Alfred Hitchcock: The Master of Suspense

Alfred Hitchcock #1-2

by Noël Simsolo, Dominique Hé (Illustrator)

“Psycho” traumatized viewers around the world. Never before had the angst or the suspense been so well presented in cinema. But where does the talent of this Alfred Hitchcock come from, the one nicknamed the "Master of Suspense"? To find out, we must first go back to his youth, in England, during the first half of the 20th century. Having grown up in a Catholic family - a religious originality that will be felt in a large part of his cinema - “Hitch” is an atypical Englishman who, very early on, has a taste for telling chilling stories. The temptation to work for the cinema will not be long in coming, first as a graphic designer where his visual talent will lead him to make his debut behind the camera, as an assistant and then as a full director. It is also here that he will meet Alma Reville, his assistant and wife who will accompany him throughout his storied career, including the jump to the big time in Hollywood. Discover the life of undoubtedly one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, the in-depth story film by film, with plenty of juicy anecdotes and amazing insights from interviews with Francois Truffaut and others, of a colorful and quite simply extraordinary artist.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Biography, Film, History, Nonfiction, Comics, Pop Culture

312 pages, Hardcover

Published March 22, 2022

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads more like an illustrated trivia book than a dramatized biography. It is densely packed with anecdotes from the dozens of films on which Hitchcock worked and peopled with the dozens and dozens of major stars, writers, directors and producers with whom Hitchcock worked, lingering longest with Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, and Alma Hitchcock, Hitchcock's wife and collaborator. It is told in framing sequences with Hitchcock regaling people with stories from his career, mostly progressing chronologically but frequently skipping around in time in a manner that confuses as much as it helps make a point about his career.

I disliked that the allegations of toxic workplace, sexual harassment, and sexual assault made by Tippi Hedron are not addressed, though her book came out previous to the two original volumes of this work collected here. Indeed, the author seems to go out of his way to lay the groundwork for gaslighting by highlighting the pranks Hitchcock would play on set with many of his cast and crew and portraying Hitchcock as an asexual person who simply had innocent, boyish crushes on the many blondes he hired -- y'know, except for all the leering double entendres he tosses out in the course of the book.

Too worshipful. Too crammed.

[Chuck Pickerill · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense" takes the life of director Alfred Hitchcock and puts it in a graphic novel format to tell the story of one of the legends in cinema history. You may think much insight may be lost in this method, however the visuals in this book fit perfectly when examining a man who was very much a visual storyteller in bringing his films to life.

The premise of the book is Alfred Hitchcock telling his life story to various people including Cary Grant and Grace Kelly on the set of the 1955 film "To Catch a Thief." The reader is then transported back to significant parts of Hitchcock's life both personal and professional. This is done mostly chronologically but does drift back and forth between the past and what is the present in the book. While the conversations between all the figures in the book are fictional, you can see the author has drawn from many great Hitchcock resources that create a fun and plausible experience for the reader. There are many great anecdotes in these sequences including touching upon almost every film Hitchcock ever made. I think the author also does an excellent job highlighting the various working relationships throughout his career that enhanced his films. I was delighted to see Alma Hitchcock and producer Joan Harrison get proper recognition for showing how their influence helped him. In addition to the storyline, the black and white illustrations by Dominique Hé really stand out here. Iconic moments from Hitchcock films are recreated through the illustrations that really give the reader a sense of how great Hitchcock was at being able to come up with these memorable set pieces.

"Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense" is a fun and entertaining journey through the life and career of one of the great filmmakers in history. There are definitely other books that may delve more deeply and critically into Hitchcock's life. However, this book provides an entertaining and informative overview on Hitchcock that is sure to delight many who are fans of his films.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good graphic book! This one is a biography of Alfred Hitchcock. Loved the way it went into many of his films, the actors, the reason he made the film, the troubles behind the making of them, etc. He seemed to have a sweet relationship with his wife, a true partnership. This book prompted me to look into Hitchcock further, a jumping off point into his work. Loved the way Cary Grant was drawn, btw, good job.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting way to go about a biography but the results were middling.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

The conceit of the book is that Hitchcock sits with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in various locations and tells them stories from his life and his movies. Each of these scenes is insightful but makes for a very inert and honestly somewhat boring story to follow. Because each scene needs to tie back to a movie or moviemaking in some way, it feels more like a study of filmmaking than a biography of a person. Indeed, I never really got a feel for Hitchcock as a person and felt like I was viewing him as Grace or Cary must have been.

