Alfred Hitchcock was a pioneering British film director and producer known as the "Master of Suspense" who helped pioneer the psychological thriller genre. Some of his most famous films include Psycho, The Birds, Vertigo, and Rear Window. He was fascinated with human psychology and frequently explored themes of fear, guilt, voyeurism, and paranoia. Hitchcock directed over 50 films spanning six decades and is considered one of the most influential filmmakers of all time.

1. The dawn of the Psychological Thriller genre
Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980)
Famous quotes (www.wikipedia.org):
"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission and the babysitter were worth
it".
"Luck is everything"...... My good luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I'm fortunate
to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn't make a good suspense
film".
"The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."
Personal Details
Profession: Film maker, director and producer
Nickname: 'The Master of suspense'
Date of Birth: 13/8/1899
Place of Birth: Leytonstone, London

2. Date of Birth: 29/8/1980
Major Influences: Sigmund Freud, Fritz Lang
Psychological Elements - Film Themes: the Human Unconscious, Oedipus complex, phobias,
suspicion, obsession, freight, voyeurism, theft, the psychological consequences of Cold War, sex
and death, dream sequence and dream analysis, Survival, Psychological Disorders,
Psychoanalysis, Religion and Death, Optical Illusion, Mistaken Identity, Inhibition, Emotional
Repression, Childhood traumas, Rape, the Paranormal, Experimenting with death and fame.
Favourite of all his films: 'Shadow of a doubt' (1943).
The dawn of the psychological thriller genre
Undoubtedly, a meticulous film maker, an excellent technician and visual artist, Hitchcock's
greatest pleasure was to shock the audience and try to explain the mysteries of the human
unconscious. Suspence, melodrama, sudden plot twists and short personal appearances are the
hallmarks of Alfred Hitchcock's films. A master of the psychological and suspense thriller, he
was noted for the dazzling 'shock' effects in his films and for his phobias which inspired him in
box office hits such as 'Vertigo' (1958) and 'The rear window' (1954). His portly figure, double
chin and morbid voice became familiar to television viewers, especially, youngsters and
teenagers through 'Alfred Hitchcock presents' (1955-1961).
Although, Hitchcock directed 53 films in 53 years, he was never awarded or nominated for an
Oscar as Best Director despite receiving numerous other awards. He was knighted a few months
after his death in 1980. Rumours has it that the British Government and the Queen had difficulty
in accepting his U.S. citizenship in 1955.

3. After majoring in engineering at the University of London and St. Ignatius of London, young
Alfred started designing title cards for the Famous Players-Lasky Company where he was
introduced to filmmaking (1920). He, immediately, realised that his path to life was through
making or producing movies, a realisation which lead him, shortly thereafter, to become a script
writer and an assistsant director.
The diary of Alfred Hitchcock's key-moments
1926: Hitchcock directs his first thriller 'The Lodger' where he appears as an extra.
1929: 'Blackmail' is the first British talking picture introducing the first icy blonde leading lady
of Hitchcock's movies, anny Ondra. It was a box office success and it was re-edited and re-
released after 82 years in 2011.
1940: Following the success of his three classic films of the '30s, 'The man who knew too much'
(1934), 'The 39 steps' (1935) and 'The lady vanishes' (1937), he decides to accept the proposal
for filming in Hollywood, U.S.A.. Adapting Daphne du Maurier's novel, he directs the only of all
his films to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture, 'Rebecca' starring Lawrence Olivier and Joan
Fontaine.
1941: His film, 'Suspicion', wins the Oscar in the female leading role category for Joan
Fontaine's haunting performance.
1945: In the psychoanalytical 'Spellbound' starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck,
Hitchcock teams with famous Soanish painter, Salvador Dali, who designs the memorable dream
sequence in the film.

4. 1948: After directing films such as 'Shadow of a doubt' (1943), 'Lifeboat' (1944), 'Notorious'
(1944) and 'Rope' (1948), Hitchcock understands that it's time to produce his own movies.
The 1950s: It is considered his 'golden period' during which he was highly productive and
delivered blockbusters with popular and famous Hollywood stars such as: 'Stage fright' (1950)
with Jane Wyman and Marlene Dietrich, 'Strangers on a train' (1951), the voyeuristic 'The rear
window' (1954) with James Stewart and Grace Kelly, his first widescreen film, 'Dial M for
Murder' (1954), starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly, the suspense comedy, 'To catch a thief'
(1955), the remake of his 1934 classic, 'The man who knew too much' with James Stewart and
Doris Day (1956) and, finally, the comedy-thriller, 'North by Northwest' (1959) starring Cary
Grant.
1958: Hitchcock directs his darkest and most self-revealing film, "Vertigo' starring James
Stewart and Kim Novak. The film story is based on his true fear of heights.
The 1960s: It is the decade of his best-known and most-discussed works which included mostly
original thrillers with sudden plot twists and unpredictable endings such as the haunting
'Psycho' (1960) starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, and the ominous 'The Birds' (1963)
with Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren.

5. The 1970s: The less active decade for Hitchcock, who decided to return to his native UK in 1972
for filming 'Frenzy', a murder thriller revolving around a serial killer. It is considered by critics
to be his last great film before his death.
1976: 'The family plot' was Hitchcock's last film containing elements of mystery, suspense,
comedy and the paranormal.
1980: On the 29th of April, Alfred Hitchcock died aged 80 in his Bel Air home of renal failure.
2002: The magazine MovieMaker named Hitchcock the most influential filmmaker of all time.

6. References
Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates, Jr (1999), The Dictionary of Global Culture.
London: Penguin Books.
www.wikipedia.org.
Source of Pictures
the.hitchcock.zone.
Tim Voridis
Organisational Psychologist/Communication and Personality Specialist
‘Innovation for a brighter future’.