ALFRED HITCHCOCK Enlarged Edition

By Paul Duncan

Oldcastle Books

Copyright © 2004 Paul Duncan
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-903047-00-2

Contents

Acknowledgements,
Contents,
Alfred Hitchcock: Inspiring Public Unease,
1. Silent Hitchcock (1922-1929),
2. The Mastermind Returns (1929-1939),
3. Lost In America (1940-1947),
4. Breaking Free (1948-1949),
5. On A Roll (1950-1954),
6. Auteur Theory (1954-1960),
7. Beyond The Frame (1963-1976),
Reference Materials,
Copyright,

CHAPTER 1

Silent Hitchcock (1922-1929)

Born in Leytonstone, a suburb of London, on 13 August 1899, Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was the son of a poulterer and greengrocer. The former trade gave Hitchcock a life long disgust of eggs (which is why the characters in his films treat eggs so badly — for example, in To Catch A Thief, Jessie stubs her cigarette in the yoke of an egg), and the latter gave him a taste for journeys (he used to read the labels on tins and, using the world map on his wall, worked out the route needed to transport the goods to his father’s shop). Raised by a strict Roman Catholic father, Hitchcock acquired an acute sensitivity for right and wrong. He also learnt about fear at the age of five, when his father sent Hitchcock to the police station with a note. The policeman read the note, then locked Hitchcock in a cell for five minutes. Upon release, Hitchcock was told that this is what they do to naughty little boys. It is not surprising that this led Hitch to later feature the police as fearful characters. Think of Janet Leigh in Psycho, stealing $40,000, and waking up in her car with a cop staring through the window. Morally we should be applauding the good work of Mr Policeman, but emotionally we fear for Janet.

At St Ignatius’ College, a Jesuit boarding school, Hitchcock learnt about discipline, self-control and organisation (which led to Hitch’s later daily routine, always wearing the same style of suit, the methodical approach to work), and also the sadistic physical punishment used to attain that discipline. Hitch used his fear of pain to make the violent parts of his movies more affecting.

After training as an engineer (hence his appreciation for the technical aspects of movie-making), Hitch moved into graphic design, working at a small advertising company, and then onto W T Henley, a cable company. Having acquired a love for films, through a friend at Henley’s, Hitch began working part time, designing captions and titles for silent films. Then he got a full-time post as chief of the title department at Famous Players-Lasky where, during 1921-1922, he titled nearly a dozen films. In 1922, aged 23, Hitchcock became a director and producer, albeit for an ill-fated production. His first directorial stint was an independent production called Number Thirteen. The film was a comedy about London low life starring Clare Greet, who put up some of the money for the project. However, it was not enough to sustain the project and the film was never completed. Hitch subsequently cast Clare Greet in many of his films.

Then Hitch got his break. Seymour Hicks was playing the lead in a film of his play when the director and screen writer Hugh Croise fell ill. Desperate to finish, Hicks co directed with the enthusiastic Hitch on Always Tell Your Wife which was released in 1923. Then, with Graham Cutts as director and Michael Balcon as producer, Hitch was designer, assistant director and scriptwriter on five movies up until 1925. Some of these were made at Germany’s UFA studios, the heart of Expressionistic film-making and home to some of the