Alfred Hitchcock

Long before I saw any of his films I was very familiar with the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV series that ran from 1955 to 1962. It was on every week in our home. Over the years I probably saw every episode.

I just looked back on a few and they were all familiar with many of the most famous actors of the day. All the stories were creepy too. Maybe I should go back and watch old episodes of this show during the upcoming pandemic winter.

I stared my writing about Alfred Hitchcock with The Birds as part of my series of matinee movies and which I saw when it first came out in 1963.

Later I would try to watch any Hitchcock movie out there and there were plenty of them. How could I pick a favorite? The first one that always comes to mind for me is Rear Window and probably followed by North By Northwest but the list goes on and on. He was also quite the character and like so many others I liked to try to spot his cameo appearances in his films. Hitchcock walking across the street or getting off a bus. He was always there somewhere.

I was amazed to discover how many films he actually made and how far back they went. Some of his early films like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes are ranked among the greatest British films of the 20th century. 

Some of my own favorite Hitchcock films:

• The Man Who Knew Too Much, 1934
• The 39 Steps, 1935
• Sabotage, 1936
• The Lady Vanishes, 1938
• Rebecca, 1940
• Suspicion, 1941
• Shadow of a  Doubt, 1943
• Spellbound, 1945
• Notorious, 1946
• Rope, 1948
• Strangers on a Train, 1951
• 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

Wow, what a fantastic list. I would love to have my own Hitchcock Festival this winter and also include some of the TV shows too.