Alfred Hitchcock Day – March 12
March 12 is Alfred Hitchcock Day, but no one knows why. The date does not correspond to any important dates in Hitchcock’s life. Like his movies, the date is a mystery.
Hitchcock made movies for 55 years and was dubbed the Master of Suspense. His films are guaranteed to put you on the edge of your seat and keep you there.
He directed over 50 movies in his lifetime and was nominated for many awards. Possibly his most well-known films are The Birds and Psycho. Both films are responsible for many nightmares.
When is Alfred Hitchcock Day?
Alfred Hitchcock Day is celebrated every year on March 12.
Fun facts about Alfred Hitchcock
Here are ten fun facts about Alfred Hitchcock:
Hitchcock never won an Oscar in the Best Director category.
He hosted and developed his own Television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Also called The Alfred Hitchcock Hour). His signature sign off was simply Good Evening.
Quite a few well-known stars were guests on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents show. Including Robert Redford, Peter Falk, Bob Newhart, James Caan, Gloria Swanson, Peter Fonda, Katherine Ross, Peter Lorre, Vera Miles, Roger Moore, and others.
Hitchcock made a cameo appearance in almost all of his films.
Only one film directed by Hitchcock, Rebecca, won an Oscar for Best Picture.
He was terrified of the police. As a young boy, his father sent him to the police station with a note that read, ‘lock him up for five minutes, he’s been bad.’ Hitchcock never got over it.
Hitchcock had one daughter, Patricia. Pat Hitchcock acted in several of his movies, including the classic Psycho.
Alfred Hitchcock loved to play practical jokes. He would find out what an actor or crew member was afraid of (like snakes). Then he would send them a box of rubber ones.
He made the set of Psycho a closed set and had the cast and crew sign Confidentiality Agreements for secrecy.
Hitchcock tried to buy up all the printed copies of the book Psycho. He did this in an effort to maintain the ending of the movie as a secret.
How Hitchcock made the shower scene video
How to celebrate Alfred Hitchcock Day?
Have guests come dressed as their favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie. They can also bring appropriately themed hors d’oeuvres.
Make some popcorn and host an Alfred Hitchcock movie marathon. You can even create trivia questions for all the different movies. You can have a drinking game (responsibly, of course) where you take a sip when you spot Hitchcock in a cameo.
Hitchcock was a big fan of cigars, especially the brand Montecristo. Have a cigar party with guests bringing different cigars to try.
Use the movie The Birds as a theme for a costume party. Encourage guests to come dressed as their favorite birds.
Have a costume party with everyone dressing like Alfred Hitchcock. Have a contest to see who can draw the best Alfred Hitchcock cartoon logo from his television show.
Awards and Accolades
Hitchcock was nominated for a Best Director Academy Award five times. He never won, but, as stated earlier, his film Rebecca did win a Best Picture Oscar.
Over the span of his lengthy career, he won 32 industry awards. He was also one of the most nominated directors of all time. Some of his accolades include:
American Film Institute Award.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
Directors Guild of America Award.
Golden Globe Award.
New York Film Critics Circle.
Order of the British Empire.
Saturn Award.
BAFTA Award.
Film Society of Lincoln Center Award.
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award.
He also won eight Golden Laurel Awards, an honor that was given from 1951 to 1971. The award was created and presented by the Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine.
He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for his Film work and the other for his Television work.
In 1980, shortly before his death, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.
Alfred Hitchcock Quotes
All these quotes can be attributed to Alfred Hitchcock:
What is logic? There is nothing more stupid than logic.
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.
The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them.
Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.
I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would be looking for a body in the coach.
Always make the audience suffer as much as possible.
If it’s a good movie, the sound could go off, and the audience would still have a perfectly clear idea of what was going on.
Luck is everything. My good luck in life was to be a really frightening person. I’m fortunate to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn’t make a good suspense film.
Revenge is sweet and not fattening.
Check out more famous Alfred Hitchcock Quotes.
Alfred Hitchcock Quote Meme
Captions for Instagram
Always check your rear window.
Murder? Who said anything about a murder?
Well, a boy’s best friend is his mother.
I think we all go a little mad sometimes.
I’m afraid of a lot of things, aren’t you?
The sight of blood scares me.
“We all go a little mad sometimes.”
Don’t close your eyes.
You eat like a bird.
Something wicked this way comes.
Looks like bloody footprints in the snow.
And what exactly do you mean by scruples?
Keep Calm, Then Scream.
Alfred Hitchcock Day Hashtags
Use these hashtags when you are posting pictures or sending tweets:
- #rearwindow
- #psychofan
- #forthebirds
- #batesmotel
- #alfredhitchcockday
- #northbynorthwest
- #goodevening
- #vertigo
- #normanbates
- #rebecca
One last interesting fact
Together Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart made the classic movies Vertigo and Rear Window. When Vertigo did not do well at the box office, Hitchcock decided not to cast Stewart in another film.
But instead of telling him, he waited until Stewart was cast in another film. Then he hired Cary Grant for North by Northwest.
By Tim Moodie
Tim only watched Psycho once; that was enough.
You’re on our Alfred Hitchcock Day page.
You might like:
National Napping Day – March 15