Hitchcock's Villains: Murderers, Maniacs, and Mother Issues

In 2011, San Juan and McDevitt wrote the well-received A Year of Hitchcock (Scarecrow Press), which analyzed the over 50 silent and sound films that Alfred Hitchcock directed. In this follow-up volume the same authors examine the various forms of villainy that have been portrayed in his films. Each of the nine forms of evil identified by the authors is dealt with in two chapters. The first surveys this topic as covered in all of Hitchcock’s films and the second singles out one of these films for an in-depth analysis. For example, the chapter that deals with authority figures as villains, is followed by one that analyzes the actions and character of Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains) in Notorious (1946), and the chapter featuring villainous mothers follows with a discussion of Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) in Strangers on a Train (1951). Other chapters explore intellectual villains (Rope, 1948), innocent villains (Vertigo, 1958), and psychotic villains (Psycho, 1960). The films (and topics) are organized chronologically beginning with Sabotage (1936) and ending with Hitchcock’s penultimate thriller, Frenzy (1972). Other important miscreants given a detailed, probing analyses are those in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and North by Northwest (1959). The coverage is thorough and probing and the authors’ insight into this material is impressive. The writing style is informal and often chatty. Scattered throughout the text are black-and-white stills from the highlighted films. The book closes with a three-page bibliography and a name index. . . .[I]t will be a fine addition to libraries specializing in film studies. ― American Reference Books Annual

As the title of Hitchcock’s Villains indicates, San Juan and McDevitt examine the bad guys and wrong-doers who figure so prominently in Hitchcock’s work. With any other filmmaker, that might be a limiting topic but Hitchcock’s own conflicting feelings about right and wrong, good and bad, made for a rich crew of villains who are sometimes more sympathetic and often more charming than their victims. … Written in a delightful and slightly cheeky “case file” format, San Juan and McDevitt gives each of Hitch’s slime-balls a thorough character study. From Verloc, the cinema owner and kid blower-upper in Sabotage to Robert Rusk, the neck tie strangler in Frenzy, the authors range across the whole rogues gallery of Hitchcock bad guys, offering insightful observations about how these characters are a critical component of enjoying these films. … Hitchcock’s Villains is written in a personable, imminently readable way, perhaps making it feel light at first blush. It is not intellectually light however, and brims with thought provoking suppositions and assertions. Hitchcock neophytes will find much value in the overview quality of both Hitchcock’s work and the salient points of his biography. ― Pretty Clever Films

Hitchcock demonstrated an affection for his villains, the authors point out, and they offer an engaging investigation into the nuances of the characters he created. They look closely at particular films and also discuss Hitchcock’s oeuvre in terms of themes such as the villainy of authority figures and mothers, and of innocents and of non-villains. San Juan and McDevitt are independent writers who worked together on a previous book titled A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense. ― Book News, Inc.

San Juan and McDevitt give us a satisfying version of Hitchcock lite, with enough interesting tidbits to whet our appetite for juicy gossip. Its fifteen evocative black-and-white photographs are artfully chosen to jog our memory and dramatize a significant character trait or influence. . . .[I]f one wants a book to keep by the television, so that one may riffle its pages for quick facts and racy conjectures, Hitchcock’s Villains will do nicely. ― Journal of American Culture