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 Alfred Hitchcock's Profile |
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Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints. |
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| Age: | 100 years old |
| Sex: | Male |
| Location: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA |
| Country: |  United States |
| Zodiac: |  Leo (Jul 23 - Aug 22) |
| Last Login: | Sep 26, 2007 (346 days back) |
About Me |
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Welcome to my Alfred Hitchcock tribute space. I will continue to update over time. Send a friend request, if you love his work. Cheers, Carletto www.directorspotlight.com The early life of Alfred Hitchcock (1926-38) IMDB Mini biography: Alfred Hitchcock was the son of East End greengrocer William Hitchcock and his wife Emma. Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. His first job outside of the family business was in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in movies began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals. In 1920 Hitch learned that Lasky were to open a studio in London and managed to secure a job as a title designer. He designed the titles for all the movies made at the studio for the next two years. In 1923 he got his first chance at directing when the director of _Always Tell Your Wife (1923)_ fell ill and Hitch completed the movie. Impressed by his work, studio chiefs gave him his first directing assignment on Number 13 (1922), however, before it could be finished, the studio closed its British operation. Hitch was then hired by Michael Balcon to work as an assistant director for the company later to be known as Gainsborough Pictures. In reality Hitch did more than this - working as a writer, title designer and art director. After several films for the company, Hitch was given the chance to direct a British/German co-production called The Pleasure Garden (1925). Hitchcock's career as a director finally began. Hitchcock went on to become the most widely known and influential director in the history of world cinema with a significant body of work produced over 50 years. a couple of scenes from Psycho (1960) Trade mark Has a cameo in most of his films. Likes to insert shots of a woman's hairstyle, frequently close-ups. [hair] Bathrooms are often a plot device; often a hiding place or a place where lovemaking is prepared for. Hitchcock also frequently uses the letters ....BM'', which stand for ....Bowel Movement''. [bathroom] Often used the "wrong man" or "mistaken identity" theme in his movies. He preferred blondes: The most famous actresses in his filmography were Anny Ondra, Madeleine Carroll, Joan Fontaine, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Kim Novak, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren. There is a recurrent motif of loss or assumed identity. While mistaken identity applies to a film like North By Northwest, assumed identity applies to films such as Vertigo, Psycho, Marnie, and The 39 Steps among others... a few scenes from Notorious (1946) a short feature about the key in Notorious Trivia According to many people who knew Hitchcock, he couldn't stand to even look at his wife, Alma Reville, while she was pregnant. Once dressed up in drag for a party he threw. Footage of this was in his office, but his office was cleaned out after his death, and it is not known if the footage still exists. According to Alfred himself, he was required to stand at the foot of his mothers bed, and tell her what happened to him each day. This explains Anthony Perkins in Psycho (1960) standing at the foot of his mother's bed. Born only one day before his wife, Alma Reville Hitch's suggestion for his tombstone inscription was "This is what we do to bad little boys." (It finally read "I'm in on a plot.") Was a close friend of Albert R. Broccoli, well known as the producer of the James Bond - 007 franchise. Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) was the influence for the helicopter scene in From Russia with Love (1963) He appears on a 32 cent U.S. postage stamp, in the legends of Hollywood series, that debuted 8/3/98 in Los Angeles, California. In his childhood days, he was sent by his father with a letter 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. On April 29, 1974, the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York sponsored a gala homage to Alfred Hitchcock and his contributions to the cinema. Three hours of film excerpts were shown that night. François Truffaut who had published a book of interviews with Hitchcock a few years earlier, was there that night to present "two brilliant sequences: the clash of the symbols in the second version of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) , and the plane attack on Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)." After the gala, Truffaut reflected again on what made Hitchcock unique and concluded: "It was impossible not to see that the love scenes were filmed like murder scenes, and the murder scenes like love scenes...It occurred to me that in Hitchcock's cinema...to make love and to die are one and the same." He never won a best director Oscar in