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So many words have been used to describe the cinematic Master
of Suspense that it dazzles the imagination. So many words,
so many descriptions, so many of them at odds with one another.
Where does one begin to peel the many layers of Alfred Hitchcock,
who at one time ranked as one of the world's most recognizable
people? Indeed,
this upbringing was to play a decisive thematic role in his
films, namely, that of the outsider that no one truly understands
(PSYCHO, I CONFESS et al). Catholics were not a very popular
group of people in England at the turn of the century.
Many of Hitchcock's
experiences as a child would find their way into his films,
especially the fear of the police. As
a boy of 5 or 6, Hitch irritated his father who sent him to
the local police station with a note. The police then proceeded
to lock him in a cell for five minutes, punishing him, as
he would later recall, the way they do all naughty boys.
And the fear
of being abandoned, of being alone were fears deeply rooted
in his upbringing. In 1920, he learned that Famous Players-
Lasky were opening
a motion picture studio in London. Securing a job as a title
designer, Hitchcock took over the directorial reins when the
first director of ALWAYS TELL YOUR LIFE took ill.
From that moment
on, film history would be changed forever. Hitchcock became
one of the first superstar directors in Hollywood history,
and his passing on April 29, 1980 left an amazing legacy of
films that are often imitated, but never surpassed.
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