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Alfred Hitchcock Presents: My Favourites in Suspense
My Favorites in Suspense
514 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Alfred Hitchcock
1,147 books777 followersSir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (13 August 1899 - 29 April 1980) was an iconic and highly influential film director and producer, who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres.
Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.
Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.
Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.
Following a very substantial career in his native Britain in both silent films and talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood and became an American citizen with dual nationality in 1956, thus he also remained a British subject.
Hitchcock directed more than fifty feature films in a career which spanned six decades, from the silent film era, through the invention of sound films, and far into the era of colour films. For a complete list of his films, see Alfred Hitchcock filmography.
Hitchcock was among the most consistently recognizable directors to the general public, and was one of the most successful film directors during his lifetime. He continues to be one of the best known and most popular filmmakers of all time.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 10, 2015
This is one of my favorite Hitchcock collections. It contains Daphne du Maurier's "The Birds", definitely a story not to be missed. But, here you will find the exquisite "Four O'Clock" by Price Day. I read this when I was just learning to read, many years ago! And I didn't get it at all. I must have read it a dozen times to great frustration. Then, years later, at some odd moment, the meaning popped into my head. At four pages, it's simply a perfect short story, and not only that, a perfect Hitchcock gem.
September 15, 2022
Another fine Hitchcock-branded anthology. I don't believe Alfie actually had anything to do with any of them; I know that many, including this one, were done by Robert Arthur. Nevertheless, the name has been a seal of quality so far. I'll pick up any one I see, whether packaged for younger or older readers. This one includes "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier, which is a bit different than the film, and with a more ominous ending.
November 8, 2013
It probably should come as no surprise that Mr. Hitchcock has fine taste in literature. There really is something for everybody in this collection: the story that became a famous film; the ghost story; a bit of sci fi; the seemingly everyday instance in Anytown, USA that could go horribly wrong; and a whole lot of murder. I suppose it also should come as no surprise that Hitchcock chose stories that deal with several types of fear that arise from several sources, and are related by different kinds of people.
My favorites in this volume were: Donald Honig's "Man With a Problem"; Anthony Boucher's "They Bite" (which will haunt my nightmares forever); Jack Finney's "Of Missing Persons"; Hilda Lawrence's "Composition for Four Hands"; and Elisabeth Sanxay Holding's "The Blank Wall". That last one really stole the show for me, not because it was especially suspenseful or terrifying, but because I thought it was so carefully crafted and very strongly presented how this story ONLY could have happened this way to a woman during WWII. The unique circumstances of the War-time wife's situation, lifestyle, and habits were intrinsic to the story, so it became a neat presentation not only of suspense, but also slice-of-life and feminist lit.
My favorites in this volume were: Donald Honig's "Man With a Problem"; Anthony Boucher's "They Bite" (which will haunt my nightmares forever); Jack Finney's "Of Missing Persons"; Hilda Lawrence's "Composition for Four Hands"; and Elisabeth Sanxay Holding's "The Blank Wall". That last one really stole the show for me, not because it was especially suspenseful or terrifying, but because I thought it was so carefully crafted and very strongly presented how this story ONLY could have happened this way to a woman during WWII. The unique circumstances of the War-time wife's situation, lifestyle, and habits were intrinsic to the story, so it became a neat presentation not only of suspense, but also slice-of-life and feminist lit.
Want to Read
December 9, 2024PLACEHOLDER REVIEW
"Treasure Trove" by F. Tennyson Jesse - two longtime friends in a small farming town undergo a personality change, becoming aggressive and distrustful of each other, after finding a cache of old coins. There is a not unfamiliar idea at the climax of this story, but this is a nice telling of it, with solid writing.
"The Body Of The Crime" by Wilbur Daniel Steele - a, young man Daniel, through a chain of associations, and the recent death of his mother, begins to uncover deep, deep memories from his childhood in pursuit of the question "why is he frightened of his father from time to time?" This was a strange story, told in a style that I can't decide whether to call "modernistic" or "clunky" - could be a mix of both ("clunky modernism"?) all Faulknerian stream of consciousness, strange sentence construction, and the attempt to evoke the slipperiness of memory. It half works.
