Hitchcock & the Anxiety of Authorship

Leslie H. Abramson,an adjunct professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, USA, is afilm scholar teaching cinema and law. Her essays have been published in Hitchcockand Adaptation (2014), American Cinema of the 1960s (2008), Inthe Limelight and Under the Microscope: Forms and Functions of Female Celebrity(2011), New Constellations: Movie Stars of the 1960s (2012), and variousjournals. She holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.

"Just when it seemed like scholars had little new to write about Hitchcock's films, Abramson provides us with an original reading ranging from the early British films to the American productions of the 60s and 70s. By integrating the director's extensive nonfiction writings and interviews with the self-reflexive artistry that characterizes his movies, Abramson reveals how Hitchcock contradicts traditional auteurist claims about his work, allowing readers to (re)consider how the director articulates the complexities of the creative process. Abramson's accessible writing will encourage those new to Hitchcock to relish the joy of discovering his classic movies and film scholars to applaud her insights into this treacherous cinematic landscape." - Lester D. Friedman, Professor, former Chair, Media and Society Program, Hobart College, USA and William Smith College, USA

• Introduction: Self-Reflexivity in Hitchcock's Cinema & Struggles of AuthorshipPART I: COMPROMISING POSITIONS: THE DIRECTOR1. Introduction2. Murder!3. Sabotage4. Notorious5. Vertigo6. PsychoPART II: DRAMATIC ARTFULNESS: THE ACTOR 7. Introduction8. The Lodger9. The 39 Steps10. Spellbound11. MarniePART III: DISTURBING SIGHTS: THE AUDIENCE 12. Introduction13. The Ring14. The Man Who Knew Too Much15. Strangers on a Train16. Rear Window17. The Birds Appendix: In Brief - Hitchcock's Cameos