2. 1920s – 1930s
Alfred Hitchcock first ever thriller was his 3rd silent film, The Lodger (1926), his next thriller
was Blackmail (1929), this was his first sound film.
From 1935 on, Hitchcock carried on making thriller films only.
German Film M (1931), which was directed by Fritz Lang was a thriller based the life of a
serial killer.
Other British directors, such as Walter Forde (9 thrillers), Victor Saville (7 thrillers), George
A. Cooper (6 thrillers) and Michael Powell (6 thrillers) made more thrillers in this period of
time. Hitchcock was following the tradition of these directors by creating thrillers.
Hitchcock's early British thriller films were The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), his first
romantic thriller, The 39 Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938).
3. 1940s
Hitchcock continued directing thriller films in the 1940s by directing Foreign
Correspondent (1940), Rebecca which was an Oscar winning movie (1940) and Shadow
of a Doubt which was his favourite and was based on a true story (1943).
George Cukor, who is also a famous director known mostly for his psychosocial thriller
films, including Gas Light (1944) and Laura (1944).
The Spiral Staircase (1946) was a film about a house terrorized by a serial killer.
The Lady From Shanghai (1948) was about a murder scheme involving lots of suspects.
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) was about a woman who overheard a murder plot on the
phone, against herself.
4. 1950s
Hitchcock added colour to his thrillers, instead of having it in black and white, in the
1950s.
Some of Hitchcock’s thrillers which had colour in it are, Strangers on a Train (1951)
which was about two passengers on a train who traded murders with each other, Dial
M For Murder (1954) which was about a husband who tried killing his rich wife and To
Catch a Thief (1955).
Other thrillers that were made in the 1950s were Niagara (1953) which starred Marilyn
Monroe, Kiss Me Deadly (1955) which includes a nuclear apocalypse and The Night of
the Hunter (1955).
5. 1960s
One of the most famous thrillers in the 1960s was Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) which
was about a loner mother-fixated motel owner and taxidermist.
Cape Fear (1962) directed by J. Lee Thompson, was a film about an ex-con seeking
revenge at a attorney
Charade is a romantic thriller (1963) which had lots of plot twists and identity changes.
Roman Polanski’s first ever film in English was Repulsion (1965) and it was about a woman
who goes mad.
Another very famous thriller film in the 1960s was Wait Until Dark (1967) directed by
Terence Young and it was about a victimized blind woman in her apartment and a man as
the evil, sadistic con man searching for drugs.
6. 1970s and 1980s
The very famous thriller, Frenzy (1972) was Hitchcock’s first British film in two decades, and
it was given an R rating for its vicious and explicit strangulation scene.
This was the period of time in which we first saw Steven Spielberg, his film Duel (1971) was
about road rage between a traveling salesman and the unseen, relentless driver of a truck.
One of the first films about a fan being disturbingly obsessed with their idol was Clint
Eastwood’s film Play Misty For Me (1971).
Director Nicola Roeg’s puzzling film, Don’t Look Now (1973), was about a couple grieving
the drowning death of their daughter.
Brian De Palma usually had themes of guilt, paranoia and obsession in his films. Some of
his films include killing off a main character early on, switching points of view, and
dream like sequences.
His films include, the psycho-thriller Sisters (1973), a film about dual
personalities, Dressed to Kill (1980) and Body Double (1984).
Sam Peckinpah, a director, created his final film, plot twisting spy film
The Osterman Weekend (1983).
7. 1990s to now.
The decade started with Rob Reiner’s thriller film, Misery (1990).
Other films that were made in the 1900s were The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
(1992), Unlawful Entry (1992) and the psychological thriller The Talented Mr Ripley
(1999).
There was an obsession with thriller films in this decade, and they’re still continuing to
be an obsession now.
Some recent thrillers are Eden Lake (2008), The Last House on the Left (2009), P2
(2007), Captivity (2007) and Funny Games (2008).
8. I needed to research the history of the genre, Thriller, so that I can see
how it has changed over the years and what types of films became very
famous in those times.
It’ll help me plan my own work because it gives me an idea of what kinds
of plots and schemes are involved in thriller films and what attracts the
public and makes it interesting to them, so that I can attract my target
audience and make my film scary and intense for them.
