We’re celebrating Alfred Hitchcock’s birthday with a gallery of photos of the great filmmaker.
Director Alfred Hitchcock — “Hitch” — was born 13 August 1899. He died in 1980, a few months before he turned 81. He directed more than 50 films.
Considered by many critics to be one of the greatest filmmakers in history, he never won an Oscar for directing. He was given a special Oscar in 1968, a make-up call by the refs.
Even though highbrows will tell you that Vertigo is Hitchcock’s best film, most viewers see that movie and think either “what th-?” or “Hunh???” If I had to recommend five Hitchcock movies to Average Jane moviegoer, I would make a list, like so:
1. Strangers on a Train (1951)
2. North by Northwest (1959)
3. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
4. Frenzy (1972)
5. Notorious (1946)
6. Rear Window (1954)
7. Yes, I know that’s six, so what.
8. Stop saying, “Not Psycho? What about Psycho?”
(All photos come from the book The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures, 1976 by Donald Spoto.)