Kenneth McIntyre

Professor James Stone

Alfred Hitchcock FDMA 337-001

February 7th, 2023

The Depiction of Murder in Hitchcock’s Films

Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography spans over 50 films over the course of six decades.

Throughout his extended career, Hitchcock explored many similar themes in his films like

voyeurism, crime, lies, mental instability, and murder. Murder is something that tends to be a

driving staple in many of his films. Starting all the way back to his early career in the 1920’s and

into his prime in the 1960’s, Alfred Hitchcock has had a fascination with the act of murder.

The 1927 film The Lodger: Story of the London Fog is based on the 1913 novel The

Lodger written by Marie Belloc Lowndes. The film and the book focus on a failing lodge that

rooms a mysterious guest. The owners become suspicious of their new lodger when the bodies of

young women turn up in the surrounding area. The story itself is based off of the ‘Whitechapel

Murders’ of 1888, already cementing its themes of murder and distrust, but the novel and film

have stark contrasts. The first is the change of focus on characters. Hitchcock purposely used the

lodge owners’ daughter as the main character to show the events through the perspective of a

possible victim. The opening sequence illustrates this by juxtaposing newspaper clippings that

describe the victims of “The Avenger” to the lead. The largest change from page to screen is the

fate of the Lodger. In the original novel, the Lodger threatens the owners of the lodge after being

confronted by police. He leaves only to be found dead in a river a few days after. In Hitchcock’s

film, the Lodger is completely innocent. In fact, “The Avenger” is never shown in the film, nor is

his identity revealed. Why would Hitchcock make this change? Arguably, the novel’s ending is
much more intense and has a satisfying conclusion for the serial killer. I believe at this point in

time, Hitchcock’s fascination with murder was focused on the surrounding people more than the

killer. Fortunately for movie-goers, this would not be the case in 1951.

Strangers on a Train is one of Hitchcock’s most celebrated films. Based on the novel of

the same name by Patricia Highsmith. The story follows Guy, either an architect or tennis player

turned politician, as he becomes entangled with Bruno, a slightly off professional rich-person.

The two meet on a train, and Bruno throws out the idea of exchanging murders. Guy writes him

off, but finds that Bruno was dead serious. Immediately, the story’s primary topic is murder. In

both the book and film, Bruno strangles Guy’s unfaithful wife, who he planned on divorcing, in

an amusement park. Hitchcock’s fascination takes center stage as we watch the murder through

the reflection of Guy’s (soon to be ex) wife’s glasses. The scene can be interrupted as Hitchcock

showing the audience through their own eyes what they want to see. Hitchcock takes his

fascination to a higher level by introducing Bruno’s philosophy. Bruno’s driving force is shown

when he speaks to a woman at a part mid-way in the film. “Everyone has somebody that they

want to put out of the way.” This scene is written in a way as if Bruno is Hitchcock and the

woman is the audience. Hitchcock is using this story to prove his point, almost defend it.

Everyone is interested in murder. Certainly he has no grounds to ask this of his audience, right?

In 1960, he would release a film that not only changed the horror genre, but also proved his

point: Murder is a spectacle.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) is based on the 1959 novel of the same name. The

novel was written by Robert Bloch. The film adaptation is the most faithful of the three

mentioned in this essay. The story centers on Norman Bates, an innkeeper who runs the Bates

Motel with his elderly mother. After Norman has dinner with a young woman named Mary
Crane, or Marion for the film, Mother murders her. Norman disposes of the body, car, and

(unknowingly) the $40,000 Ms. Krane stole from a real estate client. Psycho (1960) is regarded

as Hitchcock’s most influential film. It also features a gruesome killing of Marion Crane. The

shower scene features a nude Marion becoming acquainted with a kitchen knife more than most

would wish. The sequence features excellent uses of editing, score, and acting. This is

Hitchcock’s most famous murder. Hitchcock’s use of vulnerability, a common space, and blood

depicts exactly what the audience (of that time) unconsciously wanted to see. The scene has

since been homaged, parodied, spoofed, remade, and referenced more times than can be listed.

Hitchcock finally made concrete proof that his fascination with murder is not just okay, but

normal. If the effect that this scene caused on popular culture is not enough proof, films like

American Psycho (2000), Halloween (1978), Seven (1995), Silence of the Lambs (1991), and all

four sequels to Psycho (1960) all take heavy influence from this fascination. Morbidly, the

American public’s interest is most reflected during the 1970s through 90s when a plethora of

serial killings were in the spotlight by mainstream news. Obviously, not all of this is thanks to

Psycho, but it has earned its spot as the most celebrated film of the genre that proved Hitchcock

right.

Hitchcock once said “Seeing a murder on television... can help work off one's

antagonisms.” His murder fascination expands beyond these three films. Arguably, most of his

films center around murder. His use of his popularity and filmmaking to explore the dark

thoughts within his mind have drastically changed how we ingest media and what we see on the

news. In our point of time, will there be another filmmaker to do the same? I do not think so. I

strongly believe that Hitchcock and the writers of these stories will always be known as those

who explored fascination with a naked eye. An eye that we all have learned to peer through.