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Hitchcock Chronology: 1954

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Overview

Image Gallery

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Month by Month

January

February

  • 7th - The Los Angeles Times reports that the Hitchcocks have left to spend time at the ranch at Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz.[7]
  • The Production Code Administration office rejects the initial cut of Rear Window, in particular raising objections to scenes where Miss Torso appears to be topless. According to John Michael Hayes, Hitchcock had done this on purpose to divert their attention from other parts of the film that he had suspected they might object to. The scene is easily replaced with an alternative non-topless take.[8]
  • 23rd - John Michael Hayes and Hitchcock complete a 9 page story outline of To Catch a Thief.[9]
  • 26th - Several retakes are filmed for Rear Window.[10]

March

  • 16th - Hitchcock sends a memo to Paramount's Hugh Brown asking his department to research if there will be any street carnivals taking place in Nice after May 15th that they could incorporate into the filming of the flower market scene in To Catch a Thief.[11]
  • 23rd - John Michael Hayes completes his first draft of To Catch a Thief. Hayes is then required to work with a translator to translate the draft screenplay into French in order to obtain the necessary filming permits and work permits for the American cast and crew.[12]
  • 28th - The Aberdeen Film Appreciation Group holds a "Hitchcock Night" at the News Cinema in Aberdeen, Scotland, where they screen The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and Rebecca.[13]
  • 30th - The Production Code Administration office issues a certificate of approval for Rear Window.[14]
  • By the end of March, key crew contracts are finalised for To Catch a Thief and work begins on scheduling and budgeting the film.[15]

April

  • With the budget for To Catch a Thief escalating towards $3,000,000, Hitchcock begins cutting unnecessary scenes from the script, including a planned police chase through a street carnival.[16][17]

May

June

July

August

  • 3rd - John Michael Hayes' latest version of the The Trouble With Harry script is submitted to the Production Code Administration office. Joe Breen of the PCA responds two days later with concerns about the line "Do you realize you'll be the first man to cross her threshold?", implications that Arnie is illegitimate, and discussions about Jennifer's wedding night.[40]
  • 4th - Rear Window is premiered in New York City at the Rivoli Theater.[41]
  • The To Catch a Thief masquerade ball scene is filmed during the second week of August. During filming the dangerous rooftop scenes, actress Brigitte Auber is concerned she might accidentally fall and kill herself — when she then spies four Catholic priests who were visiting the set, she jokes, "Mon Dieu! You Americans think of everything!"[42][43]
  • 12th - Rear Window receives its Los Angeles premiere at the Paramount Hollywood Theater.[44]
  • 13th - Filming on To Catch a Thief is temporarily halted to celebrate Hitchcock's birthday. Costume designer Oleg Cassini later recalled that Hitchcock's secretary announced, "Could I have your attention for a moment please? Would you all come into the other room, please, and have a piece of Mr. Hitchcake's cock!"[45]
  • 16th - Rear Window receives it's Los Angeles premiere.[46]
  • Paramount Pictures approves a $1,000,000 budget for The Trouble with Harry.[47]
  • Hitchcock dispatches Herbert Coleman to New York to look for a suitable lead actress for The Trouble with Harry, where he watches Shirley MacLaine standing in for Carol Haney in musical The Pajama Game. The following day, Coleman arranges a screen test for MacLaine.[48]
  • 30th - After considering several options for To Catch a Thief's final scene with Hitchcock, John Michael Hayes submits the ending used in the film and it becomes one of the final scenes to be filmed.[49]