competition, although he was awarded the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Oscars. Alma Reville and Hitch had one daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, who appeared in several of his movies: Stage Fright (1950), Strangers on a Train (1951) and Psycho (1960) He made a cameo appearance in all of his movies beginning with The Lodger (1927) except for Lifeboat (1944), in which he appeared in a newspaper advertisement. In the New Year's Honour's list of 1980 (only a few months before his death), he was named an Honorary (as he was a U.S. citizen) Knight Commander of the British Empire. From 1977 until his death, he worked with a succession of writers on a film to be known as "The Short Night". The majority of the writing was done by David Freeman, who published the final screenplay after Hitchcock's death. He made his appearances in the beginning of the films, because he knew viewers were watching for him and he didn't want to divert their attention away from the story's plot. His bridling under the heavy hand of producer David O. Selznick was exemplified by the final scene of Rebecca (1940). Selznick wanted his director to show smoke coming out of the burning house's chimney forming the letter 'R." Hitch thought the touch lacked any subtlety; instead, he showed flames licking at a pillow embroidered with the letter 'R.' First visited Hollywood in 1940, but was turned down by virtually all major motion picture studios because they thought he could not make a "Hollywood" picture. He was finally offered a seven-year directing contract by producer David O. Selznick. His first project was supposed to be a film about the Titanic, but Selznick scrapped the project because he "couldn't find a boat to sink." Selznick assigned Hitch to direct Rebecca (1940) instead. The famous Hitchcock profile sketch, most often associated with "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955), was actually from a Christmas card Hitchcock designed himself while still living in England. When finishing a cup of tea while on the set, he would often non-discriminatingly toss the cup and saucer over his shoulder, letting it fall (or break) wherever it may. He was director William Girdler's idol. Girdler made Day of the Animals (1977) borrowing elements from Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Asked writers Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac to write a novel for him after Henri-Georges Clouzot had been faster in buying the rights for "Celle qui n'était plus" which became Diaboliques, Les (1955). The novel they wrote, "From Among the Dead", was shot as Vertigo (1958). He delivered the shortest acceptance speech in Oscar history: while accepting the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award at the 1967 Oscars, he simply said "Thank you." Müde Tod, Der (1921) by Fritz Lang was his declared favourite movie. In a recent USC class on Hitchcock (fall of 2000), guest speaker Patricia Hitchcock revealed that two guilty pleasures of Hitch's were Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Benji (1974)! His 'MacGuffins' were objects or devices which drove the plot but which were otherwise inconsequential and could be forgotten once they had served their purpose Lent his name and character to a series of adolescent books entitled "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" (circa late 1960s-early 1970s). The premise was that main character and crime-solver Jupiter Jones won the use of Mr. Hitchcock's limousine in a contest. Hitch also wrote forewords to this series of books. After his death, his famous silhouette was taken off the spine of the books, and the forewords (obviously) stopped appearing as well. He was listed as the editor of a series of anthologies containing mysteries and thillers. However, he had little to do with them. Even the introductions, credited to him, were, like the introductions on his television series, written by others. One of the most successful Hitchcock tie-ins is a pulp publication titled "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine." The publication is highly respected and has become one of the longest running mystery anthologies. It continues to be published almost a quarter century after Hitchock's death. He allegedly refused the British honour of C.B.E. (Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1962. When he won his Lifetime Achievement award in 1979, he joked with friends that he must be about to die soon. He died a year later. Was voted the Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. The same magazine's list of the 100 Greatest Films of all time includes more films directed by Hitchcock than by any other director, with four. On the list were his masterworks Psycho (1960) (..11), Vertigo (1958) (..19), North by Northwest (1959) (..44) and Notorious (1946) (..66). Was at his heaviest in the late 1930s, when he weighed over 300 pounds. Although always overweight, he dieted and lost a considerable amount of weight in the early 50s, with pictures from sets like To Catch a Thief (1955) showing a surprisingly thin Hitchcock. His weight continued to fluctuate throughout his life. He had a hard time devising