Introduction
During his forty-five years in the film industry, Alfred Hitchcock directed a total of 55 movies. This is besides his writing career. Most of the plots of his movies were a demonstration of the prevailing social conditions, at the time. While this may be of concern to us, it is actually the role that the mothers to his many films, along with the girlfriends of Hitchcock during his filming career, that requires to be addressed. As a child, Hitchcock was brought up by his catholic mother. It is alleged that she made him confess any sins that he might have committed in her absence. This action led Hitchcock to loathe his mother, perhaps a reflection of his loathing too, for the mothers in his films. On the other hand, Hitchcock had an obsession with blonde women (Giblin 2006), and it is not a wonder therefore that virtually all his heroines that graced the silver screen to his many films, were actually blondes. His obsession was combined with a domineering nature over the heroines, both at a personal land professional level.
Different roles of women in Hitchcock film
Oftentimes, films by Alfred Hitchcock have featured characters that are trying hard to sustain the relationship that they share with their mothers. For example in the 1959 film North by Northwest, the character of Gary Grant. Played by Roger Thornhill, comes out like that of a man who is not only innocent, but also one who is on the receiving end of his mother, following his insistence that murderous and shadowy men could be trailing him (Giblin 2006). In the actual sense however, there are indeed men who are trailing him. The character of Rod Taylor, in the 1963 film The Birds, discovers that his world is surrounded by vicious birds. At the same time, Rod Taylor is also trying hard to become free of a mother who is clinging to him. (The mother character has been played by Jessica Tandy).
On the other hand, the killer who is featured in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1972 movie, Frenzy, is seen to idolize his mother, while at the same time harboring a loathing for the rest of the women. There is also the villain Bruno, who features in the film, “Strangers on a Train” (Giblin 2006). While Bruno is depicted as a character who hates his father with venom, nevertheless he has a soft spot for his mother (Marion Lorne plays this character), with who he shares a close relationship. Claude Rain as Sebastian in the film Notorious shares a relationship with his mother that at best, maybe described as being conflicting. In this case, his mother rightly harbors suspicion regarding Ingrid Bergman, who plays the character of Alicia Huberman, the new bride to Sebastian. In the film Psycho, it is obvious that Norman Bates has a lot of trouble with his mother (Haeffner 2005). Hitchcock has managed to bring out the characters of mothers that have graced his many films as being powerful characters.
According to critics, the mother figures that Hitchcock helps create are more sinister figures (Haeffner 2005). This is a further reflection of the impact that Freudianism may have been ingrained into the mind of Hitchcock. It is worthy of note there that Hitchcock was raised by his Catholic mother. In fact, she was so obsessed with him that oftentimes, he would prevail on him to confess every sin that he may have committed. This is a clear indication of the overprotective nature of a mother. Hitchcock later on in life goes on to portray the protective nature of a mother in the film, The Man Who Knew Too Much. Nevertheless, there are also those mother figures that are not sinister in any way. On the other hand, the film, Stage Fright, helps bring out the character of an English mother who is quite dotty, a character that Sybil Thorndike plays well to perfection.
There is also the character of Mme that is played by Lepoldine Konstantin, in the film, Notorious. Indeed, this may be said to be a film about the most ruthless mother that Hitchcock ever created. In the film, The Man Who Knew Too Much, we see a mother figure that is quite controlling. This is a role that is played by Doris Day, in this Hitchcock film of 1955, who takes on the character of this protective mother who is even seen holding a rifle. Then we have the character of Emma Newton that is played by Patricia Collinge in the film, Shadow of Doubt. This film was shot about the same year that Emma, the mother to Hitchcock, passed on. Emma Newton could perhaps be seen as “the most sympathetic mother figure” to have ever been created by Hitchcock (Haeffner 2005). Marian Lorne, who plays the role of the mother to Bruno Anthony in the film, Strangers on the Train, is seen rebuking her son due to his les-than satisfactory character. For example, we see her exclaiming thus, “Oh Bruno, you’re such a naughty boy!” (Gottleib 2003).
Hitchcock has also created the character of mothers that are quite loving and caring about their sons. For example, the mother of Ballestrero, played by Esther Miniciotti in the film, The Wrong Man, is quoted as saying this to Ballestrero, “My son, I beg you to pray” (Gottleib 2003). The heroines that Hitchcock creates have a tendency of being cool and lovely blondes. For example, the film, The Lodger, features its famous victims, all of whom are blondes. At face value, these characters appear to be quite proper in character. Nevertheless, when they get intrigued by a danger or passion, their response borders to that of animals, and they may be said to be sensual, criminal even, in a number of ways. Madeleine Carroll, the glamorous star blonde that Hitchcock cerates in the film, The 39 Steps, end up being in handcuffs. Tippi Hedren, who takes on the title character in the 1964 film, Marnie, is portrayed as a kleptomaniac.
Three of Hitchcock’s films during the early 1960s that as The Birds, Psych, as well as Manic, all lead to the emergence of a new configuration in terms of the heroine that gets involved. Previously, Hitchcock had sought to portray a compliment of gender, like in the case of the film, In The Wrong Man. This was during the 1950s. In the 1960s however, the character of the mother figure merges (Giblin 2006). Now, we see a plot of the film that is characterized by an antagonism between on the one hand, a hero and on the other hand, a heroine, thanks to the entry of the character of a mother. In all these films (save for The Man Who Knew Too Much), the mother figure appears to direct her mothering not to an adult, but to a child.
