Posts filed under Alfred Hitchcock

The Incredible Shrinking Hitchcock

Think of Hitchcock and invariably you think of his weight. Although biographer John Russell Taylor notes that the director was “painfully self-conscious about his appearance”, Hitchcock knew that his weight was a strong publicity hook — it was something that made him memorable to the public. Whilst Hitchcock’s weight became a serious problem later in life, particularly when he began to suffer from painful arthritic knees in the 1970s, many of his early collaborators were… (read more)

“Short Girls Are Best”

Another little gem from the National Library of Australia’s Trove site, this time from the the Adelaide Mail (23/May/1931): HEROINES IN FILMS Short Girls are Best It is not much use trying to be a screen heroine if you are tall. Mr. Alfred Hitchcock, the brilliant British director, says a screen actress should not be above medium height; indeed, smallness is a definite asset. “A little actress not only photographs better, particularly in close-up scenes,… (read more)

“I am whole-heartedly in favor of color films”

Following on from the previous blog post, here’s another article that appeared in an Australian newspaper. This time, the Adelaide Advertiser (04/Sep/1937). Some Thoughts on Color by Alfred Hitchcock “I am whole-heartedly in favor of color films,” said Alfred Hitchcock, British director, who is now making “The Girl Was Young” (Nova Pilbeam), in Pinewood Studios, England. Truly reproduced, Hitchcock says, color is a step towards greater realism in photography, and as such is desirable: but… (read more)

Mr. Memory and the Autogyro

I love finding useless bits of trivia, so here’s some for The 39 Steps (1935)! Mr. Memory It’s widely known that the character of Mr. Memory (played by actor Wylie Watson) was based on a real-life music-hall performer — William James Maurice Bottle (1875-1956), who performed under the stage-name “Datas: The Memory Man” from 1901 onwards. Hitchcock told François Truffaut about Bottle’s act and why Mr. Memory is unable to stop himself revealing his secrets… (read more)

Hitchcock Annual Volume 18

Volume 18 of the Hitchcock Annual is now available to buy at your nearest book shop! Contents: Champagne (1928): The Nation’s Favorite Meets the Critics’ Choice — Amy Sargeant Hitchcock and Documentary: Re-editing Men of the Lightship — Charles Barr Hitchcock’s Newspaper: A “Thing in the Crowd” — John Bruns Intimate Violence: Marnie and Queer Resilience — David Greven Hitchcock and the Wandering Woman: The Influence of Italian Art Cinema on The Birds — Richard… (read more)

Horticultural Hitchcock

I really love this photograph that appeared in LIFE magazine (11/Jul/1960) :-D Phantom Face in the Foliage For 36 years Movie Director Alfred Hitchcock has dealt in murder, mayhem and malevolence but for all that has retained a cheerful and cherubic look. He has a red and merry face acquired by years of devotion to the civilizing influence of good wines. His eyes twinkle happily as he describes the movie he one day hopes to… (read more)

Polish and Czech Hitchcock posters

There’s something wonderfully surreal and slightly unsettling about many of the Czech and Polish Hitchcock film posters. (The Birds) (Psycho) (Rear Window) (The Birds & Psycho) (Frenzy) (The Birds) (Rebecca) (Vertigo) (Family Plot) (Hitchcock film festival) To my mind, they seem to generate the same uneasy feeling that Tom Adams’ artwork for his series of Agatha Christie book covers do. As a child, these book covers used to give me the heebie-jeebies!

1976 interview with Hitchcock

Tony Macklin, former editor of the “Film Heritage” magazine, has just posted a 1976 audio recording of an interview he had with Hitchcock… The Hitch interview was one of two in which I was a bit intimidated. (The other, of course, was Sam Peckinpah.) A critic friend of mine had interviewed Hitch and said the master had led him to a freezer, and he had thought for an instant that Hitch was going to lock… (read more)