Alfred Hitchcock

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Birthday:

13 August 1899, Leytonstone, London, England, UK

Birth Name:

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock

Height:

170 cm

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and Eileen Hitchcock (born 1892). Raised as a strict Catholic and attending Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits, Hitch had very much of a regular upbringing. His first job outside of the family business was in 1915 as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. His interest in movies began at around this time, frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals.It was around 1920 when Hitchcock joined the film industry. He started off drawing the sets (he was a very skilled artist). It was there that he met Alma Reville, though they never really spoke to each other. It was only after the director for Always Tell Your Wife (1923) fell ill and Hitchcock was named director to complete the film that he and Reville began to collaborate. Hitchcock had his first real crack at directing a film, start to finish, in 1923 when he was hired to direct the film Number 13 (1922), though the production wasn't completed due to the studio's closure (he later remade it as a sound film). Hitchcock didn't give up then. He directed The Pleasure Garden (1925), a British/German production, which was very popular. Hitchcock made his first trademark film in 1927, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) . In the same year, on the 2nd of December, Hitchcock married Alma Reville. They had one child, _Patricia Hitchcock_ who was born on July 7th, 1928. His success followed when he made a number of films in Britain such as The Lady Vanishes (1938) and Jamaica Inn (1939), some of which also gained him fame in the USA.In 1940, the Hitchcock family moved to Hollywood, where the producer _David O. Selznick_had hired him to direct an adaptation of 'Daphne du Maurier''s Rebecca (1940). After Saboteur (1942), as his fame as a director grew, film companies began to refer to his films as 'Alfred Hitchcock's', for example Alfred Hitcock's Psycho (1960), Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot (1976), Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972).Hitchcock was a master of pure cinema who almost never failed to reconcile aesthetics with the demands of the box-office.During the making of Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's wife Alma suffered a paralyzing stroke which made her unable to walk very well. On March 7, 1979, Hitchcock was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award, where he said: "I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen and their names are Alma Reville." By this time, he was ill with angina and his kidneys had already started to fail. He had started to write a screenplay with _Ernest Lehman_ called The Short Night but he fired Lehman and hired young writer David Freeman to rewrite the script. Due to Hitchcock's failing health the film was never made, but Freeman published the script after Hitchcock's death. In late 1979, Hitchcock was knighted, making him Sir Alfred Hitchcock. On the 29th April 1980, 9:17AM, he died peacefully in his sleep due to renal failure. His funeral was held in the Church of Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Father Thomas Sullivan led the service with over 600 people attended the service, among them were Mel Brooks (director of High Anxiety (1977), a comedy tribute to Hitchcock and his films), Louis Jourdan, Karl Malden, Tippi Hedren, Janet Leigh and François Truffaut. Show less «

There is a dreadful story that I hate actors. Imagine anyone hating James Stewart... Jack L. Warner. I can't imagine how such a rumor began....Show more »

There is a dreadful story that I hate actors. Imagine anyone hating James Stewart... Jack L. Warner. I can't imagine how such a rumor began. Of course it may possibly be because I was once quoted as saying that actors are cattle. My actor friends know I would never be capable of such a thoughtless, rude and unfeeling remark, that I would never call them cattle... What I probably said was that actors should be treated like cattle. Show less «

[on his cameos] One of the earliest of these was in The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), the story of Jack the Ripper. My appearanc...Show more »

[on his cameos] One of the earliest of these was in The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), the story of Jack the Ripper. My appearance called for me to walk up the stairs of the rooming house. Since my walk-ons in subsequent pictures would be equally strenuous - boarding buses, playing chess, etc. - I asked for a stunt man. Casting, with an unusual lack of perception, hired this fat man! Show less «

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.

To me, Psycho (1960) was a big comedy. Had to be.

Even my failures make money and become classics a year after I make them.

Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.

Drama is life with the dull bits left out.

[His entire acceptance speech for the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award] Thank you.

[when accepting the American Film Institute Life Achievement award] I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me t...Show more »

[when accepting the American Film Institute Life Achievement award] I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat [Patricia Hitchcock], and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are Alma Reville. Show less «

[on Michelangelo Antonioni and his film Blowup (1966)] This young Italian guy is starting to worry me.

Some films are slices of life, mine are slices of cake.

I enjoy playing the audience like a piano.

[to Ingrid Bergman when she told him that she couldn't play a certain character the way he wanted because "I don't feel like that, I don't t...Show more »

[to Ingrid Bergman when she told him that she couldn't play a certain character the way he wanted because "I don't feel like that, I don't think I can give you that kind of emotion."] Ingrid - fake it! Show less «

I was an uncommonly unattractive young man.

It's only a movie, and, after all, we're all grossly overpaid.

There is nothing quite so good as a burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating.

Man does not live by murder alone. He needs affection, approval, encouragement and, occasionally, a hearty meal.

[on Claude Jade, who starred in Topaz (1969)] Claude Jade is a brave nice young lady. But I don't give any guarantee what she will do on a t...Show more »

[on Claude Jade, who starred in Topaz (1969)] Claude Jade is a brave nice young lady. But I don't give any guarantee what she will do on a taxi's back seat. Show less «

[on directing Charles Laughton] You can't direct a Laughton picture. The best you can hope for is to referee.

The paperback is very interesting but I find it will never replace the hardcover book -- it makes a very poor doorstop.

Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders.

I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella (1937), the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.

If it's a good movie, the sound could go off and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.

A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it.

In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.

[on The Birds (1963)] You know, I've often wondered what the Audubon Society's attitude might be to this picture.

Cary Grant is the only actor I ever loved in my whole life.

[Walt Disney] has the best casting. If he doesn't like an actor he just tears him up.

Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.

I am scared easily, here is a list of my adrenaline-production: 1: small children, 2: policemen, 3: high places, 4: that my next movie will ...Show more »

I am scared easily, here is a list of my adrenaline-production: 1: small children, 2: policemen, 3: high places, 4: that my next movie will not be as good as the last one. Show less «

When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, "It's in the script". If he says, "But what's my motivation?", I say, "...Show more »

When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, "It's in the script". If he says, "But what's my motivation?", I say, "Your salary". Show less «

I don't understand why we have to experiment with film. I think everything should be done on paper. A musician has to do it, a composer. He ...Show more »

I don't understand why we have to experiment with film. I think everything should be done on paper. A musician has to do it, a composer. He puts a lot of dots down and beautiful music comes out. And I think that students should be taught to visualize. That's the one thing missing in all this. The one thing that the student has got to do is to learn that there is a rectangle up there - a white rectangle in a theater - and it has to be filled. Show less «

To make a great film you need three things - the script, the script and the script.

[on North by Northwest (1959)] Our original title, you know, was "The Man in Lincoln's Nose". Couldn't use it, though. They also wouldn't le...Show more »

[on North by Northwest (1959)] Our original title, you know, was "The Man in Lincoln's Nose". Couldn't use it, though. They also wouldn't let us shoot people on Mount Rushmore. Can't deface a national monument. And it's a pity, too, because I had a wonderful shot in mind of Cary Grant hiding in Lincon's nose and having a sneezing fit. Show less «

I made a remark a long time ago. I said I was very pleased that television was now showing murder stories, because it's bringing murder back...Show more »

I made a remark a long time ago. I said I was very pleased that television was now showing murder stories, because it's bringing murder back into its rightful setting - in the home. Show less «

[on his lifelong fear of eggs ("ovophobia")] I'm frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without a...Show more »

[on his lifelong fear of eggs ("ovophobia")] I'm frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes... have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I've never tasted it. Show less «

Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood fa...Show more »

Fear isn't so difficult to understand. After all, weren't we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It's just a different wolf. This fright complex is rooted in every individual. Show less «

