1899 - 1980

The young Alfred Hitchcock was enthusiastic about all mechanical things and so he began his professional life at a telegraph company. When he became a designer of advertisements this meant the entrance into the film business. In 1920 he was engaged for the design of movie titles. In the course of time Alfred Hitchcock worked his way up from an art director via an editor and writer to a director.

His first movies as a director were "The Pleasure Garden" (25) and "The Mountain Eagle" (26). Already his third movie "The Lodger" (27) was a box-office hit and his hand was already plainly discernible.

He achieved the jumpt the the talkies with "Blackmail" (29) and continued his figurative story telling successfully. In the 30's he realised the exceptional movies "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (34), "The 39 Steps" (35), "Sabotage" (36) and "The Lady Vanishes" (38), in which normally the simple human being formed the central figure and the audience was able to identify with them.

Alfred Hitchcock went to Hollywood in 1939 where he shot his first American movie called "Rebecca" (40). The movie was nominated for an Oscar for the best picture and for the best director and cemented his position in Hollywood. It followed one classic after the other with "Foreign Correspondent" (40), "Suspicion" (41) - for which Hitchcock was nominated for an Oscar for the second time - "Shadow of a Doubt" (43), "Lifeboat" (44) - his third Oscar nomination - "Spellbound" (45) - his fourth Oscar nomination - "Notorious" (46) and "The Paradine Case" (47).

In the 50's Alfred Hitchcock looked for a new challenge and shot a whole string of unique movies which put the audience in a position to a real Hitchcock mania. To these movies belong "Strangers on a Train" (51), "Dial M for Murder" (54), "Rear Window" (54), "To Catch a Thief" (55), the black comedy "The Trouble With Harry" (55), the new version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (56), "Vertigo" (58) and "North by Northwest" (59).

At the beginning of the 60's came the last great classics into being from the hand of the master - "Psycho" (60) and "The Birds" (63). The following movies "Marnie" (64), "Torn Curtain" (66) and "Topaz" (69) couldn't go on from the earlier successes but with "Frenzy" (72) Hitchcock reported back in an impressive manner. His last movie was "Family Plot" (76).

For all who won't miss an appearance of Alfred Hitchcock in his movies, see the overview of his roles below:
The Lodger (27) --> Extra in arrest scene 
Easy Virtue (27) --> Man with stick near tennis court 
Blackmail (29) --> Man on Subway 
Murder! (30) --> Man on street 
The 39 Steps (35) --> Littering Man near music hall 
Young and Innocent (37) --> Reporter outside courthouse 
The Lady Vanishes (38) --> Man in London railway station 
Rebecca (40) --> Man outside phone booth 
Foreign Correspondent (40) --> Man with Newspaper on street 
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (41) --> Man passing David Smith on street 
Suspicion (41) --> Man mailing letter 
Saboteur (42) --> Man in front of NY Drugstore 
Shadow of a Doubt (43) --> Man on train playing cards 
Lifeboat (44) --> Newspaper weight-loss advertisement 
Spellbound (45) --> Man getting off elevator in hotel 
Notorious (46) --> Man drinking champagne at party 
The Paradine Case (47) --> Man carrying cello case 
Under Capricorn (49) --> Man at Governor's reception 
Stage Fright (50) --> Man staring at Eve on street 
Strangers on a Train (51) --> Man boarding train carrying a double bass 
I Confess (53) --> Man crossing the top of long staircase 
Rear Window (54) --> Man winding clock in Songwriter's Apartment 
To Catch a Thief (55) --> Man sitting next to John Robie on bus 
The Trouble with Harry (55) --> Man walking past Sam's outdoor exhibition 
The Man Who Knew Too Much (56) --> Man in Morocco marketplace 
Vertigo (58) --> Man walking past boatyard 
North by Northwest (59) --> Man who misses bus 
Psycho (60) --> Man in cowboy hat outside realty office 
The Birds (63) --> Man walking dogs out of pet shop 
Marnie (64) --> Man leaving hotel room 
Torn Curtain (66) --> Man in hotel lobby with baby 
Topaz (69) --> Man in wheelchair at airport 
Family Plot (76) --> Silhouette at offical of Vital Statistics 

The success of Halfred Hitchcock's movies is also connected with filmcomposer Bernard Herrmann who wrote for most of Hitchcock's work a forceful music which put the finishing touches to the already masterly directed pictures.

Typically Alfred Hitchcock as one of the greatest directors at all never got an Oscar as best director. It is true that he was nominated for two more Oscars for "Rear Window" and "Psycho" besides the already mentioned ones, but for the trophy he was passed over constantly. He got the Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1968.
 

Other movies of Alfred Hitchcock as director: 
The Ring (27) Downhill (27) Easy Virtue (27) The Farmer's Wife (28) Champagne (28) The Manxman (29) Murder! (30) Mary - Sir John greift ein! (30) Juno and the Paycock (30) Elstree Calling (30) An Elastic Affair (30) The Skin Game (31) Rich and Strange (32) Number Seventeen (32) Waltzes from Vienna (33) Secret Agent (36) Young and Innocent (37) Jamaica Inn (39) Mr. & Mrs. Smith (41) Saboteur (42) Bon Voyage (44) Rope (48) Under Capricorn (49) Stage Fright (50) I Confess (53) Serie " Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (55) The Wrong Man (56) Serie "Suspicion: 4 O'Clock" (57) Serie "Startime: Incident at a Corner" (59) Psycho (60) Serie "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: I Saw the Whole Thing" (62) 

Writer:
Woman to Woman (23) The White Shadow (23) The Prude's Fall (24) The Passionate Adventure (24) Die Prinzessin und der Geiger (25) The Ring (27) Champagne (28) The Skin Game (31) Number Seventeen (32)