Films Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Quiz

Answer: The Birds

Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor starred in the film which is based on a short story written by Daphne Du Maurier. Normally birds are considered to be cute little creatures. Not in this film. They attack a small town with a vengeance. Hitchcock himself once said that the characters in the movie "are the victims of Judgment Day."

Answer: The Man Who Knew Too Much

The 1934 version was also directed by Hitchcock and starred Leslie Banks and Edna Best. Day and Stewart star as an American couple, Ben and Jo McKenna, vacationing with their young son in Morocco. Soon after a French spy is killed and dies in Ben's arms after revealing important information, Ben's son is kidnapped.

The bad guys chase Ben because he accidentally found out too much about an assassination plot that is about to take place in London. Hitchcock took a risk with the "Albert Hall Scene" during the film's finale, when he filmed 12 minutes with no dialogue.

The risk paid off. Audiences loved it.

Answer: Psycho

Hitchcock purposely shot the movie in black and white for two reasons: he wanted it to look like newsreels of that time and he felt that the gore (Hitch used chocolate syrup for blood) would have been too distasteful for movie audiences if shot in color. Anthony Perkins famously played the role of Norman Bates, the creepy motel owner who killed his victims while impersonating his dead mother. Janet Leigh played Marion Crane, the unsuspecting victim with secrets of her own.

Answer: Rear Window

Out of boredom, a man recovering from a broken leg spies on his neighbors in the apartments across from him. His snooping pays off when he suspects one of the tenants, played by a blond Raymond Burr, has killed his wife. The elegant Grace Kelly plays his love interest who risks her life to obtain key evidence in the killer's apartment. If you've never seen this movie, I won't give away the nail-biting ending.

Answer: North by Northwest

Eva Marie Saint and James Mason also star in the movie. Grant plays the role of an advertising executive mistaken for a spy in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game that culminates atop Mount Rushmore. Eva Marie Saint plays a double-agent as well as the love interest of both Grant and the villain Mason. An interesting fact about this movie is that actress Jesse Royce Landis, who played Cary Grant's mother in the film, was only eight years older than Grant.

Answer: Vertigo

Hitchcock admitted that the character of Scottie Ferguson, played by Stewart, was closest to describing the director himself. He was fearful of women while at the same time trying to control them. Stewart was in essence playing Hitchcock himself. The mood of the film is dark with complex characters.

The premise revolves around Scottie as he pursues a mysterious woman who has committed suicide. Then he sees her again, very much alive. Who is she? You'll have to watch the movie yourself to find out the answer to that question.

Answer: The Trouble With Harry

This movie is one of those you either like or you don't. The body of Harry Worp is discovered on a hillside overlooking a small town. Three of the townsfolk find the body and each believes that he/she is the one who killed Harry. Now what to do with the body? There are some funny scenes where the trio bury the body, dig it up, and rebury it to keep the authorities from finding out.

The movie concludes with the discovery that Harry wasn't murdered at all but died of natural causes.

Answer: Shadow of a Doubt

Hitchcock collaborated with playwright Thornton Wilder to bring Wilder's story to the big screen. This story was quite a departure from his play "Our Town". The film follows Charlie Oakley as he pays a visit to his sister and niece. What his sister and niece don't know at first is that Uncle Charlie is one of two suspects believed to be a serial killer known as the "Merry Widow Murderer".

When his niece finds out, she doesn't believe it...until strange things start to happen. The ending reveals the truth about Uncle Charlie, removing any "shadow of a doubt".

Answer: Topaz

The film is filled with intrigue, double-crossing, and of course murder. John Forsythe plays a CIA agent investigating rumors of missiles in Cuba and a spy named "Topaz". This was one of Hitch's more experimental films, one that contains elements that he himself admitted didn't quite work. Nevertheless, audiences appreciated the risks Hitch took and the film is always included in the director's body of work.

Answer: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

It has been said that Carol Lombard convinced Hitchcock to do this film, a radical departure from anything he had done previously. The comedy begins after a married couple learn that they are not legally married. Keep in mind this is 1941 with all the social mores of that time. Of course true love wins out in the end, but it is not easily won. One interesting fact about the lead actor, Robert Montgomery, is that he is the father of actress Elizabeth Montgomery, star of the TV series "Bewitched".