Few filmmakers have made such an impact on the cinematic landscape as Alfred Hitchcock. Over a career spanning six decades, going from silent films to talkies and black-and-white to colour, the Master of Suspense crafted over fifty films, many of which (such as Vertigo and Psycho) have rightly become cinematic classics.
One of the hallmarks of a Hitchcock film- aside from a glacial female blonde, strikingly innovative visuals, and the inconsequential-plot-point that became known as the McGuffin- is the cameo appearance by the maestro himself. Hitch made cameo appearances in 40 of his major films, often carrying a musical instrument and sometimes even breaking the fourth wall to clock the audience directly.
So here, in chronological order, are five of Hitch's most ingenious cameos
Lifeboat (1944)
So, you decide to film a picture featuring eight disparate people crowded together in a lifeboat. OK. How on Earth do you do a cameo in that set-up? Dismissing the idea of floating past as a dead body from the torpedoed vessel, Hitch instead makes what I think is his most clever cameo: in the "before" and "after" pictures in the newspaper ad for "Reduco Obesity Slayer" (in real life, he had lost a lot of weight during the filming).
Rope (1948)
Hitch actually has two cameos in this film- his first is more traditional, in the opening credits, he is the man walking down the street with the lady- but his second cameo is the more ingenious one. Bear in mind the action of the film takes place entirely at the party in the apartment. At just under an hour in, Hitch makes a cameo as a red flashing neon sign of his trademark profile in the window.
Dial M For Murder (1954)
Another example of Hitch's cameo coming in an unexpected format. Approximately 13 minutes in, he can be seen on the left side in the class reunion photo that Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) shows to Swann (Anthony Dawson).
North By Northwest (1959)
As his reputation for making cameos increased, Hitch would make sure he appeared earlier so as not to distract from the story. Here, to make sure people weren't distracted from the rip-roaring case of mistaken identity, his cameo comes in the first two minutes: just after his name appears on screen, he misses the bus!
Topaz (1969)
Whilst Topaz might not be one of Hitchcock's better-known films, it does however feature one of his best cameos. At around 30 minutes into the film, at the airport, Hitch can be seen being pushed in a wheelchair. He gets up from the chair, shakes hands with a man, and walks off to the right!
Bonus: Psycho (1960)
Now, Hitch's cameo in the infamous 1960 slasher isn't necessarily in and of itself remarkable - he's seen standing with his back to the window as Marion (Janet Leigh) returns to the office from her lunch with Sam (John Gavin), wearing a fetching Stetson hat.
The reason I bring it up is that the moment is recreated in Gus Van Sant's utterly pointless shot-for-shot 1998 colour remake which shows a figure remarkably similar to Hitch giving director Gus Van Sant a bollocking for something (probably for having the temerity to remake a film that's dangerously close to perfection and adding precisely zero to it)
So which is your favourite of Hitchcock's cameos? Let us know!
