Alfred Hitchcock believed women couldn’t be directors: “Less versatile in observation”
Female filmmakers have made countless essential contributions to the art form, going right back to its earliest origins. In fact, one of the very first filmmakers was Alice Guy-Blaché, who pioneered narrative filmmaking in the 1800s. Even still, the contributions of women in filmmaking have been consistently ignored, underrated, or downplayed throughout the history of cinema. This attitude towards female filmmakers has often been perpetuated by male directors like Alfred Hitchcock.
Hitchcock, of course, is a colossal figure within the history of film. Completely redefining the landscape of cinema, Hitchcock created some of the most iconic films of all time, from the early slasher Psycho to the archetypal thriller Vertigo. His filmography has inspired countless future directors, filmmakers, and performers, and certain films of his are still held up as archetypal examples of certain genres or filmmaking techniques.
Despite all of this legendary status surrounding Hitchcock, one aspect of his work that has often been criticised is his representation of female characters. Women rarely come off well in Hitchcock films, often portrayed as helpless and overly emotional or as untrustworthy individuals. Either way, being a woman in a Hitchcock flick was rarely rewarding – in many cases, his female characters were murder victims.
This treatment of female characters in his work is largely reflected in his own treatment of women in the director’s private life. When creating Vertigo, the director wanted Vera Miles to play the lead female character, but the actor fell pregnant and could not appear in the film. Rather than being pleased about Miles’ pregnancy or supporting an actor who became essential in films like Psycho, Hitchcock instead decreed, “I hate pregnant women because then they have children.”
Clearly, Hitchcock’s relationship with women was not overly harmonious. So, it should come as no surprise that he was dismissive of female directors and filmmakers. Back in 1929, when the director was still very much in the early stages of his career, despite gaining attention for The Ring—his final silent film—the director revealed his thoughts on female directors.
“It is not so much the lack of the necessary physique that would prevent a woman from making a good film director,” he shared, “But rather the smaller scope of the life she may be expected to have experienced.”
Continuing, the director made a variety of sweeping statements that were rooted in classic sexism in the male-orientated landscape of cinema. “I think women are less versatile in observation than men, who have more ‘angles on life.’ And scope of observation is fundamental in creating an impression of reality,” the director declared.
“The film director is called upon to portray life in all its aspects,” he added. “The most versatile man can only have a certain amount of experience, and no one should undertake a subject of which he has not first-hand knowledge.”
He did make the horrendous clarification, “Of course, I am thinking of a woman, as a woman, and not of the type who should have been a man.”
Admittedly, these comments were made by Hitchcock in 1929, when ridiculously sexist, patriarchal, and misogynistic attitudes were commonplace within American society, particularly in the film industry. However, his attitude towards women – either as filmmakers or performers – never seemed to change as the societal position of women advanced throughout the 20th century.
