Alfred Hitchcock Biography

Alfred Hitchcock entered the world of film as soon as he finished university. He started as a draftsman for a film studio and quickly worked his way up to scriptwriter, then art director and assistant director, until his debut film as a director in 1925.

It was with the film ‘The Lodger’, in 1927, that Hitchcock had his first hit, and was widely noticed as a director. In 1929, Hitchcock directed ‘Blackmail’, which was groundbreaking in its success as the first widely popular non-silent film.

Hitchcock’s reputation in Britain was consolidated with his hits such as ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’, ‘The 39 Steps’ and ‘The Lady Vanishes’.

These films brought international notice and, in 1939, Hitchcock moved across the Atlantic, which marked a critical point in his career.

Hitchcock’s American debut film, ‘Rebecca’, starred Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine and was a huge success, winning an Oscar for Best Picture.

Success followed success for Hitchcock, with a number of hits, perhaps the most famous being ‘Notorious’, ‘Rear Window’, ‘Vertigo’, ‘North by Northwest’ and, of course, ‘Psycho’.

Hitchcock’s success earned him both followers as well as critics. Some of his critics argued his films lacked substance but his admirers argued that the truth was the opposite and instead Hitchcock was “an all-round specialist”.

Hitchcock’s style was one of meticulous planning, from which it is reported that he never improvised or deviated. He also adhered to his own maxim on the value of suspense over shock.

This appreciation of planning could help explain why he liked to use the same actors regularly. Although he apparently disliked most actors and their behaviour, perhaps his regular use of a select few can be put down to the fact that there were only a few actors Hitchcock actually liked or admired.

His ‘select few’ included Cary Grant, James Stewart, Vera Miles, and Grace Kelly. The ‘actor’ that appeared in almost all of his films was, however, himself, as he nearly always gave himself a cameo in each of his films.

Surprisingly, despite being nominated on several occasions, Hitchcock never won an Oscar for Best Director, although he did pick up Best Picture in 1940 for ‘Rebecca’.

In 1979, Hitchcock was recognised by the British establishment and was knighted by the Queen.

Hitchcock was married in 1926 to Alma Reville, a film editor. They had a daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, who appeared in some of Hitchcock’s most famous films.

On 29 April, 1980, Hitchcock died at the age of 80.