Writing with Hitchcock Steven DeRosa

Writing with Hitchcock

Author: Steven DeRosa

Publisher: Faber & Faber, Incorporated

Publication Date: 01 July, 2005

ISBN: 9780571199907

Pages: 336

Subjects: Biographies, Performing arts

Available as: , Trade Paper, 978-0-9832056-0-9 Trade Paper, 978-0-571-19990-7 E-Book - Kindle; Multiple Formats, 978-0-9832056-1-6

Description:

An entertaining, in-depth look at the films, includingRear Window, made by Alfred Hitchcock with screenwriter John Michael Hayes. In spring 1953, the great director Alfred Hitchcock decided to take a chance and work with a young writer, John Michael Hayes. The decision turned out to be a pivotal one, for the four films that Hitchcock made with Hayes over the next several years --Rear Window,To Catch a Thief,The Trouble with Harry, andThe Man Who Knew Too Much-- represented an extraordinarily successful change of style. Each of the movies was distinguished by a combination of glamorous stars, sophisticated dialogue, and inventive plots -- James Stewart and Grace Kelly trading barbs in the tensely plottedRear Window, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly engaging in witty repartee inTo Catch a Thief-- and resulted in some of Hitchcock's most distinctive and intimate work, based in large part on Hayes's exceptional scripts. Exploring for the first time the details of this collaboration, Steven DeRosa follows Hitchcock and Hayes through each film from initial discussions to completed picture and presents an analysis of each screenplay. He also reveals the personal story -- filled with inspiration and humor, jealousy and frustration -- of the initial synergy between the two very different men before their relationship fell apart. Writing with Hitchcock not only provides new insight into four films from a master but also sheds light on the process through which classic motion pictures are created.

PW Publishers Weekly

Review Source: Publishers Weekly

Review Date: 2001-01-08

Alfred Hitchcock: The name conjures up incredible suspense, mordant laughs, the surprise ending. But Hitch's unique vision was not his alone. In this detailed analysis of the filmmaker's collaboration with screenwriter Hayes, DeRosa reveals how Hitchcock's basic artistic instincts were often radically reshaped and transformed by Hayes's nimble writing. The Hitchcock-Hayes collaborationsÄRear Window, To Catch a Thief, The Trouble with Harry and The Man Who Knew Too MuchÄform a transitional period in the director's career, with the writer contributing a kinder vision of the human condition, highly sophisticated dialogue and a sense of humor to Hitchcock's works. DeRosa, a former film archivist, has soundly researched his subject and carefully compares the original versions of each film with its ensuing treatments, scripts and multiple revisions. Relying heavily on interviews with Hayes as well as on studio memos and production notes, DeRosa gives us not only an in-depth portrait of this working relationship but a comprehensive look at the industry in the late 1950s, when it was struggling to reassert itself after the emergence of television. The author also engagingly describes the cultural politics of the time (Joseph Breen and the Production Code were vigilant in attacking Hayes's edgy, urbane representations of sexuality). DeRosa also brings convincing drama to Hayes and Hitchcock's breakup and charts Hayes's later career writing such films as Peyton Place and The Children's Hour. While overly specific for the general reader, this is an important study for film and Hitchcock scholars. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved