by Kylie Fox

Created on: October 09, 2008

Known to his audiences, both past and present, as the "Master of Suspense", Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock directed more than fifty films, in a career which spanned more than six decades.

His tales of murder and mystery, told with intelligent plots and witty dialogue, inspired a new generation of filmmakers and revolutionised the thriller genre. Despite being considered the best filmmaker of all time, the legendary director never won an Oscar for his work, despite being nominated several times. The only Hitchcock film to win an Academy Award, "Rebecca", was not actually awarded to the man himself.

Hitchcock began his career in the era of silent film. Between 1925 and 1929, he made nine silent feature films including: The Pleasure Garden; The Mountain Eagle; Downhill; The Lodger; Easy Virtue; The Ring; Champagne; The Farmer's Wife and; The Manxman. Unfortunately, some of these no longer exist.

Hitchcock had, in 1929, the honour of being the director of England's first talking film. "Blackmail" is the story of a young woman who, after killing her attempted rapist, finds herself caught between a blackmailer and the investigating detective - her boyfriend.

During the 1930's, Hitchcock was to direct, and often write, a further twelve films in his British homeland. One of these "The Man Who Knew Too Much" from 1934 was later remade by Hitchcock himself in 1956. Many believe the original was the better version.

"The Lady Vanishes" (1938) is still considered some of Hitchcock's best work. This clever and fast-paced film centres around a young woman pitched into a dizzying web of intrigue in her search for a kindly old Englishwoman, who disappears while onboard a train. The plot is set in the fictitious country of Vandrika, which is a thinly-veiled depiction of Nazi Germany.

In 1939, Hitchcock and his family made the move to Hollywood where the second, and by far, most successful phase of his lucrative career was to begin.

The 1940's saw the production of yet another twelve movies. The most notable of these were "Rebecca" and "Shadow of a Doubt."

"Rebecca" Hitchcock's first American film is a psychological thriller, starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson. The plot centres around a young woman (who is never named) who marries an aristocratic widower but feels that she lives in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died in mysterious circumstances.

Hitchcock made his signature cameo appearance in a phone box toward the end of the film.

The release of Rebecca

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