Search
Close this search box.

Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock, or Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, was one of the most acclaimed directors filmmakers of all time. Born on August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, London, the English-born American filmmaker made more than 50 movies, specialising in suspenseful films with carefully built twists that you won’t see coming. Most of his movies also have a very particular, dark sense of humor, which acts as the director’s commentary on humanity and society.

The Hitchcock Silouhette & a Career in Art

The first thing that comes to mind when people mention the director is the famous nine-stroke silouhette from the 1950s series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and if you’re wondering who drew the silohuette, it was Alfred Hitchcock himself. In fact, the filmmaker initially pursued a career in art and design at the University of London, in 1916. But this led to him being hired to design title cards for a film company called Famous Players, in 1920, and that’s how his work in cinema begun.

Early Film Works

Alfred Hitchcock’s first film, Number 13 (1922), was never finished. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927) was his first acclaimed work, and Blackmail (1929) was his first talking movie, followed by Murder! (1930). With The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), he acquired international fame. The year later, he followed up with the acclaimed The 39 Steps, one of the first romantic thrillers ever made.

In the 1940s, the filmmaker got Hollywood’s attention, with a series of gems like Foreign Correspondent (1940), Rebecca (1940), and Suspicion (1941) – where he did a cameo! Where is Alfred Hitchcock in Suspicion? 47 minutes into the film, he is briefly seen posting a letter while Mrs Newsham is parking her car outside the post office.

Rear Window, Vertigo, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Many films later, the director founded a production company named Transatlantic Pictures, which led to contracts with major distributors. With Paramount, Alfred Hitchcock made one of his most popular films, Rear Window (1954). Hitchcock also appears in Rear Window, about 26 minutes into the film, in another cameo: he is winding a clock in the songwriter’s apartment.

Surprisingly, it’s a television show that made Hitchcock so well-known in the 50s, called Alfred Hitchcock Presents – an anthology series mainly known for its title sequence: Season 1-7 are still available to watch on Peacock, Tubi, Roku, and more. Then came most of the movies you know him for, such as Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963), whose cast includes Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, and Veronica Cartwright. Alfred Hitchcock’s final movie was Family Plot (1976). The filmmaker died on April 29, 1980, in his Bel-Air home: the cause of death was natural causes.

On this page you’ll find all our articles and reviews of Alfred Hitchcock’s films.