Alfred Hitchcock's photo

Alfred Hitchcock

Born: 1899-08-13 in Leytonstone, London, England, UK

Died: 1980-04-29

Known For: Directing

Biography

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in cinema history. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which are still widely watched and studied today. Known as the "Master of Suspense", Hitchcock became as well known as any of his actors thanks to his many interviews, cameo appearances in most of his films, and hosting and producing the television anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955–65). His films garnered 46 Academy Award nominations, including six wins. However, despite five nominations, he never won the  Best Director award. Hitchcock initially trained as a technical clerk and copywriter before entering the film industry in 1919 as a title card designer. The British–German silent film The Pleasure Garden (1925) was his directorial debut. His first successful film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), helped to shape the thriller genre, and Blackmail (1929) was the first British "talkie". His thrillers The 39 Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938) are ranked among the greatest British films of the 20th century. By 1939, he had international recognition and producer David O. Selznick persuaded him to move to Hollywood. A string of successful films followed, including Rebecca(1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), Suspicion (1941), Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Notorious (1946). Rebecca won the Academy Award for Best Picture, with Hitchcock nominated as Best Director. He also received Oscar nominations for Lifeboat (1944), Spellbound (1945), Rear Window (1954) and Psycho (1960). Hitchcock's other notable films include Rope (1948), Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1955), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), The Birds (1963), Marnie (1964) and Frenzy (1972), all of which were also financially successful and are highly regarded by film historians. Hitchcock made several films with some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including four with Cary Grant, four with James Stewart, three with Ingrid Bergman and three consecutively with Grace Kelly. Hitchcock became an American citizen in 1955. In 2012, Hitchcock's psychological thriller Vertigo, starring Stewart, displaced Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941) as the British Film Institute's greatest film ever made based on its worldwide poll of hundreds of film critics. As of 2021, nine of his films had been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, including his favourite, Shadow of a Doubt (1943). He received the BAFTA Fellowship in 1971, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1979, and was knighted in December of that year, four months before his death on 29 April 1980.

Filmography

2024

2023

2022

2020

2019

2018

2017

2013

2009

2008

2006

2005

2004

2002

2001

2000

1999

1998

1996

1994

1993

1992

1989

1988

1985

1984

1983

1976

  • Family Plot as Silhouette at Office of Vital Statistics (uncredited)

1974

1972

1971

1969

1968

1966

1964

1963

  • The Birds as Pet Store Customer (uncredited)

1961

1960

1959

1958

  • Vertigo as Man Walking Past Elster's Office (uncredited)

1957

1956

1955

1954

1953

1951

1950

1949

1948

  • Rope as Man Walking in Street After Opening Credits (uncredited)

1947

1946

  • Notorious as Man Drinking Champagne at Party (uncredited)

1945

1944

1943

1942

  • Saboteur as Man in Front of New York Drugstore (uncredited)

1941

1940

1939

1938

1937

  • Young and Innocent as Photographer Outside Courthouse (uncredited)
  • Sabotage as Man Walking Past the Cinema as the Light Is Renewed

1936

1935

1934

1932

1931

1930

1929

1928

1927

1926

1925

1924

1923

1922

1921

1920

Write a Review for

Create a New List