#ALFRED HOTCHCOCK MOVIE#

He is nicknamed 'The Master of Suspense' and is often regarded as one of the greatest directors of all time by movie critics, very commonly listed as the greatest director ever. In addition, Hitchcock was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II to Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE in 1980. Among his later works, notable for their suspense and their technical ingenuity, are the thrillers Strangers on a Train, Psycho, and The Birds.įor his work, Hitchcock has received two Golden Globes, eight Laurel Awards, the first BAFTA award and five lifetime achievement awards. He was an English film director and producer, acclaimed in Britain for movies such as The Thirty-Nine Steps. Moving to Hollywood in 1939, Hitchcock went on to host an anthology television show called Alfred Hitchcock Presents which features his now-famous silhouette entrance. The film’s newspaper ads pleaded with the audience to play along, saying, “Please do not give away the ending.Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August 13th, 1899, in Essex, United Kingdom. He later forced his cast and crew to take an oath swearing they wouldn’t divulge the plot, and intentionally held the film out of press screenings to prevent critics from spoiling it. He bought the rights to Robert Bloch’s novel through intermediaries, and may have even instructed his secretary to buy up as many copies of the book as she could to help keep its content under wraps. Hitchcock shrouded the production of 1960’s “Psycho” in mystery in the hope of keeping the film’s twists a surprise.

He went to great lengths to keep the twist ending of “Psycho” a secret. The gambit worked: when the censors didn’t show, the director was able to leave the scene unchanged.Ĩ. When the censors later asked him to reshoot the sexually suggestive opening of “Psycho,” Hitchcock claimed he didn’t understand their requests and needed them to personally join him on set and give instructions. He also convinced the officials that a shot of a toilet-long forbidden under the restrictions of the Hays Code-was crucial to the film’s plot. While making “Psycho,” he intentionally sent the Hays Office scenes with graphic violence and nudity to distract them from axing the more subtle shots he wanted to keep. Hitchcock spent most of his career bristling at the restrictions of the Hays Code, the industry guidelines that regulated the content of Hollywood films, and he often devised clever techniques to circumvent the rules. Among other contributions, she was responsible for persuading Hitchcock to consider using composer Bernard Herrmann’s now-famous string score for the shower murder scene in the film “Psycho.”ħ. Reville moved further behind the scenes as Hitchcock’s career progressed, but she continued to consult on key script, casting and editing decisions well into the 1960s. As a young director, he was even known to look over to Reville after each take and ask, “Was it all right?” before moving on to the next shot. Reville later served as a writer, script supervisor, editor and assistant director on dozens of Hitchcock’s early films, and he came to value her opinion above all others. The two married in 1926 after working together at the London brach of a production company called Famous Players-Lasky.

Hitchcock worked with many of the top talents in Hollywood, but his most trusted advisor was almost certainly his wife, Alma Reville. Hitchcock and Alma Reville (Credit: RDA/Getty Images)Ģ.

Alfred hotchcock