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Find Hitchcock! Where to spot all 37 of the director's signature cameos

Posted Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 12:01 AM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Maggie Van Ostrand of Film School Rejects recently posted a great article to commemorate what would have been filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock's 109th birthday. Her article on the movie blog chronicles all 37 of Hitch's cameos in his own movies.

I always knew that this was one of the Master of Suspense's trademarks. He would feature himself in a brief walk-on role in each movie, often times carrying a musical instrument. I had no idea he did it in 37 of his 52 major movies.

Here, from FSR and similar listings on the Hitchcock.tv site and the Wikipedia entry, are all of his brief appearances. How many do you remember?

  1. The Lodger (1926) - :03 at a desk in newsroom and (unconfirmed) part of the crowd at 1:32
  2. Easy Virtue (1927) - :15 walking past tennis court
  3. Blackmail (1929) - :11 reading a book in subway
  4. Murder! (1930) - 1:00 walking past house
  5. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) - :31 walking across screen in trench coat (also unconfirmed)
  6. The 39 Steps (1935) - :06 tossing some litter
  7. Young and Innocent (1938) - :15 holding a camera outside courhouse
  8. The Lady Vanishes (1938) - 1:30 wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette
  9. Foreign Correspondent (1940) - :13 wearing a coat and hat, reading a newspaper
  10. Rebecca (1940) - 2:03 walking near the phone booth
  11. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941) - :43 passing by Robert Montgomery
  12. Suspicion (1941) - :46 mailing a letter
  13. Saboteur (1942) - 1:04 in front of drug store
  14. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - :17 playing cards on the train
  15. Lifeboat (1944) - :25 in a newspaper ad for Reduco Obesity Slayer
  16. Spellbound (1945) - :35 carrying violin and smoking a cigar
  17. Notorious (1946) - 1:00 drinking champagne
  18. The Paradine Case (1947) - :36 leaving the train carrying a cello
  19. Rope (1948) - :02 holding a newspaper during opening credits and at :55 his silhouette is shown on a neon sign
  20. Under Capricorn (1949) - :04 in the town square during parade and at :14 on the steps of Government House
  21. Stage Fright (1950) - :39 turning back to look at Jane Wyman
  22. Strangers on a Train (1951) - :10 boarding the train with a double bass
  23. I Confess (1953) - :01 walking across top of stairs
  24. Dial M for Murder (1954) - in class reunion photo
  25. Rear Window (1954) - :25 winding clock in the songwriter's apartment
  26. To Catch a Thief (1955) - :10 sitting next to Cary Grant on bus
  27. The Trouble with Harry (1955) - :22 walking past the parked limousine
  28. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) - :25 watching acrobats with his back to the camera
  29. Vertigo (1958) - :11 walking in the street
  30. North by Northwest (1959) - :02 missing a bus
  31. Psycho (1960) - :06 through Janet Leigh's window, wearing a cowboy hat
  32. The Birds (1963) - :02 leaving the pet shop with two white dogs
  33. Marnie (1964) - :05 entering into the hotel corridor
  34. Torn Curtain (1966) - :08 sitting in the lobby with baby on his knee
  35. Topaz (1969) - :33 pushed a wheelchair at the airport
  36. Frenzy (1972) - :03 wearing a bowler hat, not applauding
  37. Family Plot (1976) - :40 shown in silhouette through the door

Looking at the time in the film where Hitch makes his appearance, it seems clear that he started putting it in early. I believe this was so movie-goers who knew of his signature appearances could get it out of the way and focus on the thrills to come.

Here is a video featuring many of the cameos. It even highlights them for you so won't miss them in your next viewing of the Hitchcock movie. Enjoy!