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Hitchcock Chronology: Month of February

Entries in the Hitchcock Chronology for the month of February...

1910

1920

1922

  • 12th - Film canisters suddenly catch fire in the basement of Famous Lasky Film Services in Wardour Street, London. Employee Daisy Sharp is blown backwards through a doorway by the force of the explosion but is able to raise the alarm and evacuate the building. As firemen arrive, a second explosion is heard. By the time the fire is brought under control, four firemen have been severely burned.[3]

1924

  • 18th - The Times reviews The White Shadow and says that "In spite of the weakness of its story, however, the film is worth seeing for the excellent acting of Miss Compson and of Mr. Clive Brook, and for the cleverness of the production."[4]

1926

  • 24th - The Daily Mail reports that "an army of painters of carpenters" are busy working at Gainsborough Studios in preparation for filming to begin on The Lodger and that Hitchcock "is out daily with his camera man in search of coffee-stalls, bits of the Embankment, and street corners for the exterior scenes of this new London murder mystery".[5]
  • 25th - Hitchcock films the opening scenes for The Lodger on the Thames Embankment.[6]

1927

1928

1929

1930

  • 8th - Elstree Calling is screened publicly for the first time at the Alhambra cinema in London. Newspapers report it as setting a new record for the shortest "production to public screening" time of under two months.[14][15]

1931

1932

  • 2nd - The Hitchcocks, along with their 3-year-old daughter Patricia, depart from Southampton aboard the Atlantis on a round trip. The liner is bound for Africa, South America and Mexico.[18]

1933

1934

1935

  • 14th - Michael Balcon departs from Southampton aboard the Olympic, bound for New York and Hollywood. Whilst in America, he plans to promote Gaumont-British and to sign deals to distribute the company's films. He also meets with Will H. Hays and Joseph L. Breen of the Production Code Administration and later states, "If we in England want distribution in this market [America], it is entirely logical that we should be prepared to observe the code principles."[22]

1940

1941

1942

  • Cornell Woolrich's short story "It Had to Be Murder" is published in the February edition of Dime Detective.[29][30]
  • 9th - The French ocean liner SS Normandie catches fire in New York Harbor. Ever the opportunist, Hitchcock dispatches a Universal newsreel unit to capture footage of the beached liner for use in Saboteur. Incensed that the film implies that the Normandie fire was sabotage, the US Navy forces the scene to be cut.[31][32][33]

1943

  • MacKinlay Kantor, who would go on to win a Pulitzer Prize, is brought in to work on the opening sequence of Lifeboat with Alma in mid-February, but is dismissed by Hitchcock two weeks later. Hitchcock later recalled "I didn't care for what he had written at all".[34]

1944

1946

1947

  • Several U.S. local newspapers carry a report that Hitchcock's new puppy bit his ear and the director was left with an infection.[40]

1948

  • Principal photography on Rope is completed by the third week in February. The production phase required 9 days of reshoots.[41]
  • 21st - The Hitchcocks spend the weekend at their Scotts Valley, celebrating the end of filming on Rope. Among their guests are Hume Cronyn and Whitfield Cook.[42]

1949

  • English serial killer John George Haigh, known as the "Acid Bath Murderer", is arrested. He was found guilty in July and then executed in August. Hitchcock follows the arrest and trial with fascination and will later try to incorporate aspects of Haigh case into the Kaleidoscope project.[43]

1952

1953

  • Angus MacPhail writes to Hitchcock from Nice, France, asking for help paying his hotel bills. Hitchcock immediately wires him some money. The director then becomes one of a group of MacPhail's friends who help clear the writer's debts so that he can return to England.[47]
  • I Confess opens to lukewarm reviews.[48]

1954

  • 7th - The Los Angeles Times reports that the Hitchcocks have left to spend time at the ranch at Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz.[49]
  • 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.[50]
  • 23rd - John Michael Hayes and Hitchcock complete a 9 page story outline of To Catch a Thief.[51]
  • 26th - Several retakes are filmed for Rear Window.[52]

