Today is Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s birthday. The Master of Suspense, easily the most famous film director who ever lived, was born on Aug. 13, 1899 and died on April 29, 1980 at age 80.
But of course, like all great artists, there are corners that only the devout have explored. He began directing in 1922, after all, refining his craft in his native Britain before arriving in the U.S. in 1940 to direct Rebecca. Many of the films he made in Britain are hardly as famous as his most iconic work, but seeing them today remind us that he was a genius almost from the beginning. The original The Man Who Knew Too Much and The 39 Steps in particular are as tense and thrilling as his expensive, star-studded color films of the 1950s.
Another Hitch period that is often neglected is his post-The Birds work. While it is true that he never quite recovered from the disappointing Marnie (which inexplicably made the BBC’s 100 Greatest American films list last month), Frenzy should be considered one of his better films.
With this in mind, it’s time to explore some of these darker corners of Hitch’s career. Some cineastes might say that my picks are well-known, but for others, these are movies yet to be explored and well worth everyone’s time.