Early on during the filming of Family Plot (1976) in May 1975, Hitchcock held a press conference to help promote the film. But, this being the grand old Master of Suspense, it wasn’t a normal press conference! The invited members of the press found themselves in a specially constructed graveyard, each with their own personalised gravestone. If you’ve ever seen this photograph before and wondered what it had to do with Family Plot, now you… (read more)
Here’s a little curio which appeared in the San Antonio Light newspaper on 26th April 1945, nearly 20 years before Hitchcock made The Birds (1963). In an article titled “Peace Plans Pour Into Conference”, the newspaper apparently asked Hitchcock what might happen if there was another world war… [Hitchcock] believes that birds will inherit the earth, if there is another war. He told us recently: “Crows, probably. You can see that they’re working that way… (read more)
I can’t recall ever seeing this article reproduced before, so I thought I’d share it with you :) “Movieland’s Spy Master” appeared in the Montana Standard (08/Nov/1942) and looks to have originally been published in Every Week Magazine. The LIFE article it mentions is the well-known “Have You Heard?” photo essay. Movieland’s Spy Master When recent headlines screamed of spies landing on our shores in rubber boats, plenty of heads wagged and voices remarked: “Well,… (read more)
A big “thank you” to film historian Morris Bright (author of Pinewood Studios, 70 Years of Fabulous Filmmaking) for sharing these extremely rare photographs of Hitchcock and composer Henry Mancini, taken in December 1971, which were found hidden away in the Pinewood Studios archives. Following the breakup of the Hitchcock/Herrmann partnership over the score of Torn Curtain (1966), Hitchcock never again worked with a composer on more than one film. In Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy: The… (read more)
I take my hat off to the designer of this wonderful advert for Saboteur (1942) which appeared in the Texan Sweetwater Reporter newspaper in July 1942! This was a highly opportunist piece of advertising, as the two agents seen in the photograph were amongst a group of eight German saboteurs arrested as part of the failed “Operation Pastorius” just a couple of weeks prior to the advert being placed. On the left is Ernest Peter… (read more)
Next month marks the centenary of the birth of actor, producer and director Norman Lloyd! Lloyd’s first major film role was in Hitchcock’s Saboteur (1942), playing the role of “Fry”. Later, he became an associate producer and director on both Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. To celebrate the centenary, here is one of the earliest film magazine articles about Lloyd, from the November 1942 issue of Hollywood Magazine… “Norman Lloyd hung around… (read more)
Just as Hitchcock knew the power of publicity, advertisers knew the power of publicity that referenced Hitchcock. Here’s an advertisement from the July 1960 issue of Modern Screen, featuring actress Vera Miles. The irony is that Miles wore a wig in Psycho! Here’s Ann Todd drinking Lipton Tea: …and here she is again with the rest of the cast of The Paradine Case (1947) smoking Chesterfield cigarettes: Here’s a naughty Hitchcock taking candid photographs of… (read more)
This piece of news almost slipped me by, but Cohen Films and Finishing Post Productions have partnered with the British Film Institute to restore Jamaica Inn (1939). According to the press release (PDF): The restoration project marks the first time RRsat has undertaken this technique. With the help of FPP, the RRsat team in London was tasked with achieving the best possible restoration, at the highest suitable data rate, in order to create a high… (read more)
For Hitchcock collectors out there, Amazon US are currently listing a limited edition steelbook Blu-ray of Psycho (1960):
A contemporary newspaper advert from the Manchester Guardian (11/Feb/1924) for Woman to Woman (1923)…
