Hitchcock a pioneer in the crime, thriller genre

Finally, we have made it to the decade of my favorite director’s films. Alfred Hitchcock was notorious — which so happens to be a title of one of his movies — for changing the game for crime/thriller movies in the 1930s well through the 1970s.

Out of all of his many award-winning films, one of my favorites is “North by Northwest.” Made in 1959, the film was nominated for 15 awards and took home eight in 1960.

“North by Northwest” tells the story of a business executive, Roger Thornhill, played by the infamous Cary Grant. Roger is mistaken to be a government agent by foreign spies and is then chased around the country, all the while trying to figure out why he is being framed. Starting in New York City, Roger is chased all around the country and eventually ends up at Mount Rushmore in Keystone, S.D., — which brings a little more pride to South Dakota.

This particular film was nominated for three Oscars including Best Writing, Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing.

Although the movie never won these awards, it won Best Motion Picture by the Edgar Allan Poe Awards in 1960, Top Action Drama by the Laurel Awards in 1959, made the Top Ten list from the National Board Review, USA in 1959, and has continued to stay on the top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time for many years.

I cannot fathom how Hitchcock was able to produce some of the special effects in the film in 1959, especially in comparison to what directors and producers can do now. If I lived back then and I had a say, he would win an award for that as well.

Hitchcock made many famous movies such as “Psycho,” “Dial M for Murder” and “I Confess,” but he is still celebrated even after his passing in 1980. Today, there is a television show, “Bates Motel,” based off of “Psycho” that tells the life of Norman Bates before he grew up to take over the hotel and describes his relationship with his mother up until Hitchcock’s film.

Interestingly enough, Hitchcock also liked to star in his films. One of my favorite things to do while watching his films is trying to spot him because he never makes more than one appearance and never speaks to the characters. This is brilliant because if I were a director, why not be in my own movies? But he is humbling in that he is never the star, simply an extra.

Now let me get something straight. I surprise others as well as myself when I name Hitchcock as my favorite director because of the genre he made famous. It’s not that I don’t like thriller movies — it’s just that besides his movies, I can’t tell you another film I like, and off the top of my head I can’t think of a director I like more. His style, creativity and story lines are what made him and this film famous and memorable even 55 years later.