1955

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

  • 1st - With all the effects shots completed and printed to his satisfaction, cinematographer Robert Burks' work on The Birds is completed.[64]
  • In a meeting with Universal's marketing executives, Hitchcock reveals his marketing slogan for The Birds — "Gentlemen, here is how we'll announce the movie. Are you ready? ... The Birds is coming!"[65]
  • 12th-14th - In preparation for the Museum of Modern Art's retrospective season of Hitchcock films, Peter Bogdanovich spends 3 days interviewing the director.[66]

1966

1967

1969

1970

1971

  • By late February, Anthony Shaffer and Hitchcock have produced a 55 page treatment for Frenzy, which drops several parts of Arthur La Bern's novel to help streamline the plot.[68]
  • 27th - Pleased with the progress so far, Hitchcock allows Anthony Shaffer to return to New York in order to complete the first-draft screenplay with dialogue for Frenzy.[69]

1972

  • Post-production on Frenzy is completed by the end of February.[70]

1975

1977

1978

1987

1997

2002

2005

2007

2015

References

  1. "History of British Film (Volume 4): The History of the British Film 1918 - 1929" by Rachael Low
  2. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 35-36
  3. The fire was reported in several newspapers, including the Dundee Evening Telegraph (13/Feb/1922).
  4. The Times (18/Feb/1924) - The Film World
  5. Daily Mail (24/Feb/1926) - New British Films
  6. Daily Mail (26/Feb/1926) - Thames "Murder" Film
  7. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 96
  8. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) - UK screenings
  9. Alfred Hitchcock's London: A Reference Guide to Locations (2009) by Gary Giblin, page 93-94
  10. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 103
  11. Source: Daily Mail (11/Feb/1929)
  12. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 117
  13. Source: Daily Mail (06/Apr/1929).
  14. Dundee Evening Telegraph (07/Feb/1930) - British Talkie Revue Made in Record Time
  15. Derby Daily Telegraph (07/Feb/1930) - Film Production Record
  16. The Times (04/May/1931) - New films in London: The Skin Game
  17. The Times (09/Feb/1931) - The Film Society: Russian and British pictures
  18. See passenger list.
  19. The Times (01/Feb/1933) - British Film Production: Bulldog Drummond
  20. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 152
  21. The Times (15/Feb/1934) - New film studios at Hammersmith
  22. Quoted from Motion Picture Daily (20/Apr/1935).
  23. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 255-6
  24. Wikpedia: Neutrality Acts of 1930s
  25. Project Genome: BBC Radio Times Archive.
  26. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 285
  27. Variety (1941) - Pictures: Studes Get Their Film Knowledge From Experts
  28. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 281-82
  29. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 11
  30. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 480
  31. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 303
  32. Wikipedia: SS Normandie
  33. The cut SS Normandie scene was restored for the film's 1948 post-war re-release.
  34. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 330
  35. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 348
  36. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 272
  37. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 287
  38. Radio listings in the New York Times (17/Feb/1946).
  39. See, for example, Fresno Bee Republican (24/Feb/1946).
  40. See, for example, "Hitchcock's Head Swells When Puppy Nip Ear" in the Salt Lake Tribune (01/Feb/1947).
  41. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 414
  42. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 415
  43. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 433
  44. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 334
  45. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 334
  46. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 334
  47. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 508
  48. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, pages 341-2
  49. "Los Angeles Times" in Los Angeles Times (07/Feb/1954)
  50. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 46
  51. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 92
  52. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 46
  53. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, pages 509-10
  54. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 122
  55. Writing with Hitchcock (2001) by Steven DeRosa, page 122
  56. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 510
  57. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 377
  58. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 545
  59. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page385
  60. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 403
  61. The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock (1983) by Donald Spoto, page 444
  62. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 50
  63. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 109
  64. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 179
  65. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, pages 184-85
  66. The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2013) by Tony Lee Moral, page 188
  67. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 673
  68. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, pages 22-23
  69. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, page 26
  70. Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012) by Raymond Foery, page 109
  71. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 723
  72. Boxoffice (1977) - Hitchcock Will Direct 'Short Night' for Univ
  73. Variety (1977) - Pictures: Hitchcock's Next Film
  74. Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light (2003) by Patrick McGilligan, page 733
Hitchcock Chronology
1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
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