HITCHCOCK BIOGRAPHY
Hitchcock biography, in contrast to his films, is quiet and uneventful. He has been described as misanthropic, calculating, kind, and a private person – an endless contradiction of terms, much like his movies that zoom in and out with red blood and human eyes. He wanted to capture and captivate the audience with skillful screen effects, and the plots, mostly absurd, really lead up to them. Was his life too full of the same anticipated suspense and thrill?
Born in 1899 in England, he once described himself as a cultural exchange with U.S., and said that the exchanged item remained unknown as people were too afraid to open it! He got his education at the University of London in Arts. His father died when he was only 14, but he continued his education even after having to quit school. Some of the writers that he read were: Dickens, Poe, Flaubert, Wilde, Chesterton, and Buchan
He married Alma Reville, and the couple remained true to each other till his death in 1980.
His introduction to the film line began when he took up small job as a title designer. When a director fell sick, he took over and began his directorial life that lasted for over 6 decades. He made the first talking movie in England ( Blackmail, 1929.)
It was his transition to Hollywood in 1939 that gave him commercial success and fame. His very first film, Rebecca (1940) received the best film Academy Award. Ironically, he himself never received an Oscar.
The work that made him an icon with the public was a television series called Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It ran from 1955 to 1965 and was succeeded by another of his show - Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He also made the series The Three Investigators, a detective series involving three young boys.
Alfred Hitchcock never received an academy award, but was knighted for his life long work by Queen Elizabeth in 1980.
He also received the following awards:
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for lifetime achievement in 1967
American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1979
HIS PERSONALITY
If there was any factor that figured more dominantly both on and off screen, then it was his personality. His less than equal treatment of his actors was famous.
Did he have any eccentricities? Not much can be heard on this topic. But he did play practical tricks. During the shooting of Thirty Nine Steps, the leading actor and actress were to be shown handcuffed for a certain duration. Hitch actually pretended that he had misplaced the keys the whole day to see how they would cope.
The last one can say is that he was a showman, self-centered, but not self-obsessed.
Was there any connection between his psychology and his films. Read some views here: