Rodney Alexander
5/2/6
Computer and English Studies
Anderson
Comparable Mechanisms of Hitchcock’s Films
Alfred Hitchcock is known by many as the inventor of the thriller genre. He delicately
blended sex, suspense, and humor into all of his films. Born in London in 1899, Hitchcock
started as a silent film director in England.1 His silent film knowledge helped him form his skills
of developing his plots without the use of wordy explanations. All of his movies had signature
“Hitchcockian” aspects to them. An analysis of two of his most famous films and the themes
and technical aspects of each will demonstrate that his movies have similar central ideas.
North by Northwest (1959) is Hitchcock’s best chase movie. The movie starred Cary
Grant and Eva Marie Saint. The film is permeated with original shots, relationships between
opposing sexes, drama, wit, Technicolor, and musical suspense. Psycho (1960) is known
worldwide for one scene where the “main” character Marion Crane is murdered while taking a
shower. In this time of history, people were not accustomed to the nudity and graphic violence
depicted.
Psychological studies confirm that the oedipal complex emerges during a child’s third
through fifth year on Earth. Little boys develop an erotic preference for their mother. They feel
hostility toward their father because he is competing for the mom’s affection. In some cases, the
hostility to the same-sex parent may hurt their development and they will rely heavily on their
opposite-sex parent.2 Roger Thornhill of North by Northwest and Norman Bates of Psycho are
both victims of oedipal complex.
In general, the mother figure is domineering in Hitchcock's films; with the capabilities of
having authority over the decision making ability of her children.3 A mother figure is present in
many of his works, sometimes as an evil individual and sometimes as mere controlling
individual. It is interesting to note that adult characters were usually the ones that were being
controlled by their mother.
The film’s development of Roger Thornhill’s mom is very interesting. In the very
beginning of the movie, Thornhill and his secretary are in a cab and the secretary is taking many
notes. We learn quickly that Thornhill is a man of power (an advertising man) with a very busy
schedule. However, Thornhill abnormally stressed his desire for the secretary to remind him to
contact his mom. It is baffling to the audience why this successful New York man constantly
mentions his mother. When arrested, Thornhill made his only allotted call to his mother.
Mother, this is your son, Roger Thornhill / No, no, Mother. I have not been drinking. /
No, no. These two men, they poured a whole bottle of bourbon into me. / No, they didn't
give me a chaser.
2
Thornhill’s mom is of special importance to his life. The
oedipal complex will say that he is still attached to her. This can be supported with the fact that
Thornhill has married and divorced twice. It is possible to believe that he did not find a woman
who matched up to his mom.
Norman Bates told Marion that “a boy’s best friend is his mother.” Indeed, Mrs. Bates is
Norman’s best, and only, friend. Mrs. Bates becomes Hitchcock’s most menacing and evil
character in all of his films despite the fact that she was not even alive. However, she has so
much control and manipulative power over Norman that he becomes her. His attraction to his
mom forced him to push away any attractive woman that may compete with his mom. From the
film, we know that Marion is a victim of being pushed away, but it is interesting to ponder the
possibility of other women being killed because they too posed a threat to Mrs. Bates.
Bernard Hermann was a composer and a conductor who lived from 1911 to 1975.4
During his life, he was renowned as one of the best behind the scene figures in film. He
collaborated with Hitchcock by providing music in several films, including North by Northwest
and Psycho. Hermann’s energetic music, as best exemplified in North by Northwest, places the
audience into the action and helps keep them there throughout the film. Music builds up
expectations among film watchers. Hermann used high pitched music before every suspenseful
scene in Psycho to aid in audience expectations.
North by Northwest is an action-packed, fast paced, movie. Hermann uses Latin
American beats to keep up with the lighting pace. Fandango, a Spanish dance, is the rhyme most
3
utilized for the film. It is somewhat weird to use Latino music for a movie about a chase across
the United States, but it is nonetheless effective. Hermann’s charging music boosts the character
development. Liner notes develop the character Roger Thornhill.5 The movie has music that is
lengthy and slow moving based around strings, clarinets, and muted horns. Thornhill’s journey
in figuring out the identity of George Kaplan was a very slow one. Mysterious scenes are built
up with pizzicato string work and sounds which makes a type of music signature to a sneaky
burglar. Hermann’s music for North by Northwest is essential to supporting the overall
suspenseful theme of the movie.
Whenever anyone speaks about Psycho, the death scene in the shower is always
mentioned. Bernard Herrmann’s music has been utilized in other movies besides this one to
depict a psycho. The music is significant in building delusion. A frame-by-frame study will
prove how much of the scene is left to the imagination of the audience. The images in the scene
include a knife, blood, water, and Marion Crane’s naked body. The knife’s penetration of the
body is only briefly seen, so brief that it is uncertain whether the knife actually penetrates the
body. The psychological term “closure” plays a vital role in the scene’s success. The music
portrays that it was a horror scene, and we see motions with a knife which is followed by blood.
People often group elements to create a sense of closure, or completeness. This is evident with
the shower scene. It takes the power of the viewer's imagination to fill in the blanks. Hermann’s
music forms this need to fill in the blanks.
4
Themes and technical aspects found in North by Northwest and Psycho are prevalent in
many of Hitchcock’s films. Motherhood and the oedipal complex are at the heart of many of his
classics. Hitchcock teams up with Bernard Hermann in many of his films for music that aids in
the suspense of the films. The examination of both components in Hitchcock’s films supports
parallelism of the works of the great Alfred Hitchcock.
5
References
“Alfred Hitchcock: A Brief Biography.” The Encyclopedia of Film. 1996.
http://hitchcock.tv/bio/bio.html
Wayne Weiten, ed. Psychology: Themes and Variations. Thomson Learning: Wadsworth. 2005
“Mother.” The Definitive Alfred Hitchcock Resource. http://www.tdfilm.com/themes/themesmother.html
“Alfred Hitchcock: Collaborators and Partners in Crime.” The Alfred Hitchcock Trust. 1995.
http://hitchcock.tv/people/herrmann.html
“North by Northwest.” Geocities Web Pages.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Lot/9045/nbnw-review.html
6