one of his signature walk-ons for Lifeboat (1944), a film about a small group of people trying to survive on a small boat. What he eventually came up with was to have his picture in a newspaper advertisement for weight loss that floated among some debris around the boat. He had happened to have lost a considerable amount of weight from dieting around that time, so he was seen in both the "Before" and the "After" pictures. Often said that his favorite film was Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He claimed to have an intense fear of the police. He cited this phobia as the reason he never learned to drive; a person who doesn't drive can never be pulled over and given a ticket. It was also cited as the reason for the recurring "innocent man" themes in his films. Supported West Ham United Football Club - told colleagues in Hollywood that he subscribed to English newspapers in order to keep track of their results. Steven Spielberg has named him as an influence. Always wore a suit on film sets. He was infamous with cast and crews for his "practical jokes." While some inspired laughs, such as suddenly showing up in a dress, most were said to have been more cruel than funny. Usually he found out about somebody's phobias, such as mice or spiders, and in turn sent them a box full of them. He almost never socialized when not shooting films, with most of his evenings spent quietly at home with his wife Alma Reville. Directed the pilot episode of the radio series "Suspense" which aired from 1942-1962, and made a brief appearance at the end. It was an adaptation of his 1927 film The Lodger (1927) and starred Herbert Marshall and Edmund Gwenn , who reprised his brother Arthur Chesney 's role as Mr. Bunting. He would work closely with screenwriters, giving them a series of scenes that he wanted in the films, thus closely controlling what he considered the most important aspect of the filmmaking process. Although the screenwriter would write the actual dialogue and blocking, many of the scripts for his films were rigidly based on his ideas. Directed 8 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, Albert Bassermann, Michael Chekhov, Claude Rains, Ethel Barrymore and Janet Leigh. Fontaine won an Oscar for Suspicion (1941). Praised Luis Buñuel as the best director ever. As with W.C. Fields and Arthur Godfrey before him, he was legendary for gently tweaking his sponsors during the run of his TV show. One typical example runs, "We now interrupt our story for an important announcement. I needn't tell you to whom it will be most important of all." Ranked ..2 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Greatest directors ever!" [2005] Education: St. Ignatius College, London, School of Engineering and Navigation (Studied mechanics, electricity, acoustics and navigation). University Of London (Studied art). Told François Truffaut that although he had made two films prior to The Lodger (1927), he considered that to be his first real film. Due to his death in 1980, he never got to see Psycho II (1983) . It remains unsure as to whether or not he was approached regarding the second movie, or any other "Psycho (1960) -Expansion" motion picture. He hated to shoot on location. He preferred to shoot at the studio where he could have full control of lighting and other factors. This is why even his later films contain special effects composite and rear screen shots. Grandfather of Mary Stone, Tere Carrubba and Katie Fiala. Inspired the adjective "Hitchcockian" for suspense thrillers. Personal quotes: "There is a dreadful story that I hate actors. Imagine anyone hating Jimmy Stewart... or Jack Warner. I can't imagine how such a rumor began. Of course it may possibly be because I was once quoted as saying that actors are cattle. My actor friends know I would never be capable of such a thoughtless, rude and unfeeling remark, that I would never call them cattle... What I probably said was that actors should be treated like cattle." On his cameos: "One of the earliest of these was in _The Lodger_, the story of Jack the Ripper. My appearance called for me to walk up the stairs of the rooming house. Since my walk-ons in subsequent pictures would be equally strenuous - boarding buses, playing chess, etc. - I asked for a stunt man. Casting, with an unusual lack of perception, hired this fat man!" "Television has brought murder back into the home - where it belongs" "The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder" "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." "To me Psycho was a big comedy. Had to be." "Even my failures make money and become classics a year after I make them." "Always make the audience suffer as much as possible" "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.'" "Drama is life with the dull bits left out." [His entire acceptance speech for the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award] "Thank you." [When accepting the American Film Institute Life Achievement award] "I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are Alma Reville." "[Hitchcock] said, 'I don't want you going back to sink-to-sink movies. You do movies where you wash the dishes looking drab in an apron. The audience