Overall, What was your favorite film and why?

I think after watching all of the movies we did. My favorite film would be Reservoir Dogs. My reasoning for this would be the way they used music.

The Color of Blood

Do you think that Psycho would have been as successful if it had been in color? I believe our imaginations and own assumptions of certain aspects of the film helped to create interest and intrigue, something that color would have made too obvious--Thoughts?

Police officer?

What was the significance (if any) of the police officer in Psycho? He was the main 'villian' for the first twenty minutes of the movie, and just as soon as he appeared, he was gone. What was his characters purpose?

Norm's speech about being trapped while he is talking with Marion, was this the mother part of him talking? I was assuming this speech was meant to symbolize the struggle with the two different personalities, each trying to take over in the one body.

Alfred Hitchcock "The Master of Suspense"

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899. He was born in London to William and Emma Hitchcock. He had two older siblings, William and Nellie. Hitchcock grew up in a strict Roman Catholic home. He liked geography in school. He told of an incident that taught him what police officers did to misbehaved children. He was sent to a police station with a note upon reading the note he was placed in a jail cell for a few minutes. The incident terrified Hitchcock (Duncan).

He worked as a technical clerk for Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. He found an interest in art. He went to murder trials for fun, he had an interest in crime. He enjoyed Edgar Allen Poe’s work. In 1919, he started working for Famous Players-Lasky as a title card designer. He moved on up to assistant director on Graham Cutts’ Woman to Woman (1923). He asked Alma Reville if she could edit the film. He started to talk to her (Duncan).

He went to Ufa studios in Berlin to work on The Blackguard. He shot a few scenes for the film. He proposed to Alma on a ship returning to London. He was sent to Europe to direct The Pleasure Garden (1925). He also directed The Eagle Mountain (1926). Both films were on the shelf. Yet, he continued to direct. He directed The Lodger, which also ended up on the shelf. Hitchcock and Alma married on Dec. 2, 1926. In 1927, The Pleasure Garden was released. Then The Lodger was released, and so was The Eagle Mountain. He gained recognition in Britain. He directed Blackmail in 1929 which was one of Britain’s first film with sound (Duncan).

In 1939 Hitchcock and his family moved to the United States and he worked in Hollywood. He directed Rebecca in 1939 (Duncan). He gained attention with Rebecca. More films followed. Alfred Hitchcock did radio and television with Alfred Hitchcock Presents from 1955 to 1962 (Mogg). Hitchcock became very well known. He eventually stopped directing due to his health (Duncan). He died on April 28, 1980 (Mogg).

Some trivia about Hitchcock: He made cameos in his films. Shadow of a Doubt was his favorite film (IMDb). He never learned to drive (for fear of the police due to that incident when he was young). He often used motifs in his films of falling (Duncan). His characters were ambiguous, uncertain who was the villain and who was the hero (Filmbug). He influenced many directors in Hollywood.        

Filmography (From Paul Duncan's book)

•      The Pleasure Garden (1925)

•      The Mountain Eagle (1926)

•      The Lodger (1926)

•      Downhill (1927)

•      Easy Virtue (1927)

•      The Ring (1927)

•      The Manxman (1928)

•      The Farmer’s Wife (1928)

•      Champagne (1928)

•      Blackmail (1929)

•      Elstree Calling (1930)

•      Juno and the Paycock (1930)

•      Murder! (1930)

•      Mary (1930)

•      The Skin Game (1931)

•      Rich and Strange (1932)

•      Number  Seventeen (1932)

•      Waltzes from Vienna (1933)

•      The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

•      The 39 Steps (1935)

•      Secret Agent (1936)

•      Sabotage (1936)

•      Young and Innocent (1937)

•      The Lady Vanishes (1938)

•      Jamaica Inn (1939)

•      Rebecca (1940)

•      Foreign Correspondent (1940)

•      Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)

•      Suspicion (1941)

•      Saboteur (1942)

•      Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

•      Lifeboat (1944)

•      Bon Voyage (1944)

•      Aventure Malgache (1944)

•      Spellbound (1945)

•      Notorious (1946)

•      The Paradine Case (1947)

•      Rope (1948)

•      Under Capricorn (1949)

•      Stage Fright (1950)

•      Strangers on a Train (1951)

•      I Confess (1953)

•      Dial M for Murder (1954)

•      Rear Window (1954)

•      To Catch a Thief (1955)

•      The Trouble with Harry (1955)

•      The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

•      The Wrong Man (1956)

•      Vertigo (1958)

•      North by Northwest (1959)

•      Psycho (1960)

•      The Birds (1963)

•      Marnie (1964)

•      Torn Curtain (1966)

•      Topaz (1969)

•      Frenzy (1972)

•      Family Plot (1976) 

                                                            Work Cited

"Alfred Hitchcock." Filmbug.com. Filmbug, n.d. Web. 20 June 2013. <http://www.filmbug.com/db/306>.

"Alfred Hitchcock Trivia." IMDb.com. IMDb, n.d. Web. 20 June 2013. <http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/trivia>.

Duncan, Paul. Alfred Hitchcock: Architect of Anxiety 1899-1980. Köln: Taschen, 2011. Print.

Mogg, Ken. The Alfred Hitchcock Story. London: Titan, 2008. Print.