The First True Hitchcock: The Making of a Filmmaker

Henry K. Miller

Univ of California Press, Jan 11, 2022 - Performing Arts - 256 pages

Hitchcock’s previously untold origin story.

Alfred Hitchcock called The Lodger "the first true Hitchcock movie," the one that anticipated all the others. And yet the story of how The Lodger came to be made is shrouded in myth, often repeated and much embellished, even by Hitchcock himself. The First True Hitchcock focuses on the twelve-month period that encompassed The Lodger's production in 1926 and release in 1927, presenting a new picture of this pivotal year in Hitchcock's life and in the wider film world. Using fresh archival discoveries, Henry K. Miller situates Hitchcock's formation as a director against the backdrop of a continent shattered by war and confronted with the looming presence of a new superpower, the United States, and its most visible export—film. The previously untold story of The Lodger's making in the London fog—and attempted remaking in the Los Angeles sun—is the story of how Hitchcock became Hitchcock.

Contents

• The Reputation and the Myth: 25
• No Old Masters: 49
• The Autocrat of the Studio: 78
• To Catch a Thief: 102
• The First True Hitchcock: 129
• Stories of the Days to Come: 157
• Wilshire Palms: 180
• Notes: 203
• Bibliography: 225

About the author

Henry K. Miller is a Sight and Sound critic and editor of The Essential Raymond Durgnat. His research has been published in journals including the Hitchcock Annual and Screen.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The First True Hitchcock: The Making of a Filmmaker
• Author: Henry K. Miller
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Univ of California Press, 2022
• ISBN: 0520343565, 9780520343566
• Length: 256 pages
• Subjects: Performing Arts / Film / Genres / Horror; Performing Arts / Film / History & Criticism; Performing Arts / Individual Director