wants to see their leading ladies dressed up.' He saw me as others didn't." - Eva Marie Saint About Dario Argento and his film Profondo rosso (1975): "This young Italian guy is starting to worry me." "Some films are slices of life, mine are slices of cake." "I enjoy playing the audience like a piano." Ingrid Bergman, trying to make Hitchcock help her understand the motivation for the feelings of her character told him that: "I don't feel like that, I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion." Hitchcock replied: "Ingrid - fake it!" "I was an uncommonly unattractive young man." "It's only a movie, and, after all, we're all grossly overpaid." "There is nothing quite so good as a burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating." "Man does not live by murder alone. He needs affection, approval, encouragement and, occasionally, a hearty meal." "Cartoonists have the best casting system. If they don't like an actor, they just tear him up." About his actress Claude Jade, who starred in Topaz (1969): "Claude Jade is a brave nice young lady. But I don't give any guarantee, what she will do on a taxi's back-seat." On directing Charles Laughton: "You can't direct a Laughton picture. The best you can hope for is to referee." "The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book -- it makes a very poor doorstop." "Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders." "I am a typed director. If I made "Cinderella," the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach." "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." "A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it." "In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director." [regarding "The Birds" (1963)] You know I've often wondered what the Audubon Society's attitude might be to this picture. "Cary Grant is the only actor I ever loved in my whole life." "Disney has the best casting. If he doesn't like an actor he just tears him up." Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia: Perhaps only one other filmmaker-Walt Disney-lived to see his name become synonymous with a certain type of screen entertainment: In Hitchcock's case, it was stylish, sophisticated suspense, laced with humor and romance. Moreover, his bald pate, pearshaped body, and lugubrious drawl made him as recognizable as any star he ever directed. Educated by Jesuits, the young Hitchcock developed a flair for things mechanical, and first went to work for a telegraph company. He later took up art, applying his talents to print advertisements. Hitchcock broke into the British film industry in 1920 as a title-card illustrator, working his way up to art director, assistant director, editor, writer, and finally director. His first hit was the thriller The Lodger (1926), by which time many of his now-familiar cinematic trademarks were already apparent, including his ritual cameo appearance. He mastered the new medium of talking pictures with seeming effortlessness in Blackmail (1929) and proved that the presence of sound was no reason not to continue to tell stories with visual panache. (Speaking of things visual, 1930's all-star talkie revue Elstree Calling gave Hitchcock his only opportunity to direct a pie-throwing scene-with Anna May Wong, of all people.) He reached the top of his game with such outstanding films as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1936), and The Lady Vanishes (1938), all of which placed ordinary people- with whom audiences could readily identify-in life-or-death situations, often being chased by the authorities as well as the villains. Hitchcock succumbed to the lure of Hollywood in 1939; his first film there, the romantic thriller Rebecca (1940), won the Best Picture Oscar and cemented his standing. He continued to masterly manipulate audiences' emotions in such classics as Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943, reportedly his personal favorite among his films), Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), and Notorious (1946). During this period, as he immersed himself in the slickness of Hollywood filmmaking, he continued to draw from a seemingly inexhaustible cinematic bag of tricks, using his mechanical and electrical knowledge to create memorable little effects and images (such as the illuminated glass of milk carried upstairs by Cary Grant inSuspicion His first color movie, Rope (1948), was an experiment-not altogether successful-in shooting an entire film in one seemingly continuous shot. In the 1950s Hitchcock set himself new challenges and created a gallery of unique and memorable films, including the psychological cat-and-mouse thriller Strangers on a Train (1951), the 3-D opus Dial M for Murder (1954), the visually challenging Rear Window (1954), the elegant and witty To Catch a Thief (1955), the incomparably droll black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955), the remake of his own The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, with its bravura climax in London's Albert Hall), and the low-key, documentarystyle The Wrong Man (1957). In 1955 he agreed to host (and occasionally direct) a weekly TV anthology series, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," a