History Creator / AlfredHitchcock

Most people consider either ''{{Vertigo}}'' or ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' to be his MagnumOpus, although Hitchcock himself regarded ''ShadowOfADoubt'' as his personal best.

* ActionSurvivor: There is a Hitchcockian pattern of an ordinary man (or woman), through one bad turn, falling into extraordinary circumstances and fighting his way out: ''ShadowOfADoubt, Film/StrangersOnATrain, TheWrongMan, {{Vertigo}}, NorthByNorthwest.''

Will soon be played by AnthonyHopkins in ''Hitchcock'', an upcoming film by [[AnvilTheStoryOfAnvil Sacha Gervasi]], about the making of ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. Based on images, Hopkins [[http://content.foxsearchlight.com/sites/default/files/images/hitchcock-300.jpg certainly looks the part]].

* Vertigo Effect: He basically invented the Tracking Zoom technique.

* TrackingZoom: the "Vertigo" Shot

** He was also known for his appalling treatment of his female leads, even beyond his infamous {{Yandere}} actions toward Tippi Herden.

* CreatorCameo: Entire pages chronicle his appearances. He appears personally in silhouette, speaking, to introduce ''TheWrongMan'', apparently because it was based on a true story.

* Strangulation

* ActionSurvivor: There is a Hitchcockian pattern of an ordinary man (or woman), through one bad turn, falling into extraordinary circumstances and fighting his way out: ShadowOfADoubt, {{Film/StrangersOnATrain}}, TheWrongMan, {{Vertigo}}, NorthByNorthwest.

* CreatorCameo: Entire pages chronicle his appearances.
** He appears personally in silhouette, speaking, to introduce ''TheWrongMan'', apparently because it was based on a true story.
* DeadpanSnarker: The man was known to have an absolutely cutting sense of humor, as well as a contempt for anyone who interfered with his own creative process. Combine the two...
** One of his most famous quotes was "I never said actors are cattle. I said actors should be treated like cattle."

Most people consider either ''Film/{{Vertigo}}'' or ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' to be his MagnumOpus, although Hitchcock himself regarded ''ShadowOfADoubt'' as his personal best.

Most people consider either ''{{Vertigo}}'' or ''{{Psycho}}'' to be his MagnumOpus, although Hitchcock himself regarded ''ShadowOfADoubt'' as his personal best.

Will soon be played by AnthonyHopkins in an upcoming film by [[AnvilTheStoryOfAnvil Sacha Gervasi]] about the making of ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. Based on images, Hopkins [[http://content.foxsearchlight.com/sites/default/files/images/hitchcock-300.jpg certainly looks the part]].

** In the attic scene in ''TheBirds'', Hitchcock had crew guys hurling real gulls and crows at Tippi Hedren...for five straight days of shooting. As a result, she was plagued by dreams of flapping wings.

* ActionSurvivor: There is a Hitchcockian pattern of an ordinary man (or woman), through one bad turn, falling into extraordinary circumstances and fighting his way out: ShadowOfADoubt, StrangersOnATrain, TheWrongMan, {{Vertigo}}, NorthByNorthwest.

** He appears personally in silhouette, speaking, to introduce ''The Wrong Man'', apparently because it was based on a true story.

* DepravedHomosexual: Mrs. Danvers in ''Rebecca'', the Leopold and Loeb stand-ins in ''Rope'', and Martin Landau's character in ''North By Northwest''.

** In the attic scene in ''The Birds'', Hitchcock had crew guys hurling real gulls and crows at Tippi Hedren...for five straight days of shooting. As a result, she was plagued by dreams of flapping wings.
** The story of ''Rebecca'' called for Joan Fontaine to be nervous around the other actors, so Hitchcock told her that no one else on set liked her.

Most people consider either ''Vertigo'' or ''Psycho'' to be his MagnumOpus, although Hitchcock himself regarded ''Shadow of a Doubt'' as his best.

The acknowledged master of cinematic [[{{Horror}} suspense]], "Hitch" is one of the most famous directors of all time. Most people have probably seen one of his films at some time. He was "Sir Alfred" for a brief four months before his death in 1980. He also produced and hosted the television anthology series ''AlfredHitchcockPresents'' from 1955 to 1965, although he only actually directed a handful of the show's episodes. Many of his films are adaptations of novels or short stories.

Made frequent use of the 'MacGuffin' and popularized the term. Will soon be played by AnthonyHopkins in an upcoming film by [[AnvilTheStoryOfAnvil Sacha Gervasi]] about the making of ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. Based on images, Hopkins [[http://content.foxsearchlight.com/sites/default/files/images/hitchcock-300.jpg certainly looks the part]].

Some films directed by Hitchcock include:
* ''TheLodger'' - a silent movie, and the first Hitchcock thriller.
* ''Blackmail'' - the first talkie he directed (and in fact, the first talkie ever made in Great Britain). A young woman kills an attempted rapist in self defense, and a petty thief discovers evidence that suggests it was murder. He tries to blackmail her, but unwittingly winds up implicating himself.
* ''TheManWhoKnewTooMuch'' - A British couple learn about an assassination plot, and the assassins kidnap their daughter to keep them quiet. (Later remade in color by Hitch himself; see below.)
* ''The39Steps'' - source of the quote for AnonymousRinger.
* ''Sabotage'' - An American woman in London suspects her husband is part of a bombing plot. Roiled audiences with its aversion of InfantImmortality.
* ''Film/TheLadyVanishes'' - A young playgirl befriends an old woman on a train who disappears without a trace, and discovers a spy ring conspiracy while searching for her.
* ''Foreign Correspondent'' - A journalist is sent to Europe on the eve of WorldWarII and becomes involved in international espionage.
* ''{{Rebecca}}'' - a naive young woman marries an independently wealthy widower, but is haunted by the legacy of his deceased first wife Rebecca.
* ''Mr. and Mrs. Smith'' - ScrewballComedy about a couple learning their marriage wasn't valid. Not to be confused with the [[MrAndMrsSmith 2005 Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie film]].
* ''Suspicion'' - A woman suspects that her husband is planning to murder her. The first of four Hitchcock films starring CaryGrant.
* ''Saboteur'' - A Nazi starts a fire at a plane factory and an innocent man gets framed.
* ''ShadowOfADoubt'' - A small-town teenager comes to suspect her uncle is a serial killer, but nobody believes her. Hitchcock's favorite of his films.
* ''Lifeboat'' - Survivors of a torpedoed ship during WW2 bicker while confined to a lifeboat. Bombed in the box office for its characterization being considered TooSoon.
* ''{{Spellbound}}'' - A mental hospital gets a new director, but it turns out he has secrets of his own. Has dream sequences designed by SalvadorDali.
* ''{{Notorious}}'' - A convicted Nazi's American daughter is recruited by government agents to spy on his old friends who are hiding in Argentina. With IngridBergman and Cary Grant.
* ''The Paradine Case'' - An English barrister falls in love with the defendant in a murder trial.
* ''{{Rope}}'' - Two young men murder a friend as an intellectual exercise, then put his body in a trunk. Then proceed to host a dinner party off of it. The first of four Hitchcock films to feature [[JimmyStewart James Stewart]].
* ''UnderCapricorn'' - A CostumeDrama with tragic undertones. Set in 1831-1832 Australia.
* ''Film/StageFright'' - Charlotte Inwood, a well-known actress and singer, looses her husband to a murder. Suspicion falls on her supposed lover Jonathan Cooper. Eve Gill, an acting student, sets out to prove his innocence and find out whether Charlotte herself performed the murder. But everything is not what it seems.
* ''Film/StrangersOnATrain'' ...strike up a conversation about the people in their lives they want dead. One suggests they trade murders so [[StrangersOnATrainPlotMurder they won't get caught]]. The other one laughs it off. The first guy was [[MyGodYouAreSerious serious]].
* ''IConfess'' - A priest hears a confession of murder from one of his church workers- then is accused of the crime himself.
