Simply Hitchcock Simply Hitchcock DAVID STERRITT SIMPLY CHARLY NEW YORK Copyright © 2017 by David Sterritt Cover Illustration by Vladymyr Lukash Cover Design by Scarlett Rugers All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.
[email protected] ISBN: 978-1-943657-17-9 Brought to you by http://simplycharly.com Dedicated to Mikita, Jeremy and Tanya, Craig and Kim, and Oliver, of course Contents Praise for Simply Hitchcock ix Other Great Lives xiii Series Editor's Foreword xiv Preface xv Acknowledgements xix 1. Hitch 1 2. Silents Are Golden 21 3. Talkies, Theatricality, and the Low Ebb 37 4. The Classic Thriller Sextet 49 5. Hollywood 61 6. The Fabulous 1950s 96 7. From Psycho to Family Plot 123 8. Epilogue 145 End Notes 147 Suggested Reading 164 About the Author 167 A Word from the Publisher 168 Praise for Simply Hitchcock “With his customary style and brilliance, David Sterritt neatly unpacks Hitchcock’s long career with a sympathetic but sharply observant eye. As one of the cinema’s most perceptive critics, Sterritt is uniquely qualified to write this concise and compact volume, which is the best quick overview of Hitchcock’s work to date—written with both the cineaste and the general reader in mind.