diversion that lasted a full ten years. His droll commentary (written by James Allardice) and distinctive greeting ("Good eeeevening") made him more famous than ever. The TV years also saw him directing four of his greatest films in a row: the incredibly complex and adult thriller Vertigo (1958), the witty and exciting North by Northwest (1959, with its audacious set-pieces in a desolate cornfield and atop Mount Rushmore), the starkly frightening, very black Psycho (1960, which he made quickly and inexpensively with his TV crew), and that masterpiece of manipulation and control, The Birds (1963). Hitchcock brought out the best in his stars (including James Stewart, Cary Grant, and the ultimate "Hitchcock blonde," Grace Kelly) and inspired composer Bernard Herrmann to do some of his finest work on his films. Hitchcock's work past this point became uneven. Marnie (1964) was ahead of its time. Torn Curtain (1966) had star power but little else. Topaz (1969) told an intriguing tale, but the lack of recognizable stars made audiences feel aloof. Frenzy (1972) saw the director back in form-in peak form, to be precise, pulling some new visual tricks out of his bottomless bag, and playing violence against humor as only he could. (Hitchcock always hosted his own coming attractions trailers; for the British-made film, his first in more than 30 years, he appeared on-screen floating in the Thames River!) Family Plot (1976) tipped the scales too far toward comedy, and was only a middling success. Hitchcock continued to develop properties for future production, but failing health curtailed those plans. In 1979 he received the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award; he died the following year. Astoundingly, the man considered by many the finest director who ever lived never won an Oscar, though he did receive the Irving Thalberg Award in 1967, and a long-running mystery magazine bears his name. His influence on a younger generation of filmmakers is impossible to overstate; virtually every thriller that comes along is described as "Hitchcockian," though few manage to live up to that description. As if that weren't enough, the director almost literally returned from the grave in 1985, when NBC revived "Alfred Hitchcock Presents": the episodes were new, but Hitch (now colorized) was still introducing them! |
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My Interests |
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I'd like to meet:Hitch's Comment Box Scare me: View/Edit All of My Comments |
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Movies:VIDEOS:FAMILY PLOT (1976)- Theatrical Trailer FRENZY (1972) - Theatrical Trailer PSYCHO (1960) - Theatrical Trailer PSYCHO (1960) - promotional video NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) - Theatrical Trailer VERTIGO (1958) - Theatrical Trailer THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955) - Theatrical Trailer DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) - Documentary Feature NOTORIOUS (1946) - Theatrical Trailer SPELLBOUND (1945) - Salvador Dali scene SPELLBOUND (1945) - Theatrical Trailer REBECCA (1940) - Theatrical Trailer ----------------------------------------- |
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Television:"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour"- I Saw the Whole Thing (1962) TV Episode "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (17 episodes) - Bang! You're Dead (1961) TV Episode - The Horse Player (1961) TV Episode - Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat (1960) TV Episode) - The Crystal Trench (1959) TV Episode - Arthur (1959) TV Episode "Startime" - Incident at a Corner (1960) TV Episode "Suspicion" - Four O'Clock (1957) TV Episode |
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My Background and Lifestyle |
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| MaritalStatus: | Married |
| Hometown: | London, UK |
| Children: | Proud parent |
| Occupation: | film director |
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Carletto di San Giovanni, Spaces by Carletto, The Director Spotlight, James Stewart, Tippi Hedren, Ingrid, Eva Marie Saint, Joan Fontaine, Bernard Herrmann, 1911-1975, Norman Bates, Tippi Hedren, Anthony Perkins, Mr Richard Hannay, Mr. Rains, Bernard Herrmann, Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks, Chaplin, William Wyler, Lubitsch, Frank Capra, Stanley Kubrick, Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, Preston Sturges, Orson Welles, John Cassavetes, Cukor, Ingmar Bergman, Otto Preminger, George Stevens, CARY GRANT, Ana <Shady> Dally, Psycho Master, (<><>)C1N1K1LL(<><>), katia, Isa comics, L U C K Y, Sara, Quake, Pretty In Punk, Transgressors, SweetyeMoon, Black Vinx, www.JordiSabate.com, Nikolay Kopernik, ZIN AKAKI, PSG, DonnaFran Compositions, Kelly, poésie rose, Harvinder, Sonja, † DIE RÄBIN †, Anny_Skod, ♥Elissa♥, Sunao, Eddy, franco, Cammrynn, sunny baltzi, (((Aurora))), fuckin mike, AlienRalph, Sharon, Michelle Amthor, Bill, Rick, Pepe Ahlqvist, Heathcliff, Discrete Encounter, Gail, _, Patricia, Catnipgirl, Glinda, Mozzy, Italian Lady
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