Director Alfred Hitchcock (1899)

The American spy political thriller film, Torn Curtain (1966), was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It follows the story of Michael Armstrong, a US physicist and rocket scientist, as he travels to Copenhagen for a conference with his assistant and fiancée, Sarah Sherman. During the trip, Armstrong receives a radiogram instructing him to pick up a book in Copenhagen. The book contains a message that reads ‘Contact π in case of emergency’. Despite telling Sherman he is heading to Stockholm, she discovers he is actually flying to East Berlin and decides to follow him. When they arrive, Armstrong is greeted by ...

Psycho (1960), an American horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, was based on the eponymous 1959 novel by Robert Bloch. The screenplay, penned by Joseph Stefano, brought the chilling story to life. In it, Phoenix real estate secretary Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her employer after her boyfriend, Sam, laments his financial troubles are delaying their marriage. As she heads towards Fairvale, California in her car, a suspicious policeman prompts her to switch vehicles. When a heavy rainstorm forces Marion to seek ...

North by Northwest (1959) is an American spy thriller film produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In New York City the following year, a waiter at the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room restaurant is asked by some thugs to page George Kaplan. Meanwhile, advertising executive Roger Thornhill calls over the same waiter and is mistakenly abducted as they believe he is Kaplan. He is then taken to Lester Townsend’s estate in Glen Cove where he is questioned by Phillip Vandamm, a Cold War spy working against the United States who is posing as Townsend. Vandamm orchestrates Thornhill’s supposed death in a staged ...

The iconic legal thriller, The Paradine Case (1947), helmed by legendary director Alfred Hitchcock and produced by David O. Selznick, takes place in England and contains elements of film noir. The story revolves around Maddalena Anna Paradine, a stunning and enigmatic young Italian woman who stands accused of poisoning her wealthy retired colonel husband, who is also blind. As the trial unfolds, it becomes unclear whether Mrs. Paradine is a devoted wife unjustly suspected or a cunning femme fatale with ulterior motives. To aid in her defense, her solicitor Sir Simon ...

Notorious (1946) is an American spy film noir directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring an all-star cast including Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains. In April 1946, Alicia Huberman is recruited by government agent T.R. Devlin to infiltrate a group of escaped Nazis in Brazil. Despite initial resistance from Alicia, Devlin persuades her to help by revealing recordings of her heated arguments with her father and professing her love for America. The two ...

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) is an American psychological thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Newton, a restless teenage girl from Santa Rosa, California, receives exciting news: her mother’s younger brother (her namesake), Charles Oakley, will be visiting. Charlie is thrilled upon his arrival, especially when he presents her with an emerald ring as a token of their affection. However, she soon discovers that the ring has someone ...

The British espionage thriller film Sabotage (1936) follows a group of terrorists planning attacks in London. In one incident, sand is used to stop an electrical generator, causing a power outage at Karl Verloc’s cinema. When customers request their money back, Verloc sneaks into his living quarters and washes the sand from his hands before pretending to be asleep. He orders his wife to refund the money and mentions that he has other funds coming in. Just as refunds are about to be issued, the lights come back on. The following day, Verloc meets with his contact from an unnamed European country to discuss their plan for future attacks in London. The exact motive ...

Alfred Hitchcock’s espionage thriller film, Secret Agent (1936), is based on the play by Campbell Dixon. During World War I on 10 May 1916, British Captain and novelist Edgar Brodie returns from leave to discover his own obituary in the newspaper. He is then approached by an unknown man, ‘R’, who offers him a secret mission: to eliminate a German agent heading to Arabia with plans to cause chaos in the Middle East. Brodie agrees and is given a new identity as Richard Ashenden, along with a fake death. He is also partnered with an assassin known as ...

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps (1935) is a gripping British spy thriller starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. Loosely based on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, the film follows Richard Hannay as he witnesses gunshots at a London music hall theatre. Amidst the chaos, he finds himself with a frightened woman named Annabella Smith who reveals herself to be a spy. Claiming that she is being pursued by assassins, she convinces Hannay to ...