I’ve read several books on Alfred Hitchcock over the years–and seen a couple dozen of his movies and TV shows. Alfred Hitchcock All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short (2024) is at the top of the Best list for me. It covers all of Hitchcock’s films and provides useful information and analysis.
Organized chronologically and covering every short film, television episode, and classic film, Alfred Hitchcock All the Films explores Hitchcock’s relationships with costume designer, Edith Head, title designer Saul Bass, and composer Bernard Herrmann. I also was intrigued by the details of the creative processes that went into the making of films like Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, Rear Window, North By Northwest, and To Catch a Thief.
This 648 page tome covers casting for each movie, episode, and short film. Details about screenplays, settings, and the nuts-and-bolts of movie-making are revealed.
If you’re a Hitchcock fan, you really need to check Alfred Hitchcock All the Films out. Do you have a favorite Hitchcock movie? GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Alfred Hitchcock, a Life in the Making 9
Hitchcock Before Hitchcock (1899-1925) 14
1920S
The Pleasure Garden 31
The Mountain Eagle 41
The Lodger 47
Downhill 57
Easy Virtue 61
The Ring 65
The Farmer’s Wife 75
Champagne 79
The Manxman 83
Portrait: Alma Revilie, a Well-Guarded Secret 86
Blackmail 89
Juno and the Paycock 99
An Elastic Affair 104
1930S
Elstree Calling106
Murder! / Mary 109
The Skin Game 121
Rich and Strange 125
Number Seventeen 135
Waltzes from Vienna 139
Portrait: Michael Balcon, the Man Who Knew a Lot 142
The Man Who Knew Too Much 145
Focus: The MacGuffin, a Very Ridiculous Secret 154
The 39 Steps 157
Secret Agent 169
Sabotage 181
Young and Innocent 193
Portrait: Albert Whitlock, the Illusionist 202
The Lady Vanishes 205
Jamaica Inn 215
Portrait: David 0. Selznick, or the Perfect Disharmony 222
Rebecca 225
1940S
Foreign Correspondent 235
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 245
Suspicion 249
Focus: Hitchcock at War 258
Saboteur 261
“Have You Heard?” A Photo-Story by Alfred Hitchcock 270
Shadow of a Doubt 277
Lifeboat 289
Bon voyage 300
Aventure malgache 302
Focus: Psychoanalysis According to Hitchcock 304
Spellbound 307
Focus: Storyboards, Films on Paper 316
Memory of the Camps / German Concentration Camps Factual Survey 321
Notorious 329
Focus: “Mother!” The Hitchcock Matriarchs 340
The Paradine Case 343
Rope 347
Under Capricorn 357
Portrait: Ingrid Bergman, the Cornerstone 366
Stage Fright 369
1950S
Strangers on a Train 373
Portrait: Robert Burks, the Man Who Could Do Anything 382
I Confess 385
Dial M for Murder 395
Rear Window 405
Portrait: Grace Kelly, the “Hitchcock Blonde” 414
To Catch a Thief 417
Portrait: Cary Grant, Haute Couture 426
The Trouble with Harry 429
Portrait: Bernard Herrmann, the Musical Subconscious 432
The Man Who Knew Too Much 435
Portrait: James Stewart, or the Shadow of War 444
Landmark: Alfred Hitchcock and Television (1955-1965) 446
“Revenge” (TV) 452
“Breakdown” (TV) 454
“The Case of Mr. Pelham” (TV) 456
“Back for Christmas” (TV) 458
The Wrong Man 461
“Wet Saturday” (TV) 470
“Mr. Blanchard’s Secret” (TV) 472
“One More Mile to Go” (TV) 474
“The Perfect Crime” (TV) 476
“Four O’clock” (TV) 478
Vertigo 481
Portrait: Edith Head, Supreme Elegance 492
“Lamb to the Slaughter” (TV) 494
“Dip in the Pool” (TV) 496
“Poison” (TV) 498
North by Northwest 501
Focus: Monuments, at the Summit of the Drama 512
“Banqno’s Chair” (TV) 514
Focus: Four Films with Alfred Hitchcock 516
“Arthur” (TV) 518
“The Crystal Trench” (TV) 520
1960S
Psycho 525
Focus: 78 Shots and 45 Seconds that Changed the History of Cinema 534
Portrait: Saul Bass, the Art of the Opening Sequence 540
“Incident at a Corner” (TV) 544
“Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat” (TV) 546
“The Horse Player” (TV) 548
“Bang! You’re Dead” (TV) 550
Portrait: Lew Wasserman, the Great Strategist 552
The Birds 555
Focus: Alfred Hitchcock, a French Invention? 566
“I Saw the Whole Thing” (TV )568
Focus: A Genius for Publicity: Hitchcock at the Helm 570
Marnie 573
Focus: Blondes, Mirage-Image 584
Torn Curtain 587
Focus: Unrealized Projects 596
Topaz 599
1970S
Frenzy 603
Family Plot 615
Landmark: Hitchcock After Hitchcock (Legacy) 620
Glossary 625
Notes 628
Select Bibliography 633
Index 636
Acknowledgments 646
Photo Credits 647
About the Authors 648