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Alfred Hitchcock Alfred Hitchcock is among the few directors to combine a strong reputation for high-art filmmaking with great audience popularity. Throughout his career, he gave his audiences more pleasure than they could bask for. The consistency of quality plot lines and technical ingenuity earned him the recognition of being one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time. His films earned him the reputation of being the "master of suspense", and after viewing two of his more popular films, Psycho and The Birds, it is evident why. There is a distinction between surprise, which lasts only a few seconds, and suspense, which captivates ones attention, the entire length of a film. This is something that Hitchcock realized early on, and applied into his movies.
He is one of the few directors whose name on a marquee is as important, if not more so, than any actor who appears in the film itself. Both his style of directing, and that of the movies that he has directed are unique, making him stand out in the film industry. He pioneered the art of cinematography and special effects, which along with his cameos are what he is most often associated with. Hitchcock lead long and prosperous life in the movie industry, starting as a teenager and making movies up until his death in 1980, while working on the 54 th of his career. Born in London, England, on August 13, 1899 Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was the son of William and Emma Hitchcock and became known as The Master of Suspense Thrillers.
He was raised as a strict Catholic and this often influenced his work. He was educated at St-Ignatius College, a Jesuit institution, and University of London, where he attended courses leading toward a career as an electrical engineer. He also studied art, economics, political science, and navigation. His first job after leaving the University was with The Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. He made technical calculations on electrical systems installed by the company. After being with the company for a considerable time, Alfred decided to move on and found himself employment as a layout man in an advertising office in a London department store.
He was earning a salary of only fifteen shillings, about three dollars and fifty cents a week. (Current Biography) In 1923, he got his first chance at directing when the director of, Always Tell Your Wife, became terribly ill and Alfred performed his duty and completed the movie. The studio chiefs were so impressed with Hitchcock's work that they gave him his first assignment on November 13, except came bad news and the studio had to close down its British operation. He never completed his film. In his every day life, he was a writer, a title designer, and art director. After directing a few movies, he was given the opportunity to direct a British/German co-production called, The Pleasure Garden, in 1925, which was filmed in Munich, Germany. Hitchcock led a life of fantasy, and spent much of his time alone, entertaining himself because he did not have many friends growing up.
He lived life as if he was on the outside looking in. It is much like a person watching television or a director directing a picture. Reading was also apart of Hitchcock's life from a young age. The novels Bleak House and Robinson Crusoe were two that stuck with him over the years. He also really enjoyed Edgar Allan Poe, stating, Very likely it's because I was so taken by the Poe stories that I later made suspense films. In 1915, he started work for the Henley Telegraphy Company.
He soon began to study art at the University of London, which led to being promoted to Henley's advertising department to design cable ads. However, Hitchcock's truelove was the movies. He hunted all over the famous Ward our Street trying to obtain a position in filmmaking. In 1920, a co-worker at Henley's helped him put together a portfolio and The Famous Players-Lasky as a title designer for silent films hired him instantly. For two years, Hitchcock wrote and designed for popular British movie directors. His employers as well as leading actors of the day recognized the hard-working Hitchcock.
In 1922 the director of Always Tell Your Wife, a filming progress, got very sick and had to leave the movie. The lead actor Seymore Hicks had to take over the duties of direction, but was stumped on ideas. The young Hitchcock assisted him with the rest of production, and a legacy had been born Hitchcock's solo directorial debut, The Pleasure Garden was released in January of 1927, but it was not until three weeks later that the illustrious career of Alfred J. Hitchcock really took off. In February of 1927, The Lodger was released and it attracted mass audiences because of the rave reviews it received early on. It marked the first time in British film history that a director got more praise than did any of his stars.
Besides being Hitchcock's first acclaimed motion picture, The Lodger is also note worthy because it was the movie in which one of the greatest movie traditions of all time would begin; the famous Hitchcock cameo appearance, a unique trademark of his films for the next fifty years. In April of 1926, Michael Bacon told Hitchcock he wanted to make a movie of the 1913 mystery novel The Lodger, and felt that Hitchcock's sense of character and narrative would be perfect. So early in his career, Hitchcock already had a reputation for the true art of filmmaking. Hitchcock always prided himself as being the total filmmaker, planning and having total control over every aspect of his films, from casting to publicity. Hitchcock loved to be publicized, and some critics feel that the original intent of his unusual camera shots were no more than publicity stunt at first.
