![]() The plights of the leading characters in films like "North by Northwest" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much" have been said to symbolize the pecularily disoriented and imperiled state of 20th century man.Īlthough the first film Mr. Hitchcock's favorite themes was that of the average citizen suddenly and unwittingly capapulated into extraordinary situations over which he had no control. ![]() Hitchcock found favor with higher-brow movie critics only in more recent years, when his work was re-analyzed and found to be not only amusing and masterful but also occasionally profound. Hitchcock's death.Īlthough long a favorite with movie audiences who knew to expect a virtual roller coaster ride from the best of his movies, Mr. The film was in preparation at the time of Mr. ![]() Hitchcock's films dealt with the murky, amoral world of modern espionage - films such as "Notorious," "North By Northwest," "Saboteur," "The 39 Steps" and the planned film that was to be his 54th production "The Short Night," to be based on the career of British double agent George Blake. Reruns are in syndication throughout the world. The series ran as a weekly half-hour from 1955 to 1962 and became "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" from 1962 to 65. "I'm the marionette, you see, that's the whole point of it," he said. Hitchcock noted, years later, that he chose the musical theme himself. Hitchcock himself, who delivered unto viewers a mock funereal "Good evening." Hitchcock not only turned himself into a droll figure of fun to publicize his film - he made cameo appearances in most of them, always looking a bit like a bemused mortician out of Dickens or Charles Addams - but also became a national television star in the '50s when he hosted the weekly series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."Įach program opened with the director's famous curley-que outline sketch of his portly silhouette accompanied by Gounod's whimsical music "Funeral March of a Marionette" and followed by Mr. "Everything frightens me," he once remarked. The director who spent a half century wittily scaring the wits out of moviegoers with films such as "Strangers on A Train," "Frenzy," "The Birds" and "Dial M for Murder," always professed he was himself meek, docile and harmless. more than a little Alfred Hitchcock will appear in every thriller, every urbane mystery and every well-wrought shocker that is made for decades to come." Hitchcock's many contributions to the art of film making, then went on to say that ". Last night, the White House issued a statement from President Carter in which he called the director's death "an almost personal loss to all of us who love the movies." The statement noted Mr. I feel very fortunate to have worked with him. Henry Ford, who played the title role in "The Wrong Man," said "I think his humor was the most unique thing about him. Hitchcock that "He always executed his suspense with taste he never offended you. Hitchcock "a master of his profession," and Anthony Perkins, who played the psycho with the knife, recalled of Mr. Janet Leigh, the actress who played the victim of the most famous murder in screen history - the shower stabbing in "Psycho" - called Mr. "The world has lost a tremendous contribution to the art of film and to millions and millions of people." "I've lost a wonderful friend," Stewart said. "There was nobody like him, and he'll be very hard to replace," said James Stewart, the pursued and beleaguered Hitchcock hero of "Rear Window," "Vertigo" and "The Man Who Knew Too Much." Hitchcock's 53 films both mourned and praised him. Yesterday, some of the actors who appeared in some of Mr. Film critic Pauline Kael has said of him, "A pretty good case could be made for Alfred Hitchcock as the master entertainer of the movie medium." Hitchcock became a genre unto himself, commonly known as "the master of suspense," and an unchallenged whiz at manipulating movie and television audiences with tales of fear and mystery. No movie director in the history of film was more popular with audiences, more consistently successful at the box office nor more prankishly public a figure than Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, whose name was more prominently displayed than those of the stars on most of the films he made. Hitchcock "just didn't feel good," and added that the health problems then were not considered serious. Hitchcock had used a wheelchair in recent years and had gone through several days of diagnostic tests at Cedar Sinai Hospital Medical Center early last month.Ī hospital spokesman said at the time that Mr. ![]() Hitchcock had a heart pacemaker and had been suffering from both kidney failure and arthritis. Sir Alfred Hitchock, 80, the British-born director who for 50 years frightened and delighted movie audiences with thrillers that set screen standards for terror and suspense, died Tuesday morning at his home in Los Angeles.Īlthough the cause of death was not immediately announced, Mr.
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