The storytelling was like one big analysis by a film student than a biography. That was especially problematic in remembrances about e.g., wife Alma. Falling in love, marrying, having a child all felt like a fait accompli, stripped of their emotional impact and true feeling. This was an underlying theme throughout the biography. I'm not a film school student or aficionado so I quickly became bored of the academic approach by the author. It was a chore to read, the format truncated too many details, and I was left wishing I had just read a biography instead.

Another issue was that I never really felt like this needed to be made into a graphic novel format: the images never really added to the biography or provided any kind of insight or elevation of Hitchcock's life. They are beautifully done but lacking any kind of emotional resonance. The author did try to bring in Hitchcock's self effacing humor as he shared his successes and failures with his audience but there just seemed to be something disaffecting and soulless about the whole book.

That said, there are some great insights into Hitchcock's work and the author does a good job of explaining why he made the movies he did - and in the way he did. I just wish the book had more personality (even respecting that Hitchcock was a hard man to get to know). Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Josef Ploski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a cinephile, but Hitchcock has always been a missing piece in my experience (I know, can a person even call themselves a cinephile without knowing Hitchcock), but reading this book with out better knowledge of his films and the times they were made was detremental to my enjoyment of this work. Some films are glossed over, but the ones that aren't if you don't' remember them or never saw them you lose some of the understanding and enjoyment of the book. My advice is to catch up on your Hitchcock films and them read the story of him and his behind the scenes going ons.

[Dan Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

There has to be a lot of pressure in telling the story of one of the greatest storytellers of the 20th century.

This kept it simple by looking at who the man was behind all the myths. The structure is pretty straightforward as much of The story is framed by a conversation Hitchcock was having with legendary actor Cary Grant about his life and what brought him into the movie business.

Starting with his early childhood memories with plenty of focus on his relationship with his mother. Fitting considering his career.

Visual I was hoping for a bit more considering the subject matter but generally, the page layouts and design followed standard form at least the rendering of classic stars was well done and never too photo-realistic.

It is worth reading if you are a fan of Hitchcock and Did appreciate how we got more intimate details like his playful personality and all the pranks he would pull on his different casts and also appreciate they did demystify him a bit and show that even the greatest sometimes just want to get the job done.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Alfred Hitchcock: Master Of Suspense’ is a graphic novel biography of film director Alfred Joseph Hitchcock that narrates his entire life from birth to death. His circumstances on entering the world were pretty good as his father owned two greengrocers’ shops which his elder brother inherited when their dad died young. Alfred was born into the catholic faith and it’s hinted that this makes him a rare sort of Englishman a bit exotic. It’s not all that rare. On the other hand, the one true church was sterner in the good old days and, schooled by Jesuits, young Alfred learned the difference between good and evil. That would be the main theme of his career.

The story is revealed in a series of flashbacks with Alfred telling someone over dinner about his early life. First up is Cary Grant but Grace Kelly also features prominently, with Carole Lombard guest starring later. Cattle or not, he seems to have got along well enough with some of his stars. Hitchcock frequently confesses to being a voyeur and was obsessed with beautiful blondes but, apart from one well-reported incident with Tippi Heddren on the set of ‘The Birds’ hinted at here, he didn’t have major trouble with female stars. He did, on the other hand, make them do repeat takes of certain scenes just because he enjoyed watching them, especially when scantily clad. He had a very close relationship with his wife, Alma Reville, a script editor who undoubtedly helped his career. Close, but not necessarily physical so much, though they had a daughter.

The Hollywood greats of the era are rendered well enough to recognise in the illustrations but for extra clarity the dialogue refers to nearly everyone by both names. This gets clumsy at times but is forgivable as no one will know every bit player. Overall, the art and storytelling are terrific, especially considering the quality had to be maintained over three hundred pages. Dominique Hé did a great job. Oddly, it reminded me of old works by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby from the 1940s. Partly, this was the page layouts and panel size but also the urban settings, the cars and outfits and the use of shadows, especially when showing scary scenes from the movies. Being visual, a graphic novel is the ideal medium to show such things, second best only to film itself. It’s obvious from what’s shown that Hitchcock was a meticulous creator, utterly devoted to his art.

Hollywood gossip that is common knowledge now, for anyone who cares, is casually mentioned in the dialogue. Things like Cary Grant’s bisexuality, Montgomery Clift’s homosexuality and so on. It seems Grant had an affair with Sophia Loren and wanted Hitch to cast her opposite him. As a gentleman who preferred blondes, the Master refused, though he cast Ingrid Bergman in three films and they became friends. He didn’t treat all actors like cattle but was often a bully if he could get away with it and played some horrible practical jokes. Geniuses are not necessarily nice.

