Vintage Image of the Day: Happy Birthday, Hitch
Filed under: Classics, Drama, Thrillers, Noir, Mystery & Suspense, Fandom, Vintage Image of the Day
Had Alfred Hitchcock been remarkably long-lived, he would have turned 107 today (in reality, he died at 81 in 1980). A brilliant self-promoter whose wonderfully droll way of talking about his career and works created a character -- we'll call him Hitch -- whose fame extended above and beyond even that of his films, Hitchcock had a remarkably light touch as a director. Able to move with no apparent effort from clever humor (The Lady Vanishes) to intense psychological horror (Vertigo, Psycho) and forbidden homoeroticism (Strangers on a Train, Rope), he left behind a complex legacy, arguably still unmatched among mainstream directors.
While I love a wide-range of his films (my favorites are probably Strangers on a Train, Shadow of a Doubt and Lady Vanishes; I'm terrible person for not really liking Vertigo), the best thing about Hitchcock for me is listening to him talk. I remember seeing a documentary (no idea what it was called, sorry) in which he discussed raising tension on his movies. He explained his approach by planting a theoretical bomb under a cinematic desk, and then letting the man working there go about his daily business: Talking on the phone, signing checks, going over his schedule. Within the film, everyday life is occurring, but the audience, Hitchcock said -- in his distinctive slow, emphatic way -- is frantic, muttering "But there's a bomb ... under ... the desk!" at the screen. The obvious glee with which he told that story is, for me, what's so endearing about Hitch -- he got as big a kick out of the nastiness in his films as we do.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-13-2006 @ 7:51PM
modenadude said...
Happy Birthday, Sir Alfred Hitchcock; I am watching the Encore Mystery marathon of your movies as I write.
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8-13-2006 @ 9:30PM
nikescream said...
That a really great pic..Where is it from?
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8-14-2006 @ 5:46PM
Cath said...
My Hitchcock faves are Spellbound, Suspicion and North by Northwest.
My worst Hitchcock story: I had a boyfriend who had never seen Psycho and knew nothing of the story, so were planning on going to the local arthouse for a screening. The day before, we had had the TV on in the other room and overheard an ad for Happy Days wherein one of the characters said "oh, I love that movie: Tony Perkins is his own mother!" Sheesh.
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