Getting To Know Alfred Hitchcock
My personal picks for the Hitchcock novice.
Alfred Hitchcock ("The Master of Suspense") directed about a film a year for decades, and all of his work has merit. So it's tough to come up with such a small sample.
Alfred Hitchcock ("The Master of Suspense") directed about a film a year for decades, and all of his work has merit. So it's tough to come up with such a small sample.
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- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.The crowning achievement of Hitchcock's peak decade. It's almost the quintessential Hitchcock movie, combining all of the elements that made his previous work successful. Cary Grant stars in a man-on-the-run espionage thriller involving mistaken identities. Bernard Herrmann's score is top-notch.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?Hitchcock at the top of his artform. An exquisitely photographed black & white thriller that makes use of great camerawork and visual flair. After WWII, Ingrid Bergman is enlisted by Cary Grant to help the U.S. government bring down Nazi fugitives.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.A landmark horror film. A slight departure from Hitchcock's previous Technicolor spectacles, this low-budget, black & white movie was shocking for its time and single-handedly invented the "slasher flick". There are some classic twists in this tale about a girl on the run and a roadside motel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.One of the brightest gems from Hitchcock's British period. A mystery set aboard a moving train, involving a great cast of interesting characters.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRod TaylorTippi HedrenJessica TandyA wealthy San Francisco 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.Another classic, crowd-pleasing Hitchcock horror movie. Using optical effects and his penchant for suspense, Hitchcock creates an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a small seaside town under attack from various species of birds. It gets pretty intense.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRay MillandGrace KellyRobert CummingsA former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.The perfect murder goes wrong, leaving the mastermind (Ray Milland) on his toes as he dances around police investigators and his suspicious wife (Grace Kelly). Lots of suspense in this somewhat intellectual film that brings the viewer into the mind of a criminal.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFarley GrangerRobert WalkerRuth RomanA psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.A story tailor-made for Hitchcock's unique style. Two strangers meet on a train and discuss "swapping" murders, each to benefit the other. But one of the men is in earnest, and hounds his "partner" to hold up his end of the bargain. Robert Walker stands out as a charming psychopath.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.A masterpiece of voyeurism. Through the window of wheelchair-bound James Stewart, we "meet" all of the neighbors in his apartment complex. When Stewart suspects foul play through his binoculars, he is powerless as his friends do some investigating. The elaborate apartment set is built on a soundstage.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLaurence OlivierJoan FontaineGeorge SandersA self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.An atmospheric thriller, this gothic tale is the one Hitchcock movie to win a Best Picture Oscar. It's a prestige picture based on a novel, but Hitchcock's style is still evident in certain aspects.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.I'd never hear the end of it if I didn't include "Vertigo". It's an intriguing mystery story involving some twists. James Stewart is a retired detective with a fear of heights and a guilt complex. He tails Kim Novak's character and ultimately becomes obsessed with her. The ending is a cinema classic.