Ringside Report Looks Back At The Master of Suspense Sir Alfred Hitchcock

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By Geoffrey Huchel

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (August 13, 1899-April 29, 1980) was an English film director and producer. From 1922 to 1976, he directed over 50 films. He also wrote, produced and made cameo appearances in his films. He was regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. By the end of the 1930s Hitchcock was a filmmaker of international significance. During the 1930s he enjoyed a string of successful films including REBECCA (1940) and SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943). The former was nominated for 11 Oscars and won for Best Picture.

Hitchcock had his own style of filming, known as “Hitchcockian”, which includes the use of camera movement to mimic a person’s gaze, therefore turning viewers into voyeurs, and framing shots to maximize fear and anxiety. Hitchcock returned several times to cinematic devices such as suspense, the wrong man or woman, and the “MacGuffin”, a plot device essential to the characters but irrelevant to the audience. By 1960 Hitchcock had directed four films, often ranked among the greatest of all time: REAR WINDOW (1954), VERTIGO (1958), NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) AND PSYCHO (1960).

Hitchcock was known to cast the same actors/actresses in multiple films. Some notable ones included: Cary Grant ( 4 total), James Stewart (4 total), Ingrid Bergman (3 total), Grace Kelly (3 total), Gregory Peck (2 total), Tippi Hedren ( 2 total), and Joan Fontaine ( 2 total).

Hitchcock won two Golden Globes and was nominated five times for an Academy Award for Best Director. In addition, Hitchcock was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame with two stars, one for television and one for his motion pictures.
Whether you are a fan of his films or not, there’s no denying Alfred Hitchcock secured his spot in American film history.

I put together a summary of Hitchcock’s films that have been regarded as the greatest of all time. Some of them are my own personal favorites, perhaps even some of yours.

REBECCA (1940) Running Time 2 HRS 10 MINS
Starring: Laurence Olivier
Joan Fontaine
Plot: A self conscious bride is tormented by the memory of her husband’s dead first wife.

REAR WINDOW (1954) Running Time1 hr 52 mins
Starring: James Stewart
Grace Kelly
Plot: A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) Running Time 1 hr 45 mins
Starring: Ray Milland
Grace Kelly
Plot: A tennis player frames his unfaithful wife for first-degree murder after she inadvertently hinders his plan to kill her.

TO CATCH A THIEF (1955) Running Time 1 hr 46 mins
Starring: Cary Grant
Grace Kelly
Plot: When a reformed jewel thief is suspected of returning to his former occupation, he must ferret out the real thief in order to prove his innocence.

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) Running Time 2 hrs
Starring: James Stewart
Doris Day
Plot: An American physician and his wife take maters into their own hands after assassins planning to execute a foreign prime minister kidnap their son.

VERTIGO (1958) Running Time 2 hrs 8 mins
Starring: James Stewart
Kim Novak
Plot: A former police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with a hauntingly beautiful woman.

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) Running Time 2 hrs 16 mins
Starring: Cary Grant
Eva Marie Saint
James Mason
Plot: A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

PYSCHO (1960) Running Time 1 hr 49 mins
Starring: Anthony Perkins
Janet Leigh
Vera Miles
Plot: A Phoenix secretary embezzles 40,000 from her employer’s client, goes on the run and checks in to a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.

THE BIRDS (1963) running Time 1 hr 59 mins
Starring: Rod Taylor
Tippi Hedren
Jessica Tandy
Plot: A wealthy San Fransisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) Running Time 1 hr 41 mins
Starring: Farley Granger
Robert Walker
Ruth Roman
Plot: A psychotic socialite attempts to force a professional tennis star to prove a theory that two complete strangers can get away with murder.

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