Biography of Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock was a British director who earned the nickname "The Master of Suspense" during his career. He was a cinematic innovator and is still considered one of the greatest directors of all time. Hitchcock directed more than 50 films over the course of his career, most of which are classified as psychological thrillers. He was a keen technician as well as a master storyteller, and his desire to challenge himself, as well as an interest in the relationship between audience and story, led him to develop a signature "Hitchcockian" style that was all his own. Among his most notable films are Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, and North by Northwest.

Hitchcock was born in 1899 in Leytonstone, part of the London county of Essex, to a greengrocer and his wife. While he was notably private about his upbringing, he once shared an anecdote about being locked in a cell at the local police station by his father who wanted to teach him a lesson for misbehaving. While he was only in the cell for a few minutes, the young Alfred found the incident incredibly affecting; perhaps this gives his viewers a window onto his vivid depictions of claustrophobia and mistaken identity. After studying engineering in school, Hitchcock got a job as a technician at an electric cable company. Shortly thereafter he began to design advertisements, before officially starting his filmmaking career in 1920 at an American studio in London, where he designed titles. In his spare time, he wrote screenplays. Hitchcock's proficiency with both the technical and the narrative can be attributed to these early days working for the studio. Hitchcock married Alma Reville in 1926, a film editor who would become an important collaborator and influence.

Hitchcock's first film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, was released in 1926, and depicted a serial killer similar to Jack the Ripper. In 1929, Hitchcock made one of the first "talkies" in England, Blackmail, before having his first big commercial success with The Man Who Knew Too Much. Later championed by David O. Selznick, a Hollywood producer, based on the strength of his English films, Hitchcock began making movies in the United States in 1939, signing a seven-year contract. Rebecca was based on a Daphne Du Maurier novel and starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine; it won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1940. After working for Selznick for a number of years, Hitchcock began to make films with the company Transatlantic, starting with Rope in 1948, an adaptation of a Patrick Hamilton play. Notably, Rope consisted of only nine shots, each clocking in at ten minutes. Through the 1950s, Hitchcock directed Strangers on a Train, Dial M For Murder, Rear Window, and To Catch a Thief, and worked with major stars, like James Stewart and Grace Kelly. With Paramount Pictures, Hitchcock made Vertigo, North By Northwest, and Psycho. Then with Universal, he directed The Birds and Marnie, both starring Tippi Hedren.

Over this period of time, he became one of the most well-known and acclaimed directors and was recognized for a style that was grounded in filmic techniques and deft editing more than dialogue or acting. He often uses oblique camera angles to menace the characters and viewers, rapid editing to heighten the chaos of a horrifying scene, parallel editing, and shots from the perspective of his characters in order to generate tension and an understanding of characters' emotions. He also became known for various other signatures within his films, such as featuring himself in small cameos in the background of scenes, and casting “cool,” classically beautiful, often blonde women in his lead roles. Driving his thrillers were deeply rooted childhood fears, such as claustrophobia, fear of heights, fear of open spaces, and fear of retribution. He has also been criticized, however, for relying on illogical storylines and wild coincidences, and more recently has been noted for an oppressive attitude toward women (in Psycho, for example, the lead actress is punished for her indiscretions with violence).

In 1980, Queen Elizabeth II knighted Alfred Hitchcock. Over a long and successful career, he won two Golden Globes, was nominated for five Oscars, and received numerous lifetime achievement awards. He died in 1980 in California.