Which “Hitchcock blonde” starred in the most movies by the director?
Every nameworthy auteur has a certain set of themes, motifs, techniques, and tricks they’ll find a way to work into most of their productions, and as one of the best ever, Alfred Hitchcock was no different.
The ‘Master of Suspense’ made a habit of revolutionising the cinematic thriller, constantly pushing the boundaries of technical and artistic virtuosity and bringing the genre to new heights, allowing him to craft one of the greatest filmographies of any director to step behind the camera.
Treating the audience as voyeurs, blurring the lines between guilt and innocence, popularising the use of the MacGuffin as a meaninglessly important plot device, and tackling societal and social taboos were all regular fixtures of the Hitchcock back catalogue, but there was one repeating trend that bordered on obsession.
That was, of course, the ‘Hitchcock blonde’. Using blonde characters in movies was hardly a ground-breaking thing to do, but no other director in history is more closely associated with the fair-haired bombshell than the ‘Master of Suspense’.
They were complex, complicated, well-drawn, and fully-dimensional characters who existed as much more than eye candy and relied on their wits just as much as their looks. It was a Hitchcockian staple, but it eventually became clear which one was his favourite.
Who was the first ‘Hitchcock blonde’?
The genesis of the ‘Hitchcock blonde’ can be traced back to 1935’s The 39 Steps, where Madeleine Carroll was cast as Pamela, embodying many of the trademarks that would come to define the filmmaker’s favoured trope.
It was a spy thriller with twists, turns, and double-crosses galore. Carroll, obviously blonde, played a smart, calculating, and charismatic female character who could more than hold her own against the men.
Nobody could have realised at the time that history was being made right in front of their very eyes, but The 39 Steps nonetheless served as the progenitor to a concept that would be repeated, refined, and honed in the decades to come.
Which ‘Hitchcock blonde’ was in the most movies?
The ‘Hitchcock blonde’ quickly became a staple, and even though one of them wasn’t even blonde, some of the greatest and most popular stars of Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’ were drafted in to fulfil the filmmaker’s favourite remit.
Priscilla Lane was another early adopter in Saboteur, and brunette Ingrid Bergman ticked the required boxes outside of hair colour when she worked with the ‘Master of Suspense’ on both Spellbound and Notorious, generating plenty of sparks with respective co-stars Gregory Peck and Cary Grant.
Kim Novak stepped in to carry on the proud tradition in Vertigo, Eva Marie Saint was the most duplicitous example yet in North by Northwest, Janet Leigh contributed to one of the most iconic scenes ever shot in Psycho, and Hitchcock became so possessive over The Birds and Marnie‘s Tippi Hedren that he sabotaged her career in the name of contractual obligation.
However, only one ‘Hitchcock blonde’ appeared in three films by the director: Dial M For Murder, Rear Window, and To Catch a Thief‘s Grace Kelly. If she hadn’t decided to forego her acting career in the name of love and royal status, it could have been a partnership that extended for even longer.
Kelly’s three Hitchcockian thrillers were released within a 15-month span between May 1954 and August 1955, but after starring in two more films the following year, she retired from acting. Perhaps he spent the rest of his days seeking a talent comparable to the future princess, with the ‘Hitchcock blonde’ remaining prevalent despite none of them appearing in as many of his features as Kelly.
