On This Day

Birthday of Alfred Hitchcock

August 13th 1899

12:51 13 August 2024

English film director, producer and screenwriter Alfred Hitchcock was born on this day in 1899 in East London. The "Master of Suspense" directed more than 50 motion pictures in a career that spanned six decades. Hitchcock began working in the British film industry in 1919 and made his directorial debut with 'The Pleasure Garden' (1925). His first notable success came with 'The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog' (1927). He went on to direct the first British talkie 'Blackmail' (1929) as well as two of the greatest British films of the 20th century: 'The 39 Steps' (1935) and 'The Lady Vanishes' (1938).

By the 1940s he had relocated to Hollywood and a string of hit movies followed including 'Rebecca' (1940), Foreign Correspondent' (1940), 'Suspicion' (1941), 'Spellbound' (1945) and 'Notorious' (1946). The 50s and 60s saw further artistic and commercial success with a number of classic Hollywood thrillers that included 'Strangers on a Train' (1951), 'Dial M for Murder' (1954), 'Rear Window' (1954), 'Vertigo' (1958), 'North by Northwest' (1959), 'Psycho' (1960), 'The Birds' (1963) and 'Marnie' (1964).

In total his films received 46 Academy Award nominations and although he was nominated five times he never won the Best Director Oscar. To this day Alfred Hitchcock continues to be hugely influential with his work studied by filmmakers worldwide.