An excellent, informative biography and a long read, well-researched that’s worth it for anyone interested in Hitchcock. It made me want to see the films again. Regrettably, I joined the Gadarene rush to ditch DVDs and gave my box set of fourteen films to Oxfam. Maybe I’ll buy them back. Maybe I won’t! Ooh, the suspense.

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for everybody but very much for me. This is a biographical comic about Hitchcock, but primarily about his film career (little anecdotes from almost every film he worked on, including casting and reception). As for personal life, you get that he was married to the same woman for a long time, valued her and had a daughter and grandchildren. He also had a thing for blondes but the book implies it never went beyond a fascination. I liked it just because I've seen more than half of his movies so I was familiar with the all but a handful of these by either having watched it or planning to at some point in the future.

Since so much of this follows the same formula (Hitchcock talking to somebody, flash back to his work on a film years earlier, flash back to the conversation), this was more enjoyable broken up into chapters than trying to read it all at once. It took me a few days to get through and I usually fly through graphic novels. The art was fantastic with the actors and Hitchcock. I had a harder time telling the actresses apart by their visuals only. Also, occasional the writing would get clunky "Jessica Tandy, you're married to Hume Cronyn, can you..." but it helped me stay caught up with who Hitchcock was talking to/working with.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, actually.

This rather voluminous (314 pages) graphic novel biography of film director Alfred Hitchcock didn’t quite grab me. While I liked Hé’s art, the printing on this American version is dark and muddy, almost as if it was originally published in France in color and just output in grayscale for the American version. It mixes truth with fiction, and it has Hitchcock alternately talking to his wife and collaborator, Alma Reville, and to Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Monaco, while they were making To Catch A Thief. There’s nothing really new or revelatory here, and while it’s a fairly thorough anecdotal look at Hitch’s life and career, it’s actually a bit on the dull side, and a bit overpriced at $44.99 (I got it as a Christmas present, so I ain’t complaining.)

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being an Alfred Hitchcock fan, I needed to check this book out. I'm not one who usually gravitates towards the graphic novel format. I'm hard pressed between wanting to choose between the 3 and 4 star rating. This book delivers on the format it is in. The story gives wonderful tidbits into the person of Alfred Hitchcock, the man behind the name. I think it's a good addition to any fan's bookshelf or coffee table reads.

[Michael Lee My ComicBook World · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense is an awesome graphic novel biography about his life, meeting Alma, and stories from each film. This story is told in flashbacks during a conversation with Cary Grant.

If you love Hitchcock films, read this one!

@edelweiss_squad @NBMPUB #alfredhitchcock #comicsbio #graphicnovel #movies #director #hitch #noelsimsolo #dominiquehe #CaryGrant

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was all over the place. Jumping around in time didn’t do it any favors, especially when it went from THE BIRDS to REBECCA to THE BIRDS again. And I wish it would have gone into how he mistreated women more than it did. The art was well done. I could recognize celebrities. But I frequently had to Google back stories and more information about situations in the book.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty extensive biography of the Master of Suspense. All of the jumping around in time made it really difficult to follow though. And it pretty much ignores all of his obsessive behavior with his leading ladies or at the very least plays it down to the point where it seems overblown which it really wasn't. If you're going to do a biography, it should tell the good and the bad.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about half of the book, but stopped as I found it difficult to follow and not very interesting. I have read other graphic novel bios, such as one on Richard Feynman, that were much more interesting.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Jay Amari · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Alfred HITCHCOCK: Master of Suspense” feels like it’s going to be a suspenseful story, told from the point of view of Alfred Hitchcock, the filmmaker in his interactions with Carey Grant, Tipi Hedren, Grace Kelly and others he worked with in his career.
It turns out to be an amalgam of comic illustration and self-referential recollection of the filmmaker and many of his associates and artists he worked with through the years.
It never feels revealing, as if the stories being told by the characters were fresh, but rather it borders on stodginess, making the central character Alfred Hitchcock come across as just another caricature of himself. This is unfortunate, as the history of how the filmmaker developed though the years is a fascinating tale, but here, aside from the books’ art work, which is very nice, it seems bland.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me - this was sooo dry and packed so full, it was an absolute chore to get through.

[S C · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is what it is.

[Jennster77 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very disappointed with this book. Expected a lot more about Hitch's childhood. The book rehashes a lot of well-known info, and was, quite frankly, very boring. Would not recommend.