of deception and obsession, a private detective must discover the truth behind the death of the woman he loved.

North by Northwest (1959)  Starring: Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint
Heart-stopping suspense abound in this tale of an innocent man mistaken for a notorious spy.

Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock (1960)  Starring: Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh
The seminal horror film of a young man tormented by his past-- and his mother.

The Birds (1963)  Starring: Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren
Terror strikes out of nowhere when birds begin mysteriously attacking anyone and anything in their way.

Marnie (1964)  Starring: Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren
A beautiful kleptomaniac and the man who loves her clash in this psychological thriller.

Torn Curtain (1966)  Starring: Paul Newman and Julie Andrews
Bewildering his wife, friends, and colleagues, an American physicist defects-- or does he?

Topaz (1969)  Starring: John Forsythe and Frederick Stafford
Danger and intrigue abound in this complex espionage thriller.

Frenzy (1972)  Starring: Jon Finch and Barry Foster
The Master at his most shocking in this black comedy about a series of strangulations.

Family Plot (1976) Starring: Karen Black and Bruce Dern
A phony psychic faces off with a jewel thief in this thriller/comedy.