Regardless, Hitchcock brought cinematography to new levels, pioneering the point-of-view shot, which among other things was recognized for its ability to bring about viewer-character identification. Hitchcock's cameos, which he admitted to have borrowed from Charles Chaplin in A Woman of Paris, was just another example of Hitchcock's personalization and perhaps little gimmicks" of his films. He did not just become characters like did colleagues Orson Wells or Woody Allen, but his presence and style was always recognized. During the first decade of his career, Hitchcock toyed with variety of formats including theatrical adaptation, romance, musical, and of course, thrillers. It was not until 1934 when Hitchcock filmed The Man Who Knew Too Much that Hitchcock started making thrillers on a regular basis. That film marked the first is a secession of six thrillers, which would become known as the classic "thriller sextet." Following the 1938 release of The Lady Vanishes, New York film critics voted Hitchcock to be the best director of that year.
Throughout the 1940 's his reputation continued to flounder with the hit movies Spellbound (1944 [in which artist Salvador Dali painted some scenery]), and Notorious (1946). The 1950 's were the beginning of Hitchcock's most productive and popular era. Movies like Dial "M" for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and North by Northwest (1959) were on the big screen and the Hitchcock name was everywhere. In 1955, the television program "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was also released.
The style and reputation that came with the Hitchcock name was visible in every movie, in every scene. North by Northwest to this point had gone where no other film had gone before. The airplane chase in the cornfield became one of the most famous sequences in movie history, and really identified Hitchcock as a cinematographer and a director. Well, it is only fitting that the most famous murder-thriller movie of all time bethel next released. Psycho (1960) became Hitchcock's biggest commercial hit ever. Produced at just over $ 800, 000, it grossed over $ 20 million.
Psycho is the story of murder and deception, but at the same time, (although slightly ambiguous) it is the story of split personality and not letting go. Suspense (and in some cases fear) is built up throughout the entire movie, making the viewer forget that there are only two actual scenes of violence. Psycho is a film that takes place more in the mind of the viewer than on the screen. Robert Bloch bases the movie on a novel with the same name, which was a fictionalization of a real event in Wisconsin. Marion Crane is the first character that is really introduced. She is upset because her and her boyfriend Sam cannot get married due to financial difficulties.
Marion's boss entrusts her to deposit $ 40, 000 of a clients money. The next time we see Marion she is packing a bag and has the money with her, obviously planning to leave with it. Even though shes a thief, the audience is still sympathetic towards her because of her situation. Marion trades in her car for a new one and leaves Phoenix heading towards California, where her and Sam plan to get married. When Marion pulls over for the night, the first view of now famous Bates motel rises.
A figure of an old woman is visible in the window. As Marion wanders around the motel, she meets Norman, the proprietor, and sees his hobby of stuffing birds. After she is taken to her room, she is sitting on her bed (with the bathroom and shower clearly visible in the background) and she hears an argument between Norman and his mother. Marion then decides to take a bath before bed, and the most famous murder scene in movie history takes place.
The infamous shower sequence, totally takes the viewer by surprise. Marion who appears to be the main characters killed off in the first third of the movie. This scene required over 60 still shots, 70 setups, and over a week of attempts all for a less than minute on screen. True Hitchcock genius, you never actually see the knife strike Marion, but the loud, high-pitched screeching music, and the close-ups of her face and the knife sends chills through the body. An investigator comes out to the motel, and becomes the next victim. Alfred Joseph Hitchcock died in 1980 while working on what would have been his 54 th motion picture.
His unique style and breakthrough ideas will stand for all time, and he will always be remembered as one of the greatest directors of all time. Bibliography: The Life and Work of Alfred Hitchcock by John Russell Taylor, Faber and Faber London Boston Understanding Movies 8 th Ed. Giannetti Louis, New Jersey: Simon & Schuster, 1999 Vertigo, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, Stewart James, Kim Novak. Universal Pictures, 1958 web web Writing for Hitch: Interview with Ed McBain Novelist Evan Hunter discussion on the work The Birds by Charles L. P.
Site, 1978
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