Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in London in 1899 and studied in Saint Ignatius College. He first got in contact with filmmaking in 1919 while he worked in Paramount's Famous Players-Lasky studio illustrating title cards for silent films. It was there where he learned the fundamental techniques in filmaking like scripting, editing and art direction. He was soon promoted and rose to assistant director in 1922. That year he directed his first-ever attempt "Mrs. Peabody", but was never completed. His first completed film was "The Pleasure Garden" in 1925. He also went to work in Germany's UFA studios as an assistant director.

  His break came after directing "The Lodger" in 1926. It was at this time when he developed his style of direction, which can be seen in many other of his films later on, like "The 39 Steps" in 1935 and "The Lady Vanishes" in 1938.

  Hitchcock's first sound film was "Blackmail" in 1929. He went on to make many other films, Sir Alfred Hitchcockand learnt from each film's flaws and faults. In 1939, he made his last British film "Jamaica Inn", and in the following year he went over to Hollywood to do "Rebecca". It was well-received.  Hitchcock made a switch in 1959 and started dabbling in television too. His television series "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" enjoyed high ratings.

  He stayed in the U.S. for most of his life, and became a citizen subsequently. Hitchcock never did forget about the film industry, for although he was preoccupied with his television show, he continued to churn out great movies. His other famous works include "Rear Window" in 1954, "Psycho" in 1960 and "Frenzy" in 1972. His last film was "Family Plot" in 1976.

  In 1980, Hitchcock was knighted by the Queen of England. It was also in this year when we lost our master of suspense to Death.
 
 

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