Analyzing The Themes in Alfred Hitchcock's Films

Originated in 1954 by French film director and critic François Truffaut, the auteur theory sees films as literary texts as if they are authored. His theory, from the article “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” (‘A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema), argues that a film should express a singular artistic vision rather than just being “well made” (François Truffaut, 1954). Since the 1960s film critics began to criticise the auteur theory and its focus on the director, for example Andrew Sarris.

Andrew Sarris’ article ‘Noted on the auteur theory’ in 1962 approaches the auteur theory with three different stages; technical competence, distinguishable style and interior meaning. Technical competence means that critics must never assume that a bad director will always produce a bad film; even auteurs do not always run a true form. Similar themes and characteristics that reoccur throughout a particular director’s film should have some relationship to the way the director thinks and feels, also known as ‘distinguishable personality’.

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The final stage ‘interior meaning’ is the relationship with the director and their work; part of their psychology is embedded into the cinema and can’t be rendered into non-cinematic terms (Andrew Sarris, 1962).

Alfred Hitchcock (august 1899 – April 1980) is an English film director and producer known as “the master of suspense”. With his main focus of a psychological thriller Hitchcock uses a distinctive style and similar character psychological states that defines him as an auteur in Truffaut’s opinion.

Voyeurism is the practice of gaining sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity.

During Hitchcock films the audience act as a voyeurism order to blur the moral distinction between the innocent and the guilty. Psycho (1960) is an example where Hitchcock transfers the guilt on to the audience for acting as a voyeur. For instance the audience are forced to watch Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) undress before entering the shower, from Norman Bates’ (Anthony Perkins) perspective. This action is shown through a hole in the wall where the audience have no escape from watching the female undress, successfully causing a sense of uncomfortable. This particular scene is also an insight into Norman Bates’, who is metaphorically masturbating, psychology; another trait of Hitchcock. According to Hitchcock Norman, during this scene, can be clarified by Freud’s idea of obsessional neurosis. His confusion about sexual difference and appropriate sexual behaviour is an example of regressing to the genital phase of adolescence. However his contrast between masculinity and femininity plays no part at this point, yet it is briefly shown after his watching where he sits slumped in though; it is unclear whether it is his or his mother’s. (David Sterritt, 1993)

Critics interpreted the 1958 romantic thriller Vertigo as “a tale of aggression and visual control”. An example of voyeurism in Vertigo is where the audience are first introduced to Madeline Elsters’ (Kim Novak) life. During this the audience follow her around the town of San Francisco from the perspective of Scottie (James Stewart). During this the audience witness her alluring persona in which Scottie falls in love with. In contrast to voyeurism in Psycho, Scottie’s watching in Vertigo doesn’t appear as perverted as the audience discover that Madeline was aware and it was her job in the film.

Another theme that runs throughout Hitchcock’s films is a peculiar sexual relationship between the two main protagonists. On example of this is Judy (Kim Novak) and Scottie in Vertigo. After the death of Madeline, Scottie fell in love with Judy because her appearance was similar, unaware that they were the same person. However he changed Judy’s appearance, style and her personality in order to create his own Madeline again. In an interview with Francois Truffaut Hitchcock referred to their relationship as an example of necrophilia, as he transforms Judy into a dead woman. This is shown when Judy appears from the bathroom after styling her hair the same way as Madeline. Once she appears a close up of Scottie’s face where the audience see nothing but desire. After this he immediately embraces her and kisses her passionately.

In Rear Window (1954) L. B. Jeffries (James Stewart) is immobilised in a wheelchair due to a broken leg. This emasculates him in his relationship with Lisa (Grace Kelly) who takes upon the male roles in a relationship; for example planning dinner dates. Due to this Jefferies begins the film unsure about their relationship, however this changes throughout the film, which is portrayed by his gaze. At the beginning of the film he is more occupied by watching his neighbours including the attractive Miss Torso and Mr Thorwald with intensive curiosity, rather than Lisa. However once she becomes involved in the action Jeffries view of Lisa immediately changes. His camera lens represents this; it gradually increases in size metaphorically representing a growing erection caused by sexual arousal to Lisa being in danger.

Hitchcock didn’t have an emotional relationship with his parents when growing up, in particular his father. In an interview on The Dick Cavett Show in 1972 Hitchcock explained that from the age of three months he has been terrified of his mother after she was satisfied from scaring him. This also occurred with his father: “At the age of five my father sent me with a note to the local police for a minor misdemeanour for five minutes” (Alfred Hitchcock and Dick Cavett, 1972). Strange maternal figures and a lack of a father figure re themes that run throughout Hitchcock films. Mothers are frequently depicted as intrusive and domineering. For example during The Birds (1963) Mitch’s mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy) is seen as an overprotective mother over her son once he begins a relationship with Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren). This is due to Mitch (Rod Taylor) becoming a surrogate husband to Lydia and a surrogate father to his sister Cathy after the death of his father. This is evident when Mitch frequently refers to her as “darling”. It becomes apparent, later on in the film, that this bothers Melanie since she has no relationship with her mother. When Mitch tells her that she needs a mothers love, Melanie explains that she doesn’t know where her mother is since she left. During this her voice changes to a child-like, revealing her desire for a mother’s love.

The maternal figure in Psycho is very different to The Birds. In the film Norman’s mother is a mental maternal figure that takes control of his mind in regards to women, other than herself, and sexual intercourse. This psychological figure was created after Norman poisoned his own mother, Norma, and her new boyfriend after the death of his father. In the film his mother takes control of Norman’s mind and kills women who she sees as a threat, for example: Marion Crane. After Norman watches Marion undress he immediately becomes his mother, who brutally attacks and kills her in the shower. However, Norman is unaware of this controlling relationship and still sees her as a separate human being. This is evident when he has conversations with her, stores her corpse in her bedroom and refers to her as his “best friend”: “a boy’s best friend is his mother”. The final shot of the film is a close up of Norman’s face where the audience see a skeleton slowly fade onto his face. This shows that at the end of the film it is evident that Norma has completely took over Norman’s mind as her voice is heard whilst he is sitting in the prison cell.

Hitchcock regularly hired blonde women as his leading ladies; which he was aware of: “I seem to have developed a reputation for preferring blonde leading ladies in my films” (Donald Spotto, 2009). His peculiar obsession with punishment and sex in his films were explained by growing up in isolation out of fear. However this was known to be an obsession with leading ladies such as Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren and tried to control their lives. His relationship with Grace Kelly remained sexual, yet he still desired to control her life. When Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco his obsession turned to Vera Miles, whom he wanted to control everything: her smile, her walk, the way she spoke, her diet and company (Caroline Howe, 2016). His most known obsession was with The Birds and Marnie star Tippi Hedren. In an interview she explained that on the set of Marnie he suddenly grabbed her and became more aggressive as she tried to fight him.

“I’ll simply say that he suddenly grabbed me and put his hands on me. It was sexual, it was perverse, and it was ugly, and I couldn’t have been more shocked and repulsed. The harder I fought him, the more aggressive he became. Then he started adding threats, as if he could do anything to me that was worse than what he was trying to do at that moment.” (Jocelyn McClurg, 2016)

Tippi has also recalled times where Hitchcock has requested her to make herself sexually available to him for his convenience, to which she refused. This relationship eventually turned to Hitchcock ruining Tippi’s career (Tippi Hedren, 2012).

There are several themes and lot devices that occur within Hitchcock films, which is what defines him as an auteur in Truffaut’s opinion. In Andrew Sarris’ review on Truffaut’s and his three different stages on an auteur it is evident that Hitchcock can be defined as one. Hitchcock’s use of specific stylistic camera techniques such as pure cinema; the silent gathering of the crown behind Melanie in The Birds and his use of “The Vertigo Shot” in Vertigo to portray Scottie’s viewpoint of a height. The use of punished blonde women; such as Marnie’s rape scene in Marnie (1964), emasculinity and voyeurism are categorised as the “distinguishable personality”. Finally maternal figure, in particular mothers, and blonde women are categorised as “interior meaning” as it shows Hitchcock’s psychological opinions of the two.