At the site of the London studio where the British-born so deemed 'Master of Suspense,' made his first essays in the thriller genre, a gargantuan bronze-likeness of his head sits, impassively and Buddha-like. But although one of the few authentic masters of cinema, is now appropriately celebrated in his own country, Hitchcock's greatest influence began in the year 1940 when he moved house to Hollywood and made his adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca for famed producer David O.Selznick. That Hitchcockian blend of jet-black humor and what was to become known as his transference of guilt theme had already presented itself in such British films as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). But these by-products of his impish wit and Jesuit upbringing were to be developed with greater rigor in such American films as 1942's Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Strangers On A Train (1951). While Hitchcock always had a receptive audience, the true juggernaut of critical acclaim was set in motion by such French cineastes as Francois Truffaut and Claude Chabrol. Hitherto, British and American critics had taken the director as this own estimate - as a consummate craftsman and light entertainer - but with the attention of the esteemed Cahiers du cinema critics came a radical reappraisal of his worth, one that held sway to this day.
Hitchcock would come to be respected as a powerful commentator on the darker aspects of the human condition. In all fairness, with his particular brand of filmmaking he rivaled more obviously 'serious' auteurs in terms of moral complexity. Works such as his adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's psychological thriller Strangers On A Train had faced scrutiny by the censors (the swapped murders theme of book was required to be altered so that only the villain was seen as committing a crime), but still the moral queasiness as the heart of Hitchcock's universe was a world adrift from clearcut entertainment products. It remains debatable whether his thrillers, being so clearly forged from his own preoccupations - are even straightforwardly noir, or rather his own signature manipulation takes and variations on noir's traditional themes.
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| Restraining orders, schmestraining orders (Grace Kelly and James Stewart in Rear Window) |
Hitchcock's noteworthy entries of the 1940's were followed by what would be arguably the director's greatest work, Rear Window (1954), a more complex updating of the Cornell Woolrich source from which it was adapted. The subsequent Vertigo, however a blatant ripoff of Luis Bunuel's earlier grandiose thriller El still garners merit, as well as the laudable Psycho (1960). A future generation of filmmakers would in effect carve out careers utilizing Hitchcock's tropes.
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In 1943's Shadow Of A Doubt, Joseph Cotten plays benevolent Uncle Charlie, hero worshiped by his impressionable niece, (namesake) when he comes to stay with his niece and her family in the sleepy town of Santa Rosa. But gradually, everything comes to a head, it emerges that Unca Charlie may not be as nice as he seems. In fact he may be quite insidious indeed. Hitchcock's manipulation of the audience, and the intense symbiotic relationship between the two Charlies is handled with the utmost adroitness and a sly wit.
