One of these following facts about Alfred Hitchcock should probably provide you much interesting information that you may like. Alfred Hitchcock was an English film director and producer. Often nicknamed “The Master of Suspense”, he pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, renowned as England’s best director, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939and became a US citizen in 1955. Furthermore, to get to know more about him, here are some facts about Alfred Hitchcock you might be interested in.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 1: Greatest Director
Alfred Hitchcock 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).
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 2: Fear of the Police
Hitchcock had a deep rooted fear of the police, which is why he never learned to drive. It is also why the recurring theme of “clueless police and the innocent man” is often seen in his films.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 3: Fan of Dinner Parties
Alfred Hitchcock was a huge fan of elaborate dinners and dinner parties. A theme that is explored in his experimental film, Rope. It is reported that he would fly in lavished dinners from England.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 4: Cameo
Alfred Hitchcock has a cameo in almost every one of his films. Eventually it became a gag and he made it a point to appear in the beginning of his films as to not distract the audience from the story’s plot.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 5: Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock changed the landscape of the movie going experience with Psycho. Prior to the film’s release, movie goers would show up to a screening at any time they pleased. With the release of Psycho, Hitchcock required that no tickets could be sold for a showing once the film began, thus making showing up to a film before it began started to become a trend.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 6: Rope
Even though the character is murdered within the first few minutes of the film Rope, Hitchcock required the actor Dick Hogan to stay in the chest for long chunks of filming. There were a few times where the actor ran out of air and passed out.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 7: Early Life
Reportedly, when Hitchcock was a boy, his father sent him to the police station with a letter. Upon reading the letter the policeman locked Hitchcock in a cell and later released him. The officer then released Hitchcock explaining, “This is what happens when people do bad things.” It is reported that Hitchcock spent the rest of his life being afraid of policemen.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 8: The Thirty-nine Steps
During the shoot of “The Thirty-nine Steps”, Hitchcock amused himself by handcuffing the star, Madeleine Carroll, to her co-star Robert Donat and pretended to lose the key until the end of the day. He did this to see how the couple could deal with the forces of nature.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 9: Film Purchasing
He bought the rights to five of his films including “The Man who Knew Too Much”, “Rear Window”, “Rope”, “The Trouble with Harry” and “Vertigo”, so that they could not be screened in movie theaters after their initial run. These films could not be shown in theaters for 30 years.
Facts about Alfred Hitchcock 10: Films
Many of Hitchcock’s films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime. Many of the mysteries, however, are used as decoys or “MacGuffins” that serve the film’s themes and the psychological examinations of the characters.
Hope you would find those Alfred Hitchcock facts really interesting, useful and helpful for your additional reading.