"Treasure Trove" by F. Tennyson Jesse - two longtime friends in a small farming town undergo a personality change, becoming aggressive and distrustful of each other, after finding a cache of old coins. There is a not unfamiliar idea at the climax of this story, but this is a nice telling of it, with solid writing.
"The Body Of The Crime" by Wilbur Daniel Steele - a, young man Daniel, through a chain of associations, and the recent death of his mother, begins to uncover deep, deep memories from his childhood in pursuit of the question "why is he frightened of his father from time to time?" This was a strange story, told in a style that I can't decide whether to call "modernistic" or "clunky" - could be a mix of both ("clunky modernism"?) all Faulknerian stream of consciousness, strange sentence construction, and the attempt to evoke the slipperiness of memory. It half works.
September 2, 2025
3.5 stars
Only stories that I rated three stars or above are included:
The Birds, Daphne du Maurier, 4 stars
" Nat saw them on the hedgerows, on the soil, crowded in the trees, outside in the field - line upon line of birds, still, doing nothing. He went to the end of his small garden."
Man with a problem, Donald Honig, 4 stars
Wow. This is the way to take revenge.
They Bite, Anthony Boucher, 4 stars
"He dropped the machete, and his strong right hand plucked and twisted at the dry Brown lips. The teeth stayed clenched, unrelaxing. He sat bracing his back against the wall and grip the head between his knees. He pulled. His flesh ripped, and blood form Dusty clots on the dirt floor. But the bite was firm."
The Enemy, Charlotte Armstrong, 3 stars
" "what do they teach the kids these days, judge? To turn away? Put something in your stomach. Take a drink. Play a game. Don't wait for your dead. Just skip it, think about something else." "
The Inexperienced Ghost, H.G. Wells, 3 stars
"... he proclaimed himself an utter out-and-out failure. He said, and I can quite believe it, that he had never tried to do anything all his life that he hadn't made a perfect mess of - and through all the wastes of Eternity he never would. If he had had sympathy, perhaps - he paused at that, and stood regarding me. He remarked that, strange as it might seem to me, nobody, not anyone, ever, had given him the amount of sympathy I was doing now.... "
Sentence of Death, Thomas Walsh, 4 stars
"He would have done anything, said anything, promised anything, to get out of that room quickly, to remove himself from the way in which Johnny palica kept watching him. As if he wanted help and reassurance from somewhere, Cochran thought savagely; not as if he expected it; as if he just wanted it...."
Spring Fever, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, 4 stars
A woman author who knows the value men put on women. Hint: it's not their good hearts.
The Crate at Outpost 1, Matthew Gant, 5 stars
Composition for Four Hands, Hilda Lawrence, 4 stars
This one had me fooled till the very end.
Four O'clock, Price Day, 3 stars
Too Many Coincidences, Paul Eiden, 3 stars
Of Missing Persons, Jack Finney, 3 stars
A very sad story.
Island of Fear, William Sambrot, 3 stars
A Nice Touch, Mann Rubin, 3 stars
If Only Women knew how men really are.
The Blank Wall, Elizabeth Sanxay Holding, 3 stars
Only stories that I rated three stars or above are included:
The Birds, Daphne du Maurier, 4 stars
" Nat saw them on the hedgerows, on the soil, crowded in the trees, outside in the field - line upon line of birds, still, doing nothing. He went to the end of his small garden."
Man with a problem, Donald Honig, 4 stars
Wow. This is the way to take revenge.
They Bite, Anthony Boucher, 4 stars
"He dropped the machete, and his strong right hand plucked and twisted at the dry Brown lips. The teeth stayed clenched, unrelaxing. He sat bracing his back against the wall and grip the head between his knees. He pulled. His flesh ripped, and blood form Dusty clots on the dirt floor. But the bite was firm."
The Enemy, Charlotte Armstrong, 3 stars
" "what do they teach the kids these days, judge? To turn away? Put something in your stomach. Take a drink. Play a game. Don't wait for your dead. Just skip it, think about something else." "
The Inexperienced Ghost, H.G. Wells, 3 stars
"... he proclaimed himself an utter out-and-out failure. He said, and I can quite believe it, that he had never tried to do anything all his life that he hadn't made a perfect mess of - and through all the wastes of Eternity he never would. If he had had sympathy, perhaps - he paused at that, and stood regarding me. He remarked that, strange as it might seem to me, nobody, not anyone, ever, had given him the amount of sympathy I was doing now.... "
Sentence of Death, Thomas Walsh, 4 stars
"He would have done anything, said anything, promised anything, to get out of that room quickly, to remove himself from the way in which Johnny palica kept watching him. As if he wanted help and reassurance from somewhere, Cochran thought savagely; not as if he expected it; as if he just wanted it...."