In the film, Rear Window, Lisa takes on the form of a mother figure who is quite badgering. Other films such as Stage Fright, Shadow of a Doubt and Strangers on a Train, bring out the heroines as women who are ” radically bereft of their children” (Haeffner 2005). The heroes in the films by Hitchcock appear to draw a certain level of hostility towards their mothers. Equally, Hitchcock is seen to have his venom directed at these mothers in quite an intense manner. This also includes to some extent, the female actresses. In this case, the hostility by Hitchcock takes on the form of a dominating obsession.
Nevertheless, there are those women who dodge the manipulative nature of Hitchcock. One such woman is Vera Miles, who decided to get pregnant, as opposed to taking a starring role in Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo. It has often been said that Hitchcock already had in her mind that this would have been the breakthrough role for this heroine. Vertigo comes out as the most autographical work by Hitchcock. The character of Scottie is taken up by James Stewart. The hero in this film appears to be quite obsessed with a haunted woman, Madeline, played by Kim Novak. Following the death of the haunted woman Scottie manages coerce Judy, whom she takes as a replacement to the dead Madeline, to copy the hairstyle and attires that were worn by the dead woman. Clearly, this plot is an echo of the dominion that Hitchcock often has over the females that stars in his (Haeffner 2005).
Hitchcock was known for subjecting his women characters in the movies that he created to despicable psychological and physical horrors that sought to ruin not just their otherwise elegant equilibrium, but also somewhat appear to expose how vulnerable these women are (Gottleib 2003). What may be of interest here is the fact that outside of the silver screen is the fact that Hitchcock had a soft spot for blondes, even in his old age. There are those critics that have depicted Hitchcock as being a manipulative sadist not just in his films, but also when it comes to real-life matters. For example, Hitchcock could not let go of Grace Kelly. This is the ice maiden blonde that Hitchcock lost when she was wed in a high-profile setting.
The film Psycho shows Hitchcock viciously treating his blonde, and in the end resulting in her death. This cruel act was seen by many then as one of the most shocking scenes to have graced the silver screen. Tippi Hedren is the blonde star in two of Hitchcock’s films; Marnie and The birds. Again, Hitchcock does not hide his obsession with this particular blonde. In the long run, he is unable to contain it, and eventually goes berserk about it, akin to the climax that his other film, Strangers On The Train, as regards the level of obsession of the heroes to his blonde heroine, Tippi Hedren. The screenwriter of Vertigo, Samuel Taylor, is quoted as having commented thus about how Hitchcock manipulated Hedren, “He was doing Vertigo with Tippi Hedren” (Gottleib 2003).
The life of Hitchcock may be said to be one that was characterized by an obsession with detail. During the working hours, he would not even dare to think of leaving the office. So as not to harbor any thoughts about dressing, Hitchcock is believed to have worn similar suits to his tie. In addition, Hitchcock always ensured that on his many global trips, he would always book into similar suites. According to him, this enabled him to feel comfortable around familiar territory (Freeman 1999). In a similar fashion, Hitchcock is seen to have a controlling effect on his many films. A case in point is the level of obsession to which Hitchcock has over the heroines of his films.
A majority of the critics of Hitchcock’s films have pointed out that he often took pride in performing acts of sadism while on screen, but in real life, a majority of the actresses in his films (except in the case of Tippi Hedren), have pointed out to the fact that Hitchcock may at best be said to have been a perfect gentleman, at least from their perspective. Although Hitchcock could oftentimes turn out to be quite overprotective, nevertheless his concerns towards the women in his life took on the form of a concerned father (Freeman 1999). Time and again, mothers in the films that Hitchcock has directed are portrayed as being domineering and intrusive, batty even, as is the case in the films Notorious, Rope, North by Northwest, The Birds, Strangers on a Train, and Psycho.
The domineering nature of Hitchcock again unfolds in the film Vertigo, in which we see the hero, James Stewart coercing a woman to have her hair dyed to blonde. This is a further testament to the fact that Hitchcock is extremely obsessed with blondes, and he will go to any level to see to it that his character resembles his personal obsessions. Hitchcock once attested to the fact that the main reason behind his choice for blonde to feature in his films was more of a tradition, as opposed to being attracted to these. This tradition, according to Hitchcock, commence with Mary Pickford. According to this famed film director, he saw blondes as “a symbol of the heroine” (Auiler 1999). Hitchcock also harbor the thought that blondes were better able to handle the camera in black and white, a trend that used to be popular with films for many years
Conclusion
Women occupy various roles in the films that Alfred Hitchcock helped to direct. On the one hand, there were the mothers to the heroes of the films. Some were quite controlling, and defensive of their sons against their suspicious girlfriends, an act that made their sons hate them with venom (Haeffner 2005). Then we had other mothers who cared for the plight of their sons. On the other hand, there were the female actresses, almost all of whom were blondes. Hitchcock is believed to have had a soft spot for blonde women, because of his belief that they were quite good with photography work. All the same, Hitchcock was quite domineering over these actresses, both at a personal and professional level. In real life, Hitchcock was known to have been obsessed with mode of dressing and working life. We may therefore insinuate here that he extended this obsession to his profession as well.
Bibliography
Auiler, D, 1999, Hitchcock’s notebooks: an authorized and illustrated look inside the creative mind of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Avon Books.
Freeman, D, 1999, The Last Days of Alfred Hitchcock. New York: Overlook.
Giblin, G, 2006, Alfred Hitchcock’s London. London: Midnight Marquee Press.
Gottleib, S, 2003, Alfred Hitchcock: Interviews By Alfred Hitchcock. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2003).
Haeffner, N, 2005, Alfred Hitchcock. Oxford: Longman.