Alfred Hitchcock’s unusual favourite movie: “His daughter confirmed it”
Cinephiles are some of the snobbiest and most judgmental people on the planet, which is perhaps why so many of our greatest directors keep their true favourites private.
In the age of Letterboxd and social media, many of us have spent a ridiculous amount of time carefully curating our online identities and the films we showcase as our all-time favourites. It’s a decision that will make you go back and forth as you decide on the perfect blend of lesser-known movies and well-respected indie classics.
In the digital age, anyone can look online and find old interviews that reveal the influences of the directors we look up to the most, sometimes with surprising answers that show another side to their creative identity.
It could be Celine Song and her love for Zootopia or Paul Thomas Anderson and his love for the Marvel Universe and superhero films, but many directors have personal favourites that perhaps don’t align with the types of movies they make.
While some people try to mimic the style of their favourite directors, with Quentin Tarantino being a walking encyclopedia who purely references the work of other people, others recognise that just because you like something, it doesn’t mean you should try to do it yourself. Somebody might like the work of David Lynch, but that doesn’t mean their strengths will be shown through surrealist cinema. This was perhaps something that Hitchcock knew after devoting his life to thrillers, becoming the master of suspense when he perhaps wanted to be the master of comedy.
When you think of Hitchcock, you perhaps think of tense action sequences and his revolutionary approach to horror, sound and visual storytelling, with a vast filmography that clearly demonstrates his love for a few genres in particular. Whether it be North by Northwest and his pioneering of the secret agent character to the shower scene in Psycho, his work shows a natural affinity for horrors, thrillers and mysteries, becoming known for the darker tone in his work.
However, while he might be known for his darkness, it wasn’t something that he sought out or was reflected in his own movie-watching habits, with the director’s daughter confirming one of his favourite films that might go against his carefully cultivated image.
Alfred Hitchcock was quoted as saying that Smokey and the Bandit was his favourite movie, something that might shock many, given that it couldn’t be further from the genre he was associated with. Directed by Hal Needham in 1977, the film follows a race car driver who has to transport an illegal shipment of beer from Texas to Atlanta, while also picking up a reluctant bride along the way.
It’s a surprisingly comforting, feel-good movie that almost feels hard to associate with Hitchcock. Its light-hearted tone deviates so heavily from the subject matter he was drawn to. With murder subplots, thefts, and kidnappings, it hardly matches up to the fun and free-spirited tone of this road-trip comedy, adding an unexpected depth to his film-watching habits.
