Alfred Hitchcock

Biography

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 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.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Alfred Hitchcock, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

CritifyHub Reviews Featuring Alfred Hitchcock

Taut as a No Capitalized: Hitchcock’s Rope Still Strangles with Suspense

on Rope | Aug 27, 2025

Ever wonder how far audacity can stretch before it snaps? Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948) tests that limit, weaving a psychological noose around two young men who commit a murder just to see if they ca... Read more

A Taut Tapestry of Motive and Manipulation

on Dial M for Murder | Jul 17, 2025

Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954) weaves a meticulous web of suspense, its genius lying in the interplay of a tightly crafted screenplay and the understated brilliance of its performances. A... Read more

Shadows of Truth: Hitchcock’s Quiet Descent into Doubt

on The Wrong Man | Jul 16, 2025

Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man (1956) is a stark departure from his usual suspenseful flourishes, trading lush thrill for a sobering meditation on the fragility of justice. Anchored by Henry Fonda’s... Read more

"She was his ideal woman. Someone he could never have. Someone he could never be." This evocative tagline hints at the themes of obsession, illusion, and identity at the core of "Vertigo."

on Vertigo | May 31, 2025

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a psychologically complex and visually stunning masterpiece that delves into the obsessive nature of love, the power of illusion, and the fragility of identity. John Scot... Read more

"What’s going on in the apartment across the way?" This question ignites the suspense and voyeuristic intrigue of "Rear Window."

on Rear Window | May 31, 2025

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window isn’t merely a suspense thriller; it’s a masterfully crafted and intensely claustrophobic exploration of voyeurism, suspicion, and the blurred lines between observation ... Read more