* ''DialMForMurder'' - A man hires a hitman to bump off his cheating wife (GraceKelly, in her first of three Hitchcock films). However, the hitman ends up being killed by the wife in self-defence, so the man decides to kill her through the judicial system and frames her for murder... Based on a play, it's one of Hitch's best known and an example of a movie BottleEpisode.
* ''RearWindow'' - James Stewart plays a photographer with a broken leg and nothing better to do but spy on his neighbors... and do some {{amateur sleuth}}ing (with the help of Grace Kelly) when he suspects one of them of murder.
* ''ToCatchAThief'' - A reformed GentlemanThief has to clear his name when he's framed for a new spate of burglaries. Stars the [[SceneryPorn French Riviera]], with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in supporting roles.
* ''TheTroubleWithHarry'' - After ''Mr. and Mrs. Smith'', Hitchcock's only real attempt at pure comedy. A man dies in a Vermont forest. We discover just how many times you can bury and dig up the same corpse.
** He's in a deep, deep, ''wonderful'' sleep.
* ''TheManWhoKnewTooMuch'' - remake of original in which Doris Day and James Stewart get their son kidnapped and "Que Sera, Sera" (the song was written for this film) plays a big part.
* ''TheWrongMan'' - Henry Fonda gets falsely accused of robbery. Based on a true story.
* ''{{Vertigo}}'' - a San Francisco policeman (James Stewart) who is afraid of heights is asked by an old college buddy to watch the man's wife, who is just [[NotHimself not herself]] lately... and finds himself falling, in ways other than the one he fears.
* ''NorthByNorthwest'' - Involving a man [[spoiler: who doesn't exist]], a crop duster and a murder in the UN. And, once again, Cary Grant.
* ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' - Janet Leigh tries to steal some money and winds up having a fatal encounter in a shower.
** While this plot twist has achieved ItWasHisSled status by now, it was a massive shock at the time -- films simply did not [[spoiler: off their lead a third of the way in. (Usually they still don't, but now we have {{spoiler}}s on the Internet if they ever do.)]]
* ''TheBirds'' - Impossible to describe without it sounding like a B {{horror}} film, especially since its premise is one of the classic [[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever B horror plots]], but it's okay, because [[ItWasHisSled everyone already knows what it is about]].
* ''{{Marnie}}'' - A psychological thriller starring SeanConnery married to the titular kleptomaniac.
* ''TornCurtain'' - Michael Armstrong, an esteemed American rocket scientist, defects to EastGermany. Sarah Sherman , his assistant and fiancée, reluctantly follows him. Armstrong is actually a Fake Defector but the Stasi is determined to keep him within the East German borders.
* ''{{Topaz}}'' - In Copenhagen, a high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer defects to the West with his wife and daughter. He informs the {{CIA}} that the Soviets are positioning missiles in Cuba. André Devereaux, a French agent, is assigned to further investigate the matter. His mission leads him first to New York City, then to Cuba. While events lead up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, Devereaux' personal life takes several turns for the worse.
* ''{{Frenzy}}'' - one of the most graphic of Hitch's films, this involves a man being framed for a bunch of sex murders.
* ''FamilyPlot'' - A dark comedy featuring William Devane (Secretary Heller from ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'').

Now comes with [[FilmsByAlfredHitchcock a list of all of his films]].

It should be noted that Hitchcock did '''''not''''' direct ''Film/TheThirdMan'', as is widely believed. He didn't do ''Film/{{Charade}}'', either, although the latter was referred to by one reviewer as "The best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made".

Most people consider either ''{{Vertigo}}'' or ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' to be his MagnumOpus, although Hitchcock himself regarded ''ShadowOfADoubt'' as his best.

Most people consider either ''{{Vertigo}}'' or ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' to be his MagnumOpus, although Hitchcock himself considered ShadowOfADoubt to be his best.

It should be noted that Hitchcock did '''''not''''' direct ''TheThirdMan'', as is widely believed. He didn't do ''Film/{{Charade}}'', either, although the latter was referred to by one reviewer as "The best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made".

* ''ShadowOfADoubt'' - A small-town teenager comes to suspect her uncle is a serial killer, but nobody believes her.

Known for: