Alfred Hitchcock and Films Term Paper

ALFRED HITCHCOCK was born in London in 1899, and came to America in 1940 to make his mark as a film director. He became one of the most renowned and emulated directors of horror and suspense film. Many of his films are still considered classics, such as "The Birds," "Psycho," "Rear Window," and "North by Northwest," and they starred some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Cary Grant, James Stewart, and Grace Kelley. Hitchcock also created many film techniques, but he is probably most famous for creating the "MacGuffin," a plot device that lives on today in numerous films. "MacGuffin (n.) 1. In a film, a plot device whose sole purpose is to set the action in motion, such as a suitcase with unknown contents. Often, the MacGuffin turns out to be a decoy, causing men to make fools of themselves in pursuit of futile ends. Word origin: Coined by Alfred Hitchcock, 1939" (Enders). Hitchcock's directing created suspense that often left the audience wondering until the very last minute, as in "Psycho," when Anthony Perkins beholds his dead mother's skeleton in the last scene. Like a good mystery book the reader cannot put down, the films draw the viewer inside,…