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Alfred Hitchcock Quotes (1899-1980)
Actor, Director, Producer
About Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer, closely associated with the suspense thriller genre. He is a well-known man and an award-winning director. He directed and produced three of the American Film Institute Top 100 Films, Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), and North by Northwest (1959), two psychological thrillers and a suspense film. Additionally, Vertigo was rated as the best film of all time in the 2012 British Film Institute Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films of all time.
Best Alfred Hitchcock Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Alfred Hitchcock quotes.
“Self-plagiarism is style.”
“Puns are the highest form of literature.”
“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”
“The Birds could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made.”
“[This award is] meaningful because it comes from my fellow dealers in celluloid.”
“The lower lip definitely states that all actors are cattle—including the authorǃ”
“Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.”
“I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.”
“One of television's great contributions is that it brought murder back into the home, where it belongs.”
“Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people’s habits. It just kept them inside the house.”
“Deep inside, I am a shy man. And in the presence of colorful characters, I am a clam. I never try to out-eccentric the eccentricsǃ”
“In the documentary the basic material has been created by God, whereas in the fiction film the director is a God; he must create life.”
“Seeing a murder on television can … help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.”
“Actors are cattle. I've always said actors are cattle. In fact, Carole Lombard once built a corral on set and put three live calves into it, in recognition of my feelings. I tell them that, and treat them as such, and we get along fineǃ”
“I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes … have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I’ve never tasted it.”
“[T]he director passed off the phrase as one of his "Machiavellian quips," not to be taken seriously. "Let us say, rather, that actors are a necessary evil," he cautioned, with a straight face. "As a matter of fact, I couldn't work if I weren't on friendly terms with them; I'll bend over backward every time. Besides, I get into each picture I make, if only for a couple of seconds—so I'm probably a frustrated actor at heart myself."”
“A clear horizon — nothing to worry about on your plate, only things that are creative and not destructive and that's within yourself. Within me I can't bear quarreling, I can't bear feelings between people. I think hatred is wasted energy and it's all non-productive. I'm very sensitive. A sharp word, said by a person who has a temper, if they're close to me, hurts me for days. I know we're only human, we do go in for these various emotions, call them negative emotions but when all these are removed and you can look forward, and the road is clear ahead, and now you're going to create something. I think that's as happy as I would ever want to be.”
“I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are Alma Reville. Had the beautiful Miss Reville not accepted a lifetime contract without options as Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock some 53 years ago, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock might be in this room tonight, not at this table but as one of the slower waiters on the floor.”
Alfred Hitchcock Quotes by Topic
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Alfred Hitchcock on Acting 7 quotes
View all 7 quotes on Acting →Alfred Hitchcock on Television 4 quotes
“One of television’s great contributions is that it brought murder back into the home, where it belongs.”
Alfred Hitchcock on Film director 3 quotes
“I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.”
Alfred Hitchcock on Endurance
Alfred Hitchcock on Homicide
“One of television's great contributions is that it brought murder back into the home, where it belongs.”
What Alfred Hitchcock Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Alfred Hitchcock shared regarding contemporaries.
Alfred Hitchcock on Grace Kelly 2 quotes
“Grace Kelly's apparent frigidity was like a mountain covered with snow, but that mountain was a volcano.”
Alfred Hitchcock on Tallulah Bankhead
“The whole point about Tallulah was that she had no inhibitions. Now some people can take this, others can't.”
Alfred Hitchcock on Marlene Dietrich
“Marlene Dietrich is a professional – a professional actress, a professional dress designer, a professional cameraman.”
Quotes About Alfred Hitchcock
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Alfred Hitchcock from others.
Ingrid Bergman on Alfred Hitchcock
Drew Casper on Alfred Hitchcock
“Here is someone … who has an enormous, inordinate, neurotic fear of disorder. And that's from which he makes his art. He always has his people in a moment of disorder. They think they're in control, they think they have power, they think they have order, and then he just slips the rug out from under them to see what they're going to do.”
Peter Conrad on Alfred Hitchcock
“Like Freud, Hitchcock diagnosed the discontents that chafe and rankle beneath the decorum of civilization. Like Picasso or Dali, he registered the phenomenological threat of an abruptly modernised world.”
Source on Alfred Hitchcock 5 quotes
“[Hitchcock, on the set of Marnie] I've never gone into detail about this, and I never will. I'll simply say that he suddenly grabbed me and put his hands on me. It was sexual, it was perverse. The harder I fought him, the more aggressive he became.”
About Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director and producer, closely associated with the suspense thriller genre. He is a well-known man and an award-winning director. He directed and produced three of the American Film Institute Top 100 Films, Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), and North by Northwest (1959), two psychological thrillers and a suspense film. Additionally, Vertigo was rated as the best film of all time in the 2012 British Film Institute Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films of all time.