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Alfred Hitchcock names his favourite own movie
There was a point in the mid-20th century when the English filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was known as one of the greatest directors of the era, with actors across the world eager to collaborate with the eccentric creative. Thanks to the sheer size of his fame behind the camera, Hitchcock was able to work with some of the finest actors of the time, including Cary Grant, James Stewart, Vera Miles, Kim Novak, Grace Kelly and Ingrid Bergman.
Creating some of the finest movies of all time, including Vertigo, Rear Window, Rebecca and North by Northwest, Hitchcock adopted the nickname ‘the master of suspense’, becoming known for his stylish crime thrillers. Though whilst Hitchcock loved a thriller, he was also capable of a sweet romantic drama as well as a violent horror, creating Psycho in 1960 to much public furore.
Based on Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel of the same name, Hitchcock’s 1960 classic is his most well-known movie, a project that toyed with the structure of the horror genre and subverted audience expectations until its shocking, now infamous, final sequence. A masterclass in tone and sustained suspense, Hitchcock elevated the then ‘trashy’ horror genre into what it looks like today, validating its existence by toeing the line between thrilling terror and well-constructed art.
Whilst Psycho was one of his most popular releases, Hitchcock doesn’t consider the film to be his best by any stretch, revealing to Dick Cavett his favourite movie from his own filmography in an old interview.
Speaking on the show, Hitchcock tells the host in his iconic bassy voice that his favourite was “a film I made years ago called Shadow of a Doubt,” going on to explain that he loved the film “because it was true it was a character picture”.
Revealing the plot of the 1943 mystery noir that stars Joseph Cotten, Patricia Collinge and Teresa Wright with quite some enthusiasm, Hitchcock adds: “It was a family in a Northern Californian town, and beloved uncle Charlie comes to stay with them and what the family don’t know is that uncle Charlie is a mass murderer, murdered many women, and the suspense is how long will it be before the family find out the truth…they never do”.
With the director having a close relationship with his frequent collaborator, Cary Grant, one would think that one of their movies together would be Hitchcock’s favourite, though nevertheless, Shadow of a Doubt is a nice choice. Providing some context as to why the film is a favourite of the British filmmaker, Hitchcock’s daughter Pat stated in the documentary Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock’s Favorite Film: “This was my father’s favourite movie because he loved the thought of bringing menace into a small town”.
Take a look at the whole interview between Hitchcock and Cavett below, where the filmmaker discusses the intricacies of making great movies and much more.
