This ugly crone is a famous actress who delights in playing an occasional prank. On Halloween she went to her Hollywood studio, equipped herself with a wrinkled face, a wart on her nose and a broom, and swirled away. A few minutes later she burst into the home of Directory Victor Fleming, circled him on her broom and left, trailing a shrill, cackling laugh. A little later, she terrified Director Alfred Hitchcock (himself a master… (read more)
A couple of pieces of Hitchcock news via Alain Kerzoncuf! On Thursday September 27th, The Space will be streaming Hitchcock’s 1928 silent classic “Champagne” with a new score by Mira Calix, live from the BFI on London’s Southbank. Betty Balfour Secondly, Dread Central has a cool video showing scenes that were trimmed from the US release of “Psycho” (and have never appeared on any of the DVD releases). Janet Leigh on the job!
Just when I thought I’d seen every Hitchcock publicity photo ever, I stumbled across this one. Taken to promote “The Birds“, it shows Hitchcock and Suzanne Pleshette… The rear caption reads: “School days are re-enacted by director Alfred Hitchcock with Suzanne Pleshette playing her screen role of a pretty school-teacher.”
Not too sure how much truth there is in this story, as the Daily Mail seems to be the only source, but… Playboy boss Hugh Hefner, 82, has donated $120 million towards a new School of Cinematic Art, to be built in Hollywood in memory of Alfred Hitchcock. Why? Hef declares that he wished to honour Hitchcock as “he managed to work with the three women I most wanted to pose nude for me, and… (read more)
Quite a few people have already blogged about this, but toy manufacturer Mattel are releasing a Barbie doll of Tippi Hedren‘s character from “The Birds” in time for Halloween… More details are available on the Entertainment Earth web site. Of course, this isn’t the first time that Hedren has been turned into a doll. Hitchcock had makeup artist Robert Dawn create a lifelike doll of the actress, which was presented to her young daughter (Melanie… (read more)
“Naturally, the knife never touched the body; it was all done in the montage.”(Hitchcock talking to Truffaut about the shower scene in Psycho) However, when analysed frame by frame, one of the short segments does appear to show a knife piercing Marion’s flesh. It’s only 8 frames in length (or 1/3 of a second) and the final frame is this: At first glance, the knife does appear to have cut into the belly. However, I… (read more)
News is starting to spread that actress Suzanne Pleshette, who played the role of Annie Hayworth in “The Birds“, died yesterday (19/Jan/2008). US actress Suzanne Pleshette dies (BBC News) Actress Suzanne Pleshette Dies (Time) Suzanne Pleshette, Co-Star of TV’s `Newhart Show,’ Dies at 70 (Bloomberg) Suzanne Pleshette dies at 70 (CNN) Suzanne Pleshette in “The Birds”…
It’s that time of the year when we look back at the Hitchcock collaborators who passed away. In 2007, the following people died… Roscoe Lee Browne (Topaz) Lonny Chapman (The Birds) Laraine Day (Foreign Correspondent) Ray Evans (The Man Who Knew Too Much) Hansjörg Felmy (Torn Curtain) George Grizzard (Alfred Hitchcock Presents) Peter Handford (Under Capricorn & Frenzy) Teddy Infuhr (Spellbound) George Tabori (I Confess) William Tuttle (North by Northwest) Peter Viertel (Saboteur) Jane Wyman… (read more)
News is starting to spread that actress Laraine Day, who starred in “Foreign Correspondent“, died on Saturday (10/Nov/2007). Curiously, the news reports are split on Day’s year of birth — some list it as 1917 and others as 1920. IMDB, which is often used as a source by journalists, says 1917.
The results from the first mini poll are in… …and the winner was Hitchcock’s own favourite blonde, Grace Kelly… Don’t forget to vote in the current poll (“Hitchcock baddies”)!
