Alfred Hitchcock Biography

His 1943 film, Shadow of a Doubt (1943) remains one of Hitchcock's favourites. He says it's one of the only films where the characters are allowed to develop and because of this is more successful and plausible than his other thrillers. That same year he went to work with Tallulah Bankhead on his last war-oriented drama, Lifeboat (1944). Always the craftsman and technician, Hitchcock was excited by the challenge of shooting a film within the confines of a single set. Throughout his career he would continually strive to create situations in which he would manipulate his medium in a new way to maintain interest and plausibility. A patriot, Alfred Hitchcock was released from his Selznick contract so that he could return to England to direct two documentary shorts (Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache, both 1944)for the Ministry of Information. The cast for these film consisted of French actors who worked as the Moliere Players. Made in French, the films were shown throughout France after the Liberation, but no prints were released in English-speaking countries.

It was 1945 and he decided the next three pictures would be for Selznick so that he could complete his contract. Spellbound (1945), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, was the first; Notorious (1946), in 1946, with Bergman and Grant, was second; and 1947's The Paradine Case (1947), with Peck, was the third. Originally he was supposed to do five films in his seven-year contract, but this was reduced to four. The Paradine Case was the poorest of the package and Selznick lost money on it. Spellbound and Notorious well made up for the loss, however bringing millions of dollars into the Selznick coffers. But now Hitchcock was free-free to do what he pleased. His choice was a partnership with producer Sidney Bernstein in a company they call Transatlantic Pictures. The idea was to produce films in Hollywood and London. As it worked out the company made only two films, one in Hollywood and the other in England. The first was made at Warner Bros. in Burbank. it was Hitchock's first colour film, Rope (1948), the story about two youths who kill another, just for the thrill of it. Since the ten-minute takes were not completely successful, Hitchcock tried slightly shorter ones - seven minutes in his next effort, a costume drama filmed in TechniColour called Under Capricorn (1949), it too was a slow, plodding film, due not so much to the long takes as to a verbose scenario. It was filmed in England, where Hitchcock remained to make Stage Fright (1950), with Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman, which was a dull affair with little suspense. It seemed that England no longer held the magic it once did for Hitchcock, for Stage Fright was his fourth straight loser. He was to regain his mastery of suspense with his next superb 1951 production, Strangers on a Train (1951), like Stage Fright it was made under contract to Warners, but unlike the latter, it was critically and financially his most successful film in five years. Like Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train employed real locations.

Hitchcock's strict Jesuit upbringing is reflected somewhat in his next Warners film, I Confess (1953). Montgomery Clift appears in this film as a priest who cannot exonerate himself of a murder charge because the actual murderer has revealed himself to Clift in the sanctity of the confessional. The problems of Church and State play a major part in this detailed film. and on the whole, proved more frustrating than suspenseful to the audience. Frederick Knott's well-oiled stage play, Dial M for Murder (1954), was next on the Hitchcock agenda at Warners and was filmed in the technical marvel of the day, 3-D. Hitchcock had lots of experience with filming stage plays, and his philosophy was, "why open up any drama originally intended for a confined space?" The result is a talky film, but suspenseful nonetheless. After Dial M for Murder, Hitchcock returned to Paramount, this time he was producer and could be the obligatory "tampering executive!' For the first Paramount film he created what some critics consider to he his best work, Rear Window (1954). Once again he met the challenge of a confined set, a one-room flat overlooking the rear court of an apartment complex. Besides James Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Thelma Ritter, the real star in this thriller is the camera, which becomes the eyes of the audience. Hitchcock was always the voyeur in his films, and for Rear Window he created a voyeur's paradise, complete with binoculars and telephoto lens. But if any film shows us how Hitchcock manipulates his characters and his audiences for the particular effect he wants, this one does. Grace Kelly returned to Hitchcock the following year, 1955, in the enchanting To Catch a Thief (1955), a light-hearted chase across the azure coast of the Riviera, as good a place as any for location photography. Hitch's 1955 film, The Trouble with Harry (1955), a black comedy about a dead man whom everybody seemed to feel responsible for slaying. Filmed in Vermont, The Trouble with Harry was one of Hitchcock's pet projects but unfortunately didn't prove successful with audiences. Perhaps its humour was a bit too personal or contrived for moviegoers.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), was a remake of his 1934 classic but was far from a deja vu experience. The plot remained substantially the same but was lengthened from a little over one hour to two hours. In addition, the widescreen VistaVision and TechniColour added a new brilliant gloss and spectacle to the production filmed in England and on location in the Mideast. Doris Day, whom Hitchcock had seen and liked, was cast in the role of a retired singer turned worried mother. The plot was hinged in part on her singing of the song "Que Sera Sera," an Academy Award winner, which was dramatically used at the climax of the film. Back at Warner Bros. in 1957, now as an independent producer, Hitchcock dabbled with a new idea, a suspense story based on fact. The Wrong Man (1956), a black-and-white semi-documentary, starred Henry Fonda and Vera Miles, an actress who appeared often on Hitch's TV show. The title of the film echoed one of the director's favourite themes, the wrong man accused of a crime he didn't commit. But as much as the theme of compassion was built up, the real-life quality of the story actually hurt the box office. After The Wrong Man, Hitchcock returned to Paramount to make one of his more complex and absorbing mysteries, Vertigo (1958). James Stewart was cast in his third Hitchcock film opposite Kim Novak, who was given the opportunity to prove her acting ability. The 1958 production received mixed reactions but did well at the box office and exemplified Hitchcock's meticulous planning before actual shooting.