[When asked by a member of the press why, at his advanced age, it took so long for the British government to grant him the title of Knight] ...Show more »

[When asked by a member of the press why, at his advanced age, it took so long for the British government to grant him the title of Knight] I think it's just a matter of carelessness. Show less «

[Part of his publicity campaign prior to the release of Psycho (1960)] It has been rumored that Psycho is so terrifying that it will scare s...Show more »

[Part of his publicity campaign prior to the release of Psycho (1960)] It has been rumored that Psycho is so terrifying that it will scare some people speechless. Some of my men hopefully sent their wives to a screening. The women emerged badly shaken but still vigorously vocal. Show less «

All love scenes started on the set are continued in the dressing room.

[on his history as a practical joker] I once gave a dinner party, oh many years ago, where all the food was blue.

[on the making of Psycho (1960) and a fake torso made by the special effects department that spurted blood when stabbed with a knife] But I ...Show more »

[on the making of Psycho (1960) and a fake torso made by the special effects department that spurted blood when stabbed with a knife] But I never used it. It was all unnecessary because the cocking of the knife, the girl's face and the feet and everything was so rapid that there were 78 separate pieces of film in 45 seconds. Show less «

I wanted once to do a scene, for North by Northwest (1959) by the way, and I couldn't get it in there. I wanted it to be in Detroit, and two...Show more »

I wanted once to do a scene, for North by Northwest (1959) by the way, and I couldn't get it in there. I wanted it to be in Detroit, and two men walking along in front of an assembly line. And behind them you see the automobile being put together. It starts with a frame, and you just take the camera along, the two men are talking. And you know all those cars are eventually driven off the line, they load them with gas and everything. And one of the men goes forward, mind you you've seen a car from nothing, just a frame, opens the door and a dead body falls out. Show less «

[A portion of his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech] Had the beautiful Ms. Reville [his wife Alma Reville] not accepted a lif...Show more »

[A portion of his AFI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech] Had the beautiful Ms. Reville [his wife Alma Reville] not accepted a lifetime contract without options as Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock some 53 years ago, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock might be in this room tonight, not at this table but as one of the slower waiters on the floor. Show less «

Reality is something that none of us can stand, at any time.

I like stories with lots of psychology.

Everything's perverted in a different way.

Cartoonists have the best casting system. If they don't like an actor, they just tear him up.

[on how to properly build suspense] Four people are sitting around a table talking about baseball or whatever you like. Five minutes of it. ...Show more »

[on how to properly build suspense] Four people are sitting around a table talking about baseball or whatever you like. Five minutes of it. Very dull. Suddenly, a bomb goes off. Blows the people to smithereens. What does the audience have? Ten seconds of shock. Now take the same scene and tell the audience there is a bomb under that table and will go off in five minutes. The whole emotion of the audience is totally different because you've given them that information. In five minutes time that bomb will go off. Now the conversation about baseball becomes very vital. Because they're saying to you, "Don't be ridiculous. Stop talking about baseball. There's a bomb under there." You've got the audience working. Show less «

[on Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini] Those Italian fellows are a hundred years ahead of us. Blowup (1966) and 8½ (1963) a...Show more »

[on Michelangelo Antonioni and Federico Fellini] Those Italian fellows are a hundred years ahead of us. Blowup (1966) and 8½ (1963) are bloody masterpieces. [1978] Show less «

[to an interviewer on why he does not make comedies] But every film I made IS a comedy!

[1972] Puns are the highest form of literature.

[1955, as host of his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)] For those of you watching this show in the year 2000, write us a l...Show more »

[1955, as host of his television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)] For those of you watching this show in the year 2000, write us a letter and tell us how things are going where you are. Show less «

I deny I ever said that actors are cattle. What I said was, "Actors should be treated like cattle.".

If you've designed a picture correctly, the Japanese audience should scream at the same time as the Indian audience.

It is terribly embarrassing to be sick. and ones own death is so undignified.