Alfred Hitchcock

Bell Work Who is Alfred Hitchcock? What do you know about him? What movies did he direct? Have you seen any of his movies?

Bell Work What is the fear of heights called? Are you afraid of heights? If so, why?

The Fear of Heights Acrophobia Vertigo

Chicago: John Hancock Tower

Chicago http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2625543/TILT-viewing-platform-opens-360-Chicago-skyscraper.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d93Pyu7BdM8

Grand Canyon Sky Walk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEa7P9e8Jvo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laveE4bUm3M

Bell Work What are two questions that you would like to ask Alfred Hitchcock?

Alfred Hitchcock Born in London on August 13, 1899 Died: April 29, 1980 Nicknames: Hitch The Master of Suspense

Early Years Raised by strict Catholic parents Childhood was lonely and sheltered This was, in part, due to his obesity. Sent by his father to the local police station with a note asking the office to lock him away for 10 minutes as a punishment for behaving badly. His mother would force him to stand at the foot of her bed for several hours as punishment. This idea of being treated harshly or wrongfully accused would show up later in his films.

A Gift for Suspense Studied engineering in London Worked as an advertising designer at Henley’s While working at Henley’s, he began to write, submitting short stories for the in-house publication. In 1920, he entered the film industry with a full time position at the Famous Players Laskey Company. He designed title cards for silent films. Within a few years, he was working as an assistant director.

Films in London 1925, directed his first film Blackmail, 1929 the first British “talkie”

Hollywood Arrives 1939 Rebecca (1940) won the Oscar for best picture.

Types of films Psychological thrillers depictions of violence complex psychological characters

A Cultural Icon Made a cameo appearance is every film. TV show: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962-1969) Directed more than 50 films In 1979, received the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award.

Death April 29, 1980 Died peacefully in his sleep in Bel Air, California. He was survived by his lifetime partner, Alma Reville, also known as “Lady Hitchcock” (she would die in 1982)

Strangers on a Train 1951 A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder...a theory that he plans to implement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B70_R1igohw Trailer

Dial M for Murder 1954 Grace Kelly An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urIXnyF0aJ0 trailer

Rear Window 1954 Jimmy Stewart Grace Kelly A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCcZCMYw38 trailer

New Version of Rear Window Disturbia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GHz3C5coSI

To Catch A Thief 1955 Cary Grant Grace Kelly When a reformed jewel thief is suspected of returning to his former occupation, he must figure out the real thief in order to prove his innocence. Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Vs5anuc4U

Grace Kelly Meets her future husband while filming “To Catch a Thief” in Monaco The Prince of Monaco http://www.biography.com/people/grace-kelly-9362226

The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956 Jimmy Stewart Doris Day A family vacationing in Morocco accidentally stumble on to an assassination plot and the conspirators are determined to prevent them from interfering. Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft2smpFxJgY

Vertigo 1958 Jimmy Stewart A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's much-younger wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2u96ONO5K0 trailer

North By Northwest 1959 Cary Grant A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk0GbTMMbP0 trailer

The Birds 1963 Tippi Hedron A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people there in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness. Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZjaVdJt59U

The Birds Three years in post production No real bird sounds All sound tracked in the studio

The Birds Clips Crows attack students http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls Seagulls attack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHh6bwuPShw Trapped in a phone booth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D15HPy4x73g

Halloween Costume

Psycho 1960 Tag line: “A boy’s best friend is his mother” Anthony Perkins as Norman Janet Leigh Bates Motel A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother.

Psycho Trivia Psycho is the first film to show a toilet flush! The car she drives is the same car they Cleaver’s drive in Leave it to Beaver! Janet Leigh never took a shower after seeing the final version of the film. She only took baths for the rest of her life. Shower Scene took 7 days and 78 takes

Janet Leigh’s daughter is Jamie Lee Curtis She was in Halloween (the original) Freaky Friday Activia Yogurt

Psycho Clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps8H3rg5GfM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG3-GlvKPcg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv88ASiLmgk&feature=related We all go a little mad sometimes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4 Shower scene

Hitchcock Cameo’s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YbaOkiMiRQ Every cameo in 5 minutes

Trivia Time He was born one day before his wife, Alma. He could not stand to look at his wife while she was pregnant. Morbid fear of police ever since the day his father sent him to jail for ten minutes. He never learned to drive. If you don’t drive, you cannot be pulled over by the police and given a ticket. He loved to drink tea. When finishing a cup of tea on the set, he would often just throw it over his shoulder when he was finished, letting it falll or break wherever!

More Trivia He delivered the shortest acceptance speech in Oscar history. He simply said “Thank you.” When he won a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1979, he joked to friends that he must be about to die soon. (he died a year later) He is the voice of the “Jaws” ride at Universal Studios. He was knighted by the Queen of England in 1980.

And Even More Trivia…. Walt Disney refused to allow him to film at Disneyland in the early 1960’s because he had made “that disgusting movie Psycho” He had one other phobia (besides police): Eggs!

Practical Joker? He was infamous with cast and crews for his practical jokes. Some inspired laughs, such as suddenly showing up on set in a dress. He gave a dinner party once where all the food was blue. Usually he found out about somebody’s phobias, such as mice or spiders, and in turn would send them a box full of them.

The Best Practical Joke? To his wife, Alma A wax head that was used in the trailer for Frenzy.

Quotes The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder. Man does not live by murder alone. He needs affection, approval, encouragement, and occasionally, a hearty meal. A good film is when the price of dinner, the theatre admission, and the babysitter were worth it. In 1955, for one opening of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” he said, “For those of you watching this show in 2000, write us a letter and tell us how things are going where you are.”

Ticket out the Door Using complete sentences, write three things you leaned about Hitchcock.

Ticket out the Door Would you “tilt” out over Chicago? Why or why not? Would you visit the Grand Canyon Sky Walk? Why or why not?

Ticket out the Door Which two Hitchcock films from the 1950’s would you most want to watch? Explain your answer.

Ticket out the Door Which films looks better: Psycho or The Birds? Why? Explain your answer in three complete sentences.