September

October

  • The October edition of Cahiers du Cinéma is devoted entirely to Hitchcock.[60]
  • The law suit originally filed by Irving Fiske in 1947, which claimed Hitchcock and Cary Grant had plagiarised Fiske's concept of a modern-language version of Hamlet, is heard at New York Federal Court with Judge William Bondy presiding. Fiske sought $750,000 in damages. After 11 days of detailed testimony, including key statements by Maurice Evans, Judge Bondy halted the trial and directed the jury to find the case "not proven". Hitchcock, who was busy filming The Trouble with Harry, did not attend the trial. Fiske was later ordered to pay $5,000 towards the director's legal costs.
  • Unseasonal heavy rainstorms cause delays to the shooting of exterior scenes in East Craftsbury, forcing the filming of The Trouble with Harry to use a indoor set in a local school gymnasium.[61]
  • 13th - Whilst shooting in the indoor school gymnasium set, a 850lb crane-mounted VistaVision camera crashes to the floor grazing Hitchcock's shoulder and pinning crew member Michael Seminerio to the ground. Fortunately neither the director or Seminerio are seriously injured.[62]
  • 13th - John Michael Hayes completes his final script revisions for The Trouble with Harry.[63]
  • 14th - Due to the unpredictable weather, Hitchcock decides to end location shooting and film the remaining scenes back on the Paramount sound stages, leaving behind Herbert Coleman and the second unit to capture the remaining exterior landscape shots, using stand-in doubles for the actors. The News & Citizen, the local newspaper for Morrisville, Vermont, reported that "Hollywood's experiment with making an entire motion picture in Vermont ended Thursday as director-producer Alfred Hitchcock and his cast leave for their home studios after bucking Vermont's unpredictable weather for more than a month."[64]
  • 18th - Production on The Trouble with Harry resumes back at the Paramount sound stages. At short notice, Paramount art director John B. Goodman had constructed a set with artificial foam rubber trees and replicated the hillock on which Harry's body is found. The trees are dressed with leaves the crew have brought back from Vermont.[65][66]
  • 27th - Principal photography is completed on The Trouble with Harry.[67]

November

December

  • 1st-2nd - The opening title sequence for To Catch a Thief is reshot. Footage of an open jewel case in a moonlit hotel room, with black-gloved hands reaching into frame to steal them, is dropped and new footage of a New York travel agent's window ("If you love life, you'll love France") is filmed.[70]
  • With the filming of The Trouble with Harry complete, Alma and Alfred Hitchcock travel to St. Moritz for their annual Christmas holiday.[71] On route to Switzerland, they stop off for a week in London where they take in several West End plays. Asked by the press if he intends to ski, he replied "I hope not. No, definitely no. I'll watch some skiing but I just like sitting in my room at the hotel and looking at the snow."[72]

See Also...

Notes & References

  1. "Hitchcock and France: The Forging of an Auteur" - by James M. Vest (2003), pages 53-54
  2. French New Wave
  3. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 45-46
  4. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 46
  5. American Cinematographer (1990) - Hitchcock's Techniques Tell Rear Window Story
  6. "Fred Zinnemann wins Directors' Guild Award" in Los Angeles Times (25/Jan/1954)
  7. "Los Angeles Times" in Los Angeles Times (07/Feb/1954)
  8. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 46
  9. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 92
  10. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 46
  11. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 97-98
  12. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 96 & 101-2
  13. Aberdeen Evening Express (29/Mar/1954).
  14. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 47
  15. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 102
  16. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 102
  17. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 493
  18. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 104
  19. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 351
  20. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 128-29
  21. See passenger list.
  22. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 351
  23. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 105
  24. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 109
  25. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 111
  26. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 111
  27. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 111
  28. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 351
  29. "Hitchcock and France: The Forging of an Auteur" - by James M. Vest (2003), page 58
  30. "Hitchcock and France: The Forging of an Auteur" - by James M. Vest (2003), page 59
  31. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 114-15
  32. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 499
  33. Hitchcock Annual (2010) - Reflections on the Making of To Catch a Thief
  34. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 116
  35. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 499
  36. Radio: The Birds (Escape, 10/Jul/1954)
  37. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 130
  38. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 116
  39. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 134-35
  40. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 135
  41. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 51
  42. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 352
  43. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, 117-18
  44. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 118
  45. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 118
  46. American Cinematographer (1990) - Hitchcock's Techniques Tell Rear Window Story
  47. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 354
  48. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 354
  49. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 119-21
  50. American Cinematographer (1990) - Hitchcock's Techniques Tell Rear Window Story
  51. Hitchcock at Work (2000) by Bill Krohn, page 150
  52. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 505-6
  53. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 121 & 138
  54. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 138
  55. What's My Line (12/Sep/1954)
  56. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 138-39
  57. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 354
  58. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 141
  59. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 141
  60. "Hitchcock and France: The Forging of an Auteur" - by James M. Vest (2003), pages 84-87
  61. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 355
  62. "Camera Drops, Hits Hitchcock" in Los Angeles Times (14/Oct/1954). However, Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 143, says the accident happened on the 12th.
  63. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, pages 141-42
  64. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 143
  65. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 144
  66. The Trouble with Harry Isn't Over (2001)
  67. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 144
  68. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 355
  69. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 121
  70. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 121-22
  71. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 356
  72. Yorkshire Post and Leeds Mercury (14/Dec/1954)

Hitchcock Chronology
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
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1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
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