Spring Fever, Dorothy Salisbury Davis, 4 stars
A woman author who knows the value men put on women. Hint: it's not their good hearts.
The Crate at Outpost 1, Matthew Gant, 5 stars
Composition for Four Hands, Hilda Lawrence, 4 stars
This one had me fooled till the very end.
Four O'clock, Price Day, 3 stars
Too Many Coincidences, Paul Eiden, 3 stars
Of Missing Persons, Jack Finney, 3 stars
A very sad story.
Island of Fear, William Sambrot, 3 stars
A Nice Touch, Mann Rubin, 3 stars
If Only Women knew how men really are.
The Blank Wall, Elizabeth Sanxay Holding, 3 stars
August 20, 2022
A wonderful collection filled with gems, although some do suffer from that short story problem of being more about the twist than about the story. My favourites from this volume included The Birds by Daphne du Maurier, The Enemy by Charlotte Armstrong, Spring Fever by Dorothy Salisbury Davis, Of Missing Persons by Jack Finley and Getting Rid Of George by Robert Arthur.
March 25, 2020
So fun to read a totally different style of writing. This book was compiled in 1958/59 so the settings, words, situations, and writing, in general, make me grow and learn as a writer. Don't get me wrong, I prefer today's writers, but learn so much in the comparison of style.
June 13, 2018
Good stories, I have collected other works by the authors and look forward to reading them.
August 21, 2024
Loved the birds hated the last story
August 5, 2019
Tanto puede afirmarse que estos son los relatos favoritos de suspense para Alfred Hitchcock, que el primero de los mismos es “Los pájaros” de Daphne du Maurier, que fuera la base para un guión (completado nada menos que por Evan Hunter) de una de sus mejores películas con el mismo título.
Como dato curioso de este ejemplar me llamo mucho la atención dos características: La primera el libro esta hecho con papel Biblia. si ese que utilizan las biblias ese papel opaco muy fino muy resistente a la tensión, tirones. La segunda característica es la portada y contraportada, es de plástico duro acanalado de color rojo, nunca había leído un libro aparte de la biblia que reuniera esos detalles tan poco usuales.
Se han seleccionado 22 joyas de la literatura policíaca y de misterio, la mayoría de ellas desconocida (por lo menos para mi lo eran), Espero que el tiempo invertido en esta lectura les haga pasar momentos inolvidables,
Como dato curioso de este ejemplar me llamo mucho la atención dos características: La primera el libro esta hecho con papel Biblia. si ese que utilizan las biblias ese papel opaco muy fino muy resistente a la tensión, tirones. La segunda característica es la portada y contraportada, es de plástico duro acanalado de color rojo, nunca había leído un libro aparte de la biblia que reuniera esos detalles tan poco usuales.
Se han seleccionado 22 joyas de la literatura policíaca y de misterio, la mayoría de ellas desconocida (por lo menos para mi lo eran), Espero que el tiempo invertido en esta lectura les haga pasar momentos inolvidables,
December 8, 2017
It took me a long while, but this book is an absolute delight! The stories are interesting, well written, and the ends are often impossible to guess. For any "light reading" fans, this is a pure joy! Favorite story is probably "The Duel" by Joan Vatsek or "Treasure Trove" by F. Tennyson Jesse (very short with an ending that sent chills down my spine)!
October 9, 2017
Mystery, suspense, intrigue...there's nothing like a good short story to while away the evening, and this collection is one of the finest. Excellent stories with engaging characters and plotlines. My favorite was the novelette, "A Composition for Four Hands." Highly recommend for lovers of suspense and mystery!
February 26, 2013
Some of the best short stories and novellas of mystery, suspense, etc. that I have ever read. Great choices by Hitchcock.
April 25, 2016
Niektoré dobré iné priemerné.
October 21, 2019
A nice anthology, to Hitchcock's taste. Like all anthologies it's hit-and-miss, depending upon the story. Good Halloween reading.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews