Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense
The film director Alfred Hitchcock is a well-renowned auteur, as his artistic style is so distinctive that it can be recognized through most of his filmography. Hitchcock’s recognizable style and thematic preoccupations revolve around suspenseful narrative action and using the audience as a voyeur. Hitchcock displays these thematic elements primarily in the films Psycho (1960), North by Northwest (1959) and Rear Window (1954).
As the “author” of his films, Hitchcock is chiefly responsible for the entire style and treatment of the content of his films. More particularly, functioning within the boundaries of the studio production system and are distinguishable from film artists, who have nearly total control over all aspects of production. In collaborating with the same people, Hitchcock is creating a consistency within his filmography that is necessary for auteurism.
In Hitchcock’s classic horror film Psycho, the use of dramatic irony creates suspense as the audience recognizes the dangers of Norman Bates, while the characters that visit the Bates motel remain unaware of Norman’s unstable nature. A particularly thrilling sequence is the shower murder scene with Norman Bates and Marion Crane. In this setting, Marion is at her most vulnerable, naked in the shower and unaware of any possible assault. During this scene, suspense is created through the silhouette of Norman Bates appearing through the shower curtains behind Marion. She is not aware of the impending danger, but the audience is, creating an undeniable feeling of suspense, a distinguishable element of Hitchcock’s style.
Additionally, there is suspenseful narrative action when the detective wanders up the staircase of the Bates Mansion in search of clues relating to Marion’s murder. Here, the viewer is aware that Norman Bates is lurking nearby in the house, while the detective is oblivious to any proximate threat to his life. Notably, this showcases Hitchcock as an auteur because Psycho displays his fixation on suspense through these two particular scenes.
Similarly, the opening shot of Psycho reveals a hotel-room window, in which the audience is introduced to Marion Crane and her partner Sam Loomis. Marion is partially undressed, as it is implied, they just finishing having sex even though they are not married. Here, the cinematography is used to make the audience a voyeur in this relationship, spying on them from outside the hotel window in their most private moments.
Later, Norman Bates, along with the audience watches Marion undress through a peephole right before she enters the shower. Here, Marion is being watched by Norman Bates and through his “male gaze” he is objectifying her as a mere sexual object for his pleasure. Bates is attracted to Marion as she reminds him of his mother, thus the audience shares his fixation with her through the point of view cinematography. Both the audience and Norman Bates are observing Marion through the shower peephole and in her motel room. In this scenario, the subject does not know she is being watched, clearly depicting voyeurism, a key characteristic of Hitchcock’s auteur style.
In like manner, Hitchcock’s 1959 film North by Northwest also displays suspenseful, thrilling narrative action and uses the audience as a voyeur to female characters in certain segments. In the film, the parallel action editing and the differing optical point of view shots follow two different character narrations, between Thornhill and the henchmen Valerian. This evokes a feeling of unease and uncertainty for the audience as to what the outcome will be. This is demonstrated during the scene outside, and inside of the United Nations Building.
In this sequence, the narrative changes the perspective from Thornhill to Valerian, who is following Thornhill into the building with the hopes of capturing him. From this vantage point, the viewer can see two characters juxtaposed which creates deeper suspense than if the viewer was only shown Thornhill’s point of view, and had no knowledge of any apparent threat to Thornhill. The range of story information, whether in its unrestricted or restricted narration assists to invoke greater curiosity in the viewer and can lead to surprise and helps artfully build suspense and tension around what will happen when the characters finally learn the truth. The truth is that Thornhill is assumed to be the government agent “George Kaplan,” while he is actually an innocent bystander. There is added suspense in the henchmen’s pursuit of Thornhill.
Comparably, in the 1954 film Rear Window, L.B. Jeff Jefferies watches occupants of the next-door apartment through binoculars as he believes a murder occurred. Through the point of view of Jefferies, the cinematography allows the viewer to be a voyeur, spying on his neighbors just as Jefferies does. This voyeurism is a large part of Hitchcock’s recognizable style and thematic preoccupations. Furthermore, in the film, Lars Thorwald confronts Jeffries by saying, “What do you want of me?” Burr might as well have been addressing the audience. Shortly before asking this, Thorwald turns to face the camera directly for the first time in the film. There is suspense and voyeurism here as the audience feels as if Thorwald is spying on us, the viewer, in the same manner that he closely watches his neighbors in their apartments.
Overall, suspense and exploiting the audience as a voyeur are key characteristics of Hitchcock’s narrative style and distinctive thematic pattern which are represented in Psycho (1960), North by Northwest (1959) and Rear Window (1954).
