Hitchcock's Blonde Obsession
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| Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) |
Earlier this semester, my film class watched Alfred Hitchcock's classic suspense film, Rear Window (1954). Now as much as I'd love to analyze this film (again), my film teacher mentioned another thing that I thought would be more interesting to talk about for today's blog, and it was Hitchcock's obsession with blondes.
The term "Hitchcock Blonde" refers to the leading ladies in Hitchcock's films, who were, as the name suggests, blonde, usually blue-eyed, seductively attractive, and untouchable. Not only was Hitchcock obsessed with his blonde female characters on screen, but he seemed to develop a fixation on the stars who played them, including Grace Kelly (Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, To Catch a Thief), Ingrid Bergman (Spellbound, Notorious, Under Capricorn) and Tippi Hedren (The Birds, Marnie). Unfortunately, Hitchcock's obsession with his leading ladies made him compulsive and invade their private lives and overall just be a really shady guy with a lot of power, fame, and money. Specifically in this blog post, I'll be focusing on Tippi Hedren as she has in recent years spoke out about her miserable experience with the director.
Tippi Hedren and Her Rise to Fame
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| Tippi Hedron, 1953 |
Some of the most infamous stories of Hitchcock comes from Tippi Hedren, who many consider to be the last Hitchcock Blonde. Not originally planning on becoming an actor, Hedren was discovered by Hitchcock when he saw her in a television commercial in 1961. When Hedren was invited by Universal Studio executives, Hitchcock hadn't even shown nor introduced himself to her until she accepted a $500-per-week contract.
Because Hedren was a newcomer in Hollywood and had no claim to fame, Hitchcock was able to be more bold and extreme in his actions towards her, both on and off screen. He would send her personal notes and expensive gifts. He would even go as far as sending a doll of Hedren in a coffin to her daughter as a "present" for her which, understandably, traumatized her.
The Birds (1963)
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| Tippi Hedron in The Birds (1963) |
When it came to filming for The Birds, Hedren had to suffer abuse and harassment from Hitchcock, who already had a manipulative and abusive view on women, once expressing that "women aren't tortured enough!" Hedren would receive bread baskets from the director, who believed that she was losing too much weight, prompting her to eat it to put on some pounds.
While shooting the final bird attack scene, Hitchcock thought that the birds were flying away from Hedren too soon. To counteract that, he ordered for the birds to be attached to Hedren's costume so that they would defensively try to fly away, making it look like they're attacking her. Obviously, the birds were continuously flapping while also scratching Hedren, to the point that she got scratched under the eye, thus halting the shooting of the film.
Marnie (1964)
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| Tippi Hedron and Sean Connery in Marnie (1964) |
Unfortunately, the abuse and harassment continued even onto their next film together, Marnie (1964). Hitchcock's obsession towards Hedren led him to become more extreme and controlling in his actions. Hitchcock would tell Hedren about the recurring dream he would have of himself expressing his love for her, which obviously was weird as Hitchcock was married to his wife, Alma, of over thirty years.
While filming, Hitchcock ordered that no one lay a hand on Hedren, even her co-star in the film, Sean Connery. The moment Hedren could not take it anymore was after a day's shooting for the film, when Hitchcock went into Hedren's trailer and sexually advanced towards her. When Hedren refused and fought him, Hitchcock lost all interest in her and the film he initially thought had much potential went on to become a disaster at the box office.
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