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Born on August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, London, Alfred Joseph Hitchcock grew up to become one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. He directed over 50 movies, many of which are considered masterpieces of the thriller genre.
Hitchcock's first American film was the romantic psychological thriller 'Rebecca.' A Gothic tale revolving around a woman struggling in her new role as an aristocrat's wife while avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence. The movie was a commercial and critical success.
Hitchcock's intriguing spy thriller is set on the eve of the Second World War and involves an American reporter who attempts to expose enemy agents operating in London. 'Foreign Correspondent' was well received by critics, and attracted attention from an unlikely source: Joseph Goebbels. The Nazi propaganda minister described the film as "a masterpiece of propaganda, a first-class production which no doubt will make a certain impression upon the broad masses of the people in enemy countries."
Typical of Hitchcock's mischievous cunning, he cast dapper and debonair Cary Grant in a sinister role in this psychological thriller, which sees Grant's playboy husband character fall under suspicion by his wife (Joan Fontaine) who believes he is plotting her murder.
Considered by many filmgoers, critics, and scholars to be one of Hitchcock's best, 'Rear Window' is tense, exciting, and alarming. The plotline follows voyeuristic, wheelchair-bound photographer (James Stewart), who spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
An extraordinary and complex tale of mistaken identity, 'North by Northwest' is one of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest cinematic achievements. The spy thriller's crop-duster scene where Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is chased down by a murderous pilot is often ranked as one of the greatest movie moments of all time.
Another one of Hitch's defining works, 'Vertigo' follows a former police detective (James Stewart) and his struggle with acrophobia (an extreme fear of heights) and infatuation with a hauntingly beautiful woman. Indeed, the central theme of the film is psychological obsession.
Hitchcock, script in hand, directs a scene during the making of 'Blackmail' at Elstree Studios in England. The film began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences: 'Blackmail' reaches its climax on the dome of the British Museum.
Widely acknowledged as a classic of the thriller genre, Hitchcock's 'The 39 Steps' is loosely based on the 1915 adventure novel 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' by John Buchan. The story revolves around a mysterious spy ring and one man's attempts to stop the agents stealing top secret information. Acclaimed in the UK, it made Hitchcock a star in the US. Filmmaker and actor Orson Welles even referred to it as a "masterpiece."
The director in an enigmatic pose appears deep in thought as the film crew prepare a scene on location in Santa Rosa, California.
Actors Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll are handcuffed together and directed by Hitchcock in a key scene from 'The 39 Steps' when the pair escape the clutches of spy ring agents.
Hitchcock, with actresses from 'The Lady Vanishes,' relaxing between takes. From left to right: Sally Stewart, Margaret Lockwood, and Googie Withers.
Flanked by Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier and surrounded by crew, Alfred Hitchcock has every reason to smile. 'Rebecca' won two Academy Awards, for Best Picture and Best Cinematography. Hitchcock himself was nominated for Best Director, his first of five such nominations.
The director gesticulates as he implores actors Joel McCrea and Herbert Marshall to "bring it up a bit" in a run-through of their lines during rehearsals.
Hitchcock scored another hit with 'Suspicion,' which was nominated by the Academy for Best Picture. Co-star Joan Fontaine won for Best Actress—the only Oscar-winning acting performance in a Hitchcock film. He's pictured here momentarily distracted while directing a scene.
Grant, Bergman, and Hitchcock appear lost for words as the trio ponder the location for a scene set on location at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, California.
Ingrid Bergman, who is in costume in a dressing robe, sits on a bed next to Hitchcock prior to filming a scene.
'Rear Window' received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Director. In this image, Hitchcock observes the action from a balcony as a cameraman positions himself on a rig overlooking the apartment in a Greenwich Village courtyard.
"Gripping, suspenseful, and visually iconic," typifies the critical praise heaped upon 'North by Northwest.' Moviegoers also warmed to the on-screen chemistry between Grant and co-star Eva Maria Saint. Here, the director is seen on set with his leading man.
This is Hitchcock rehearsing the scene with Leigh, who looks as petrified in the presence of the director as much as her character's unfortunate meeting with her psychotic killer.
Hitchcock with actors Veronica Cartwright, Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, and Jessica Tandy on the set of 'The Birds,' along with dozens of feathered extras.
The legendary Alfred Hitchcock taking charge of filming 'Frenzy' on location in London's Convent Garden in mid-1971. His efforts earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director.
See also: The world's most influential film directors and their masterpieces
After starting production in a studio as a silent movie, 'Blackmail' was converted to sound. Hitchcock's taught thriller about a London woman who is blackmailed after killing a man who tried to assault her became the first "all talkie" film made in Great Britain. It stars Anny Ondra and John Longden (pictured).
Actress Kim Novak and Hitchcock are framed center stage by a photographer on the set of 'Vertigo.' A bespectacled extra appears oblivious to the scene.
'The Lady Vanishes' tells the story of a beautiful young English tourist traveling through continental Europe by rail who realizes that her elderly traveling companion seems to have disappeared from the train. Hitchcock's mystery thriller was an instant hit.
Arguably Alfred Hitchcock's best-known film, this horror thriller set a new level of acceptability for violence, deviant behavior, and sexuality in American films. The dark, tense atmosphere finds release in the film's pivotal shower scene, where a slashing knife dispatches Marion (Janet Leigh) to the accompaniment of composer Bernard Herrmann's screeching violins, violas, and cellos.
Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate film again underlines why he remains the "Master of Suspense." In this British thriller shot in London, a serial killer is strangling women with a necktie. The police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man. Embroidered with an outrageous mix of suspense and black humor, 'Frenzy' features a number of set pieces, including a wonderfully crafted scene in the back of a delivery truck where the killer has to retrieve a piece of incriminating evidence out of the clenched fist of his murder victim.
Actress Tippi Hedren, the mother of Melanie Griffith, made her screen debut in this horror-thriller, which focuses on a series of sudden and unexplained violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California, over the course of a few days. The film's special effects were applauded, with the attack on a schoolhouse by a large flock of manic crows especially praised.
Noted for its technical quality, the movie was also applauded for the elevated performances by Ray Milland, Robert Cummings, John Williams, and Grace Kelly herself. In this on-set still image, Kelly sits with her hairdresser.
This atmospheric crime mystery marked Hitchcock's first collaboration with Grace Kelly; she would go on to appear in 'Rear Window' (1954) and 'To Catch a Thief' (1955). 'Dial M for Murder' is about a former tennis player who tries to arrange his wife's murder after learning of her affair.
Espionage and intrigue are again themes running through 'Notorious,' a romantic spy thriller about three people whose lives become intimately entangled during an intelligence operation. One of the signature scenes in 'Notorious' is the two-and-a-half-minute kiss between Cary Grant's character and that of Ingrid Bergman's, which Hitchcock interrupted every three seconds to slip the scene through the three-second-rule crack in the Production Code.
'Spellbound' explores psychoanalysis and features a dream sequence designed by Salvador Dalí. Gregory Peck plays amnesiac Dr. Anthony Edwardes, who is under the treatment of analyst Dr. Peterson (Ingrid Bergman), who falls in love with him while trying to unlock his repressed past. Typical of the positive reviews upon the film's release is Variety's appraisal where "throughout the action an overtone of suspense and terror, tinged with touches of deep human interest and appealing romance, is sustained."
By his own admission, this psychological thriller film noir is Hitchcock's favorite of all his films. The story concerns a young woman's fears that her favorite uncle is in fact the "Merry Widow killer" sought by the authorities for a string of murders. A box-office hit, the film garnered glowing reviews, with The New York Times declaring that, "Hitchcock could raise more goose pimples to the square inch of a customer's flesh than any other director in Hollywood."
Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. Born in England in 1899, his first successful film, 'The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog' (1927), helped to shape the thriller genre. Soon afterwards he became known as the "Master of Suspense" for an astonishing run of nail-biting, edge-of-seat motion pictures, many of which are ranked among the greatest films of the 20th century and include the intriguing ‘North by Northwest’ (1959) and the truly disturbing ‘Psycho’ (1960).
His movies garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and six wins. Eight of them have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Yet he never won the Best Director Academy Award, an oversight considered a crime by many film critics and historians.
So, which of Hitchcock’s mysteries, thrillers, and chillers are your favorites?
Click through the following gallery and learn more about the Master of Suspense and take a look at some vintage images of the legendary director at work.
Why Alfred Hitchcock is still the "Master of Suspense"
National Alfred Hitchcock Day is celebrated on March 12
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Alfred Hitchcock is one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. Born in England in 1899, his first successful film, 'The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog' (1927), helped to shape the thriller genre. Soon afterwards he became known as the "Master of Suspense" for an astonishing run of nail-biting, edge-of-seat motion pictures, many of which are ranked among the greatest films of the 20th century and include the intriguing ‘North by Northwest’ (1959) and the truly disturbing ‘Psycho’ (1960).
His movies garnered a total of 46 Oscar nominations and six wins. Eight of them have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Yet he never won the Best Director Academy Award, an oversight considered a crime by many film critics and historians.
So, which of Hitchcock’s mysteries, thrillers, and chillers are your favorites?
Click through the following gallery and learn more about the Master of Suspense and take a look at some vintage images of the legendary director at work.