International Alfred Hitchcock Day

In Today's Thrilling Issue

International Alfred Hitchcock Day
Alfred's To Blame
Hitchcock
That's Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing
Random Joke
Finish with a Song

March 12 is National Alfred Hitchcock Day, a day to celebrate the life, times, and work of master filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock.

A Long Career

Alfred Hitchcock's prolific film-making career spanned half a decade - he began making movies in 1921 and made his last film, Family Plot, in 1976. His unique cinematic style in the genre of psychological thrillers and suspense movies earned him the title of Master of Suspense.

In addition to making movies, Hitchcock created and hosted a television series called Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

How to Celebrate

• Gather your friends and do a Hitchcock movie marathon. Some of his more famous movies include Psycho, Vertigo, and The Birds.
• One of the unique things about Hitchcock's movies is that he played a cameo role in most of them. So, while watching doing a Hitchcock movie marathon, play the spot-Hitchcock’s-cameo game. Whoever spots the most cameos wins.
• Host an Alfred Hitchcock-themed party. Decorate your venue with birds related props. Serve your guests pecan pie (from Marnie), Moroccan tagine (from The Man Who Knew Too Much), and Chicken (from Notorious). Screen Murder Party, an episode from Alfred Hitchcock Presents for your guests.

Did You Know…

…that Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar in the Best Director category?

Alfred’s to blame

When I run for my life

If I catch the glint

Of a large Kitchen Knife

I won't take a shower

I’ll stay with my bath

Dail M for Murder?

You’re having a laugh

He’s given me a fear

Of birds and heights

Of mummified mothers

Denied their last rights

I don’t have a rear window

I won't have a peep

Nightmares of falling

Disturbing my sleep

He directed them well

He knew how to shock

That cigar smoking devil

Alfred Hitchcock

He had a life-long fear of the police.

Is he afraid of the police? Guess we need to go back, around the age of 5, Hitchcock was sent by his father to the local police station with a note asking the officer to lock him away for five minutes as punishment for misbehaving. That’s the reason why his fear of police attracted him and are frequently found in his films.

He was afraid of his own movies.

Alfred Hitchcock said in an interview in 1963, “I’m frightened of my movies. I never go to see them. I don’t know how people can bear to watch my movies.”

He loved to pull cruel practical jokes.

Hitchcock is not serious all the time. He spares some time to play some interesting jokes with cast and crew. He’ll mostly find out about somebody’s phobias, such as mice or spiders, and in turn sent them a box full of them.

He tried to buy every copy of the book based on ‘Psycho’ so no one would know how it ended.

LOL, more than awesome? Even I didn’t believe it at first, I read this on Guardian, “The director bought up all copies of the original novel, which he had optioned for a paltry $9,000 so that hardly anyone would know how the story ended. He also filmed on a closed set and forced cast and crew to sign an agreement promising not to mention the ending to anyone. There were no advance screenings.”

Walt Disney refused to allow him to film at Disneyland.

Walt Disney, the cartoon king, refused Alfred Hitchcock to shoot films at Disneyland in the early 1960s. The reason was that Hitchcock had made “that disgusting movie Psycho.”

He was afraid of Eggs.

Alfred Hitchcock once said, “I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes … have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I’ve never tasted it.”

He refused to accept a top British Award.

Considered to be one of the top honors, Alfred Hitchcock turned down “Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)” Award in 1962.

Hitchcock avoided meeting his greatest fan Steven Spielberg. According to actor Bruce
 Dern’s autobiography, he attempted to convince Hitch: "I said, 'You're his idol. He just
 [wants] to sit at your feet for five minutes and chat with you'," but Hitchcock refused.
 "He said, 'Isn't that the boy who made the fish movie?... I could never sit down and talk
 to him... because I look at him and feel like such a whore.'" Pressing him further Dern
 asked, “'Why do you feel Spielberg makes you a whore?' Hitch said, 'Because I'm the
voice of the Jaws ride [at the Universal Studios theme park]. They paid me $1 million
dollars. And I took it and I did it. I'm such a whore. I can't sit down and talk to the
 boy who did the fish movie... I couldn't even touch his hand."

I always go the extra mile at work. That's why I'm a terrible taxi driver.

FINISH WITH A SONG - This is The Talking Heads with Psycho Killer