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Alfred Hitchcock
28 quotes
“Hitchcock: You know that I think all actors are cattle? George Raft: Yes, I know—but I'm no actor.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1940 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On the set of The House Across the Bay; as quoted in "The New Yorker" by Leonard Lyons, in The Washington Post (26 July 1940).
“[T]he director passed off the phrase as one of his "Machiavellian quips," not to be taken seriously. "Let us say, rather, that actors are a necessary evil," he cautioned, with a straight face. "As a matter of fact, I couldn't work if I weren't on friendly terms with them; I'll bend over backward every time. Besides, I get into each picture I make, if only for a couple of seconds—so I'm probably a frustrated actor at heart myself.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1943 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Regarding his oft-cited quote stating that actors are cattle; as paraphrased and quoted in "Town Called Hollywood: Director Pleads Off Poundage" by Philip K. Scheuer, in the Los Angeles Times (30 May 1943).
“It still goes. But Pat is the nicest cattle I've ever seen.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reaffirming the "actors are cattle" quote while in Boston to see his daughter perform onstage; as quoted in "The Lyons Den" by Leonard Lyons, in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (20 October 1944).
“The lower lip definitely states that all actors are cattle—including the authorǃ”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Handwritten note accompanying Hitchcock's sketched self-portrait; as seen in—and addressed to the author of—"Melodrama Maestro" by Hume Cronyn, in McClean's (1 November 1944).
“Actors are cattle. I've always said actors are cattle. In fact, Carole Lombard once built a corral on set and put three live calves into it, in recognition of my feelings. I tell them that, and treat them as such, and we get along fineǃ”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1950 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "New York Close-Up" by Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenburg, in New York Herald Tribune (27 February 1950).
“Deep inside, I am a shy man. And in the presence of colorful characters, I am a clam. I never try to out-eccentric the eccentricsǃ”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1956 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Newsweek (11 June 1956).
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Picture Parade, BBC (5 July 1960)
“The Birds could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can't direct a Laughton picture. The best you can hope for is to referee.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Films and Filming (Volume 9, Issue 3; 1963), p. 20
“I’m frightened of eggs, worse than frightened, they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes … have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I’ve never tasted it.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: News summaries (31 December 1963).
“We do not recommend suicide as a way of life.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Alfred Hitchcock Presents. 1965.
“I deny that I ever said actors are cattle. What I said was, "Actors should be treated like cattle.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking at awards ceremony; as quoted in "(Needs New Time Slot, But...) There Is No Excuse for Axing 'Rogues'," by Win Fanning, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (March 8, 1965).
“Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people’s habits. It just kept them inside the house.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: NY Journal-American (25 August 1965).
“One of television's great contributions is that it brought murder back into the home, where it belongs.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: National Observer (15 August 1966).
“Seeing a murder on television can … help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1966 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: National Observer (15 August 1966).
“Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Hitchcock (1967) by François Truffaut.
“Puns are the highest form of literature.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1972 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dick Cavett Show (8 June 1972).
“Give them pleasure – the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On audiences, Asbury Park NJ Press (13 August 1974).
“Self-plagiarism is style.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Defending his repetition of filming techniques, in The Observer [London], (8 Aug. 1976).
“Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview on CBS TV (20 February 1977).
“[This award is] meaningful because it comes from my fellow dealers in celluloid.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On receiving American Film Institute's 1979 Lifetime Achievement Award, recalled on his death (29 Apr. 1980).
“I’m not against the police; I'm just afraid of them.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Hitchcock (revised edition 1985) by François Truffaut, p. 109.
“In the documentary the basic material has been created by God, whereas in the fiction film the director is a God; he must create life.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Hitchcock (revised edition 1984) by François Truffaut with the collaboration of Helen G. Scott, p. 102.
“The silent pictures were the purest form of cinema.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1967 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Hitchcock (1967) by François Truffaut
“There is no terror in a bang, only in the anticipation of it.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Attributed to Hitchcock in Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion (1984).
“A clear horizon — nothing to worry about on your plate, only things that are creative and not destructive and that's within yourself. Within me I can't bear quarreling, I can't bear feelings between people. I think hatred is wasted energy and it's all non-productive. I'm very sensitive. A sharp word, said by a person who has a temper, if they're close to me, hurts me for days. I know we're only human, we do go in for these various emotions, call them negative emotions but when all these are removed and you can look forward, and the road is clear ahead, and now you're going to create something. I think that's as happy as I would ever want to be.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hitchcock's Definition of Happiness (YouTube video), excerpt from CBC's interview 'A Talk with Alfred Hitchcock' (1964). Quoted in "Hitchcock's Secret to Happiness" by Maria Popova, The Atlantic (20 March 2012).
“I beg permission to mention by name only four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation, and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are . Had the beautiful Miss Reville not accepted a lifetime contract without options as Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock some 53 years ago, Mr. Alfred Hitchcock might be in this room tonight, not at this table but as one of the slower waiters on the floor.”
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980) first seen 1979 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking on March 11, 1979, accepting AFI's Life Achievement Award; as paraphrased in "A Big Hollywood Turnout for Alfred Hitchcock; "Hollywood Salute to Alfred Hitchcock" by , Los Angeles Times (March 12, 1979); quoted…