 Alfred Hitchcock
Not for nothing did Alfred Hitchcock earn the sobriquet "Master of
Suspense." His filmography of classic thrillers spans six decades of
the 20th century, from the silent The Lodger (1927) in the 1920's to
Frenzy (1972) in the 1970's. In between, he spooked movie audiences
with a prolific production of such classics as Psycho (1960), The Birds
(1963), North By Northwest (1959), Vertigo (1958), Rear Window (1954),
Rope (1948), Notorious (1946), Spellbound (1945), The 39 Steps (1935),
The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1934) and many more. While the thriller was Hitchcock's stock in
trade--and the genre for which he is best known--he was quite capable
at twists of black humor. His film The Lady Vanishes (1938) deftly combined humor with suspense.
Director of more than 50 feature films, Hitchcock was a 1969 recipient
of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award. Although he
was nominated five times for an Academy Award as Best Director (Psycho, Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1945), Spellbound (1945) and Rear Window), he never won. Rebecca, however, did capture the Oscar for Best Picture in 1940.
Born in London, England in 1899, Hitchcock spent the first two decades
of his career making films for the British film industry. In 1939,
Hitchcock directed his final film for the British industry, Jamaica Inn,
a crime drama set in early 19th century England. Having established
himself both on the artistic and commercial levels, Hitchcock was lured
to Hollywood in 1940 by movie mogul David O. Selznick. Hitchcock's first
American film was Rebecca, a Gothic melodrama based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier. He became an American citizen with dual citizenship in 1956.
Hitchcock also had a presence on American television, hosting and producing the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV series from 1955-1965.
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