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