Guest commentary by:

JForris Day, Jr. @forrisday
John P. Hess @FilmmakerIQ

Benjamin Stirek

 

Sponsored by:

Glidecam Industries

 

NOTES:

 

This webisode examines the eighth episode of TV directed by Hitchcock, "The Perfect Crime."  It is notable because Hitchcock breaks the fourth-wall and walks through the set himself, revealing the plot twist.

 

• Storyteller presence - There is a unique phenomenon that happens while you’re watching a Hitchcock film.  You actually feel his presence behind the scenes, manipulating everything on the screen – the master storyteller at work.  This omnipresence isn’t there by accident.

• Branding - Hitchcock had a background in advertising, so when he became a director he took an active role in shaping his public image.  He even founded a publicity company to get his name in the papers.   As early as 1927, he had already drawn up the famous silhouette – the now recognizable pouting lips, big cheeks, and pulled back hair.

• Cameos - His famous cameos were a direct extension of this branding symbol that helped to perpetuate his persona in the mind of the public.  They got critics talking.

• Expertise - His interviews in media helped to perpetuate his image as a sort of mad-scientist-genius or cinematic magician.  In the 1930s he began holding lectures on the art of suspense.

• Alfred Hitchcock Presents – He did standups in more than two hundred episodes – that solidified his image in the cultural consciousness.  While introducing each episode, he made jokes about the relationship between the TV set and the viewer – a reflexivity and self-awareness that created intimacy. 

• Camera surrogate - When he’s not on the screen, Hitchcock’s camera takes over, and becomes the ambassador between storyteller and viewer.  His camera movements have a presence and a personality.  Even though he wasn’t operating the camera himself, there’s a clear sense that he was behind each move. 

 

The full episode of "The Perfect Crime" (1957) can be found on DVD, Hulu, and IMDB.