Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies

by Donald Spoto

Book Overview

"The trouble today is that we don't torture women enough." -Alfred Hitchcock It is remarkable how infrequently, over a period of more than fifty years, Alfred Hitchcock spoke about the beautiful, legendary and talented actresses he directed. And when he did, his remarks were mostly indifferent and often hostile. But his leading ladies greatly enriched his films, even as many of them achieved international stardom precisely because of their work for...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307351300
• ISBN13: 9780307351302
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Harmony
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Terrific!

I have always enjoyed Spoto's books about the film industry, and this one is superb. Having already mastered Hitchcock and his work in other books, this one takes the Master a step further. In short, Hitchcock was a "weirdo" who harrassed his leading ladies all through the making of his classic films. He told them dirty stories, propositioned them, and harrassed them in eras where that was acceptable and allowable. But it must have worked, as his leading actresses all were superb in his films, with one, Joan Fontaine, winning the only acting Oscar for a Hitch film, "Suspicion." AH was terrible to Tippi Hedren, Anne Baxter, and Diane Baker, but somehow he was in love unfailingly with Ingrid Bergman, who worked with him in 3 movies. A fascinating book - highly recommended!

Spoto returns to the subject he knows better than anyone.

Few film historians have the understanding of Hitchcock that Donald Spoto possesses. He sat at the master's arm during the making of Family Plot. He has previously written about Hitchcock in two other fine books, but here, unburdened by the need for censorship, Spoto offers his most uncompromising view of the obsessions and quirks that were an undeniable, if unattractive part of Alfred Hitchcock. Spoto is an artist of the first rank and this is one of his best.