The Daily Lesson

“Good Evening,” and so began each episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.  Hitchcock, who was born on August 13, 1899, is consider to be “The master of suspense.”  All told, Hitchcock directed over 50 films in a 60 year-plus career.  In 40 of those movies he made cameo appearances.  For instance, in The Birds Hitchcock can briefly be seen walking dogs outside the pet store in San Francisco.  And in Rear Window he’s winding a clock in the song writer’s apartment.  As well, he hosted two versions of a weekly show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, from 1955 to 1962, and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, from 1962 to 1965.

Hitchcock’s directorial debut was the movie The Pleasure Garden in 1925, and his last completed film was Family Plot in 1976, neither of which I’d ever heard of.  In between he had some really great movies, like Psycho, Rear Window, North by Northwest, and The Birds.  Some would put Vertigo in the top five.  I wouldn’t.  I found the movie tedious at best, and often downright annoying.  But I digress.  Those films that most people would consider his worst are made up completely of movies I haven’t seen, so I’ll leave it for you to figure out.  Even though many of Hitchcock’s movies are now considered classics, he never received an academy award for any of his films, although he was nominated for Best Director for Rebecca, Spellbound, Lifeboat, Rear Window, and Psycho.

Some actors loved working with Hitchcock, like Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, and Jimmy Stewert.  Some couldn’t stand him, such as Paul Newman and Teppi Hedren.  Hedren, in fact, claimed Hitchcock made unwanted sexual advances, which is a polite way of saying he sexually assaulted her.  When she wanted out of her contract, Hitchcock refused, effectively ruining her career.  Though not openly discussed, Hitchcock reportedly had a reputation for being a sleazeball, especially with his blonde leading ladies.

So what do we do with that?  Hitchcock is not an outlier, unfortunately.  The list of actors and directors and performers in general who have behaved poorly – most of which are men – is long.  And all of these men were very good at what they did, be it pop music, acting, directing, or what have you.  It would be wrong to just say that’s the way men are, even though it may be.  But should you refuse to ever again listen to “Stranglehold” just because Ted Nugent presents himself as a racist bigot?  Or Ozzi Osbourne just because he pretends to be a Satanist?  I don’t know.  You tell me.  But I’m still watching Rear Window, The Birds, and Psycho... but not Vertigo.  You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.  Alfred Hitchcock signed off for the final time on April 29, 1980.

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