This document discusses the history of early thrillers and provides examples from the 1920s-1930s including Safety Last, M, and Murders in the Zoo. It also mentions psychological thriller subgenres that focus on the protagonist's mental state, giving examples like Along Came a Spider. The document then profiles Alfred Hitchcock as the "Master of Suspense" and lists some of his notable early films like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes that helped establish the suspense-thriller genre.
2. Early Thrillers:
One of the earliest 'thrillers' was Harold Lloyd's comic Safety Last
(1923), with the all-American boy performing a daredevil stunt on
the side of a skyscraper. The haunting and chilling German film M
(1931) directed by the great Fritz Lang, starred Peter Lorre (in his
first film role) as a criminal deviant - a child killer. The film's story
was based on the life of serial killer Peter Kurten (known as the
'Vampire of Dusseldorf'). Edward Sutherland's crime/horror thriller
Murders in the Zoo (1933) from Paramount starred Lionel Atwill
as a murderous and jealous zoologist. And various horror films of
the period, The Cat and the Canary (1927), director Rouben
Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) with Fredric
March, and The Bat Whispers (1930), provided some thrills.
Other early examples include:
Der Golem (1915)
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1921)
Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde (1920)
3. Psychological Thriller is one of the sub-
genres of the thriller genre. The main
focus in this sub-genre is on the
protagonists state of mind and the way it
functions. This could be a consequence of
something that has happened to him or
her in the past. Examples such as Along
Came a Spider by James Patterson, Blue
Velvet by David Lynch and Strangers on a
Train by Alfred Hitchcock can be
classified under this sub-genre. More
than physical threats, there is more of a
danger to the mind of the prinicipal
character. Themes that are explored in
this sub genre include death, reality,
perception, identity, existence and
purpose.
4. Known as the Master of Suspense, Alfred
Hitchcock was an English film maker. During
his six decade career, he directed more
than fifty feature films. Notable examples
of Hitchcock's early British suspense-
thriller films include The Man Who Knew
Too Much (1933), his first great spy-
chase/romantic thriller The 39 Steps (1935)
with Robert Donat handcuffed to Madeleine
Carroll, and the best film of his British
period - the mystery The Lady Vanishes
(1938).
After Hitchcock's classic films of the
1950s, his films were wildly uneven, although
he produced the shocking and engrossing
thriller Psycho (1960) about a loner mother-
fixated motel owner and taxidermist - with
the classic set piece (the 'shower scene')
-Adapted from Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
