Alfred Hitchcock's America

Murray Pomerance is Professor of Sociology at Ryerson University. He is also editor of the Techniques of the Moving Image series and his previous works include An Eye for Hitchcock (2004) and Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s (2011).

"A must-have for the shelves of any horror lover, film buff or teenager wondering where on earth the idea for the slasher genre could have been born and what cultural landscape could have fostered such ideas."—Film Ireland"Written with immense brio and an effortless command of its materials, Murray Pomerance provides surprising readings of both neglected and familiar films, but never strays from the overarching question of how Hitchcock's work, from 1940 till 1975, achieves an identifiably American character."—George Toles, University of Manitoba"This book is a treasure-trove for students of film, historians, and sociologists. Drawing on extremely close analysis, Pomerance leads us through the ways Hitchcock observed and took careful note of American topographies before exploiting complex technologies that he — Pomerance — explains to uninitiated readers with deft clarity. Written with flair and panache, Alfred Hitchcock's America brings to the reader dazzling insights about Hitchcock's studies of American life."—Tom Conley, Harvard University"What comes through most vividly in this stylish study is the physical poetry of Hitchcock's American films. With grace and insight, Murray Pomerance describes the colors, the rhythms of speech and movement, and the concrete spaces of Hitchcock's America in a way that makes these films new again. This is a book every cinephile will want to read."—Robert Burgoyne, University of St Andrews and author of Film Nation: Hollywood Looks at US History"Pomerance’s analysis is insightful, and his film analysis is superb. This book makes the reader want to watch these keynote films again and again: and as such, we join Pomerance in his celebration of the great master himself."—Ian Dixon, SAE Institute and Qantm College, Melbourne

• Acknowledgments ixIntroduction: Alfred Hitchcock in America 11 Hitchcock's American Scapes 182 Hitchcock's American Personalities 713 Hitchcock and American Values 1234 Hitchcock and American Social Form 1765 Hitchcock and the American Marriage 225Works Cited and Consulted 284Index 305