On this day in movie history – The Birds (1963 movie & book):

The Birds

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Evan Hunter,

based on the short story by Daphne du Maurier,

was released in the United States on March 28, 1963.

Cast:

Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Tippi Hedren, Veronica Cartwright, Ethel Griffies, Charles McGraw, Ruth McDevitt, Lonny Chapman, Joe Mantell, Doodles Weaver, Malcolm Atterbury, John McGovern, Karl Swenson, Richard Deacon, Elizabeth Wilson, Bill Quinn, Doreen Lang, Morgan Brittany, Darlene Conley, Valerie Ferdin, Betsy Hale, Alfred Hitchcock, Dal McKennon, Mike Monteleone, Bob Morgan, Renn Reed, Arnold Roberts, Jeannie Russell, Bill Scully, Rory Stevens, Tomm Wells, Mitch Zanich.

Recommended reading:

The Birds and Other Stories

By Daphne du Maurier.

Filmed as The Birds (1963), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Published by Time Warner Books.

First published 1952.

Paperback.

ASIN: 1844080870

ISBN-10: 9781844080878

ISBN-13: 978-1844080878

Description:

'How long he fought with them in the darkness he could not tell, but at last the beating of the wings about him lessened and then withdrew . . . '

A classic of alienation and horror, 'The Birds' was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's sense of dominance over the natural world.

The mountain paradise of 'Monte Verità' promises immortality, but at a terrible price; a neglected wife haunts her husband in the form of an apple tree; a professional photographer steps out from behind the camera and into his subject's life; a date with a cinema usherette leads to a walk in the cemetery; and a jealous father finds a remedy when three's a crowd . . .

On this day in movie history - The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927 movie & novel):

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Eliot Stannard, Alfred Hitchcock and Marie Belloc Lowndes,

based on the novel The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes,

was released in the United Kingdom on January 17, 1927.
Music by Ashley Irwin (for the 1999 release).

Cast:

Marie Ault, Arthur Chesney, June Tripp, Malcolm Keen, Ivor Novello, Wallace Bosco, Daisy Campbell, Maudie Dunham, Reginald Gardiner, Eve Gray, Alfred Hitchcock, Alma Reville.

Recommended reading:

The Lodger

By Marie Belloc Lowndes.

Filmed as The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, (1927), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Published by Academy Chicago Publishers.

First published 1911, in the January edition of McClure's Magazine.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0897336046

ISBN-13: 978-0897336048

Description:

"One of the best suspense novels ever written." – The New York Times.

"This is a beautifully wrought novel of psychological suspense that should have a place on any mystery buff's shelf of classics." – Chicago Sun-Times.

This first class, highly-acclaimed thriller was published in 1914, more than two decades after the so-called Jack the Ripper murders, on which it is based, had occurred in Whitechapel, London. The murders – five in all – appeared to be the work of a woman-hating fanatic, someone who also must have had knowledge of anatomy, since the bodies were mutilated with surgical skill.

Twenty years later, memories of these serial killings were still fresh in Londoners’ minds and the author brilliantly captures the sense of fear and horror which the murders evoked. Praise for this novel has withstood the test of time in England, America, and around the world. The Lodger has been adapted for the screen several times, most notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1926, his first film.

On this day in movie history - Rope (1948 movie & play):

Rope

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Arthur Laurents and Hume Cronyn,

based on the play by Patrick Hamilton,

was released in the United States on September 25, 1948.
Music by David Buttolph, Francis Poulenc and Leo F. Forbstein.

Cast:

James Stewart, Dick Hogan, John Dall, Farley Granger, Edith Evanson, Douglas Dick, Joan Chandler, Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Alfred Hitchcock.

Recommended reading:

Rope: A play

By Patrick Hamilton.

First published 1929.

a.k.a Rope’s End.

Filmed as Rope (1948), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Published by Constable.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0094508607

ISBN-13: 978-0094508606

Description:

Genre: Drama.

Characters: 6 males, 2 females.

Scenery: Interior.

For the mere sake of adventure, danger, and the "fun of the thing," Wyndham Brandon persuades his weak-minded friend, Charles Granillo, to assist him in the murder of a fellow undergraduate, a perfectly harmless man named Ronald Raglan. They place the body in a wooden chest, and to add spice to their handiwork, invite a few acquaintances, including the dead youth's father, to a party, the chest with its gruesome contents serving as a supper table. The horror and tension are worked up gradually; thunder grows outside, the guests leave, and we see the reactions of the two murderers, watched closely by the suspecting lame poet, Rupert Cadell. Finally, they break down under the strain and confess their guilt.

Born on this day – Alfred Hitchcock:

Alfred Hitchcock

Director

August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980

On this day in movie history - Marnie (1964):

Marnie

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Jay Presson Allen,

based on the novel by Winston Graham,

was released in the United States on July 17, 1964.
Music by Bernard Herrmann.

Cast:

Tippi Hedren, Martin Gabel, Sean Connery, Louise Latham, Diane Baker, Alan Napier, Bob Sweeney, Milton Selzer, Henry Beckman, Edith Evanson, Mariette Hartley, Bruce Dern, S. John Launer, Meg Wyllie, Alfred Hitchcock.

On this day in movie history - Psycho (1960 movie & books):

Psycho

directed by Alfred Hitchcock,

written by Joseph Stefano,

based on the novel by Robert Bloch,

was released in the United States, on June 16, 1960.
Music by Bernard Herrmann.
Inspired by the true 1957 Ed Gein murder case.

Cast:

Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, Janet Leigh, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, Simon Oakland, Frank Albertson, Pat Hitchcock, Vaughn Taylor, Lurene Tuttle, John Anderson, Mort Mills, Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin, Jeanette Nolan.

Recommended reading:

Psycho

By Robert Bloch.

Filmed as Psycho (1960), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Published by The Overlook Press.

First published 1959.

ISBN-10: 1590203356

ISBN-13: 9781590203354

Description:

"Psycho all came from Robert Bloch's book." – Alfred Hitchcock.

"Icily terrifying!" – The New York Times.

"Robert Bloch is one of the all-time masters." – Peter Straub.

Norman Bates loves his mother. She has been dead for the past 20 years, or so people think. Norman knows better, though.

Ever since leaving the hospital, he has lived with Mother in the old house up on the hill above the Bates Motel. One night, after a beautiful woman checks into the motel, Norman spies on her as she undresses. Norman can’t help but spy on her.

Mother is there, though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

If you love to be scared, or are a fan of classic movies, then you know the story of Norman Bates, his mother, and the dark and frightening Bates Motel. Alfred Hitchcock’s taut, shocking scare-fest starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh is a classic movie, as scary today as it was in 1960 when it was first released, and this is the 1959 novel upon which the movie is based.

It was here that the legend of the Bates Motel was born.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho

Edited by Richard J. Anobile.

The Film Classics Library.

Published by Universe Books.

First Edition.

Published 1974.

Hardcover.

ISBN-10: 0876631898

ISBN-13: 978-0876631898

Description:

The Film Classics Library present the most accurate and complete reconstruction of a film in book over 1,300 frame blow-up photos shown sequentially and coupled with the complete dialogue from the original soundtrack, allow you to recapture this film classic in its entirety – at your leisure.