The list of Hitchcock projects that failed to move into production (or even pre-production) is long and relatively well documented. However, I believe this is one which has been missed by Hitchcock scholars — a project to film John Buchan’s Huntingtower. It’s well known that Hitchcock was a fan of Buchan’s novels and he would eventually adapt The Thirty-Nine Steps in 1935. It is also well-known that he considered adapting two other Richard Hanney novels… (read more)
Here’s little throwaway piece that appeared in the Aberdeen Evening Express on October 29th, 1952: What’s a Hitchcocktail? Ask Alfred Hitchcock, famous director of a score of thrillers. It’s a beverage made of vodka, brandy and orange juice. “Hitch” calls it “a suspense-drink,” explaining that you can’t tell what’s going to happen until you drink it…
If I had to give one bit of advice to a Hitchcock newbie, it’d be don’t believe anything you read about Hitchcock… especially anything he said in an interview! ;-) Hitchcock was a man who closely guarded his privacy and was uncomfortable in situations that he couldn’t control, especially with interviewers. For Hitch, this was often a catch-22… he needed publicity for his work, but dreaded intrusive or awkward questions. By the 1950s, he tended… (read more)
In 1928, Hitchcock’s star was rising and he’d signed a new contract with British International Pictures which reportedly made him the highest paid director in England. According to some sources, Hitchcock discovered the picturesque village of Shamley Green during location filming for The Farmer’s Wife (1928). Whether that’s true or not, he decided to buy Winter’s Grace, a period property on Stroud Lane. In 2008, The Telegraph newspaper published a fascinating article which included several… (read more)
I’ve put the Hitchcock Family Tree blog posts on hold until I finish the research, but I’ll carry on with some of the trivia that I’ve unearthed… Firstly, I’ve often wondered why Hitchcock and writer Anthony Shaffer decided to change the lead character’s name in Frenzy (1972) from “Richard Blamey” (as used in the source novel) to “Richard Blaney”. Although Hitchcock books usually note the change in character name, I’m not aware that any have… (read more)
Many thanks to Donna for leaving this comment on the wiki: There are still lots of Hitchcock titles eligible for the National Film Registry, so submit your nominations today. Since the Registry was established to ensure the preservation of our American film heritage, it’s best to stick with the director’s US productions. For more information on the nomination process, go to http://www.loc.gov/film/vote.html Donna Ross Library of Congress National Film Registry For more info about the… (read more)
Time for a commercial break and a quick word from Hitchcock’s sponsors! Here’s a fun advert, taken from the Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper (01/May/1929)… Alfred Hitchcock, director for British International Pictures Ltd., says — “Smooth skin — the Open Sesame to screen loveliness” “The girl who goes into pictures — and makes good — looks after her skin. For it is useless to rely on make-up. The skin underneath must be smooth, flowerlike, beautiful, to… (read more)
As I’ve said before, I love finding fun bits of Hitchcock trivia and here’s a bit of trivia from To Catch a Thief (1955)! This photograph shows Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock outside the Hotel Carlton in Cannes talking to an unnamed man in uniform. With a little bit of online detective work, I’ve found out that he’s named Andy Schummer and came from Sherman Oaks in California. Schummer was interested in becoming an actor… (read more)
I recently stumbled across this photo article in the May 1974 edition of The Independent Film Journal… Highlighting the annual International Film Importors and Distributors of America annual awards ceremony was the presentation by Alfred Hitchcock of the Joseph Burstyn Award for Best Foreign Film and the Best Director Award to Francois Truffaut for Day For Night. If anyone knows the actual date the awards ceremony took place, please let me know!
Here’s one for all you Hitchcock completests! Currently available on the Amazon France site for €23.20 on a combined DVD and Blu-ray release is a 70 minute film of Alain Riou and Stéphane Boulan’s stage play “Hitch”. According to my PC, both discs are region free but the transfers are 25 frame/sec PAL, so you’ll need to check that your TV and player can handle that if you live in a country that uses the… (read more)
