List of Hitchcock cameo appearances

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Thirty-seven of director Alfred Hitchcock's 52 surviving major films -- his second film The Mountain Eagle is lost -- contain a cameo appearance by Hitchcock himself. The director would be seen for a brief moment boarding a bus, crossing in front of a building, standing in an apartment across the courtyard, or even appearing in a newspaper photograph (required for the film Lifeboat which otherwise provided no other opportunity for him to appear).

This playful gesture became one of Hitchcock's signatures and fans would make sport of trying to spot his cameos. As a recurring theme he would carry a musical instrument - especially memorable was the double bass case that he wrestles onto the train at the beginning of Strangers on a Train.

In his earliest appearances he filled in as obscure extras, in a crowd or walking through a scene in a long camera shot. His later appearances became more prominent, such as when he turns to see Jane Wyman's disguise as she passes him in Stage Fright, and in stark silhouette in his final film Family Plot. His appearances became so popular that he began to make them earlier in his films, so as not to distract the audience from the plot.

Hitchcock appears in all 30 features from Rebecca (his first American film) onward; before his move to Hollywood, he only occasionally performed cameos.

Here is a list of Hitchcock's appearances, listed alphabetically by title:

Title Year Hrs:Min Description
The Birds 1963 0:02 Leaving the pet shop with two white Sealyham terriers as Tippi Hedren enters.
Blackmail 1929 0:11 Being bothered by a small boy as he reads a book in the subway.
Dial M for Murder 1954 0:13 On the left side in the class-reunion photo.
Easy Virtue 1928 0:15 Walking past a tennis court carrying a walking stick.
Family Plot 1976 0:40 In silhouette through the door of the Registrar of Births and Deaths.
Foreign Correspondent 1940 0:13 After Joel McCrea leaves his hotel, wearing a coat and hat and reading a newspaper.
Frenzy 1972 0:03 In the center of a crowd, wearing a bowler hat; he is the only one not applauding the speaker.
I Confess 1953 0:01 Crossing the top of a staircase.
The Lady Vanishes 1938 1:30 In Victoria Station, wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette.
Lifeboat 1944 0:25 In the "before" and "after" pictures in the newspaper ad for "Reduco Obesity Slayer".
The Lodger 1927 0:03 At a desk in the newsroom.
The Lodger 1927 1:32 Possible cameo in the crowd watching an arrest (unconfirmed).
The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934 0:31 Possible cameo walking across the screen in a dark trench coat, with back to the camera (unconfirmed).
The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956 0:25 Watching acrobats in the Moroccan marketplace (back to the camera).
Marnie 1964 0:05 Entering from the left of the hotel corridor after Tippi Hedren passes by.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith 1941 0:43 Passing Robert Montgomery in front of his building.
Murder! 1930 1:00 Walking past the house where the murder was committed.
North by Northwest 1959 0:02 missing a bus, just after his name passes off screen
North by Northwest 1959 Possible cameo dressed as an elderly woman on the train while Cary Grant hides in the lavatory (unconfirmed, most probably actress Jesslyn Fax).
Notorious 1946 1:00 At the big party in Claude Rains's mansion, drinking champagne and then quickly departing.
The Paradine Case 1947 0:36 Leaving the train at Cumberland Station, carrying a cello.
Psycho 1960 0:06 Through Janet Leigh's window as she returns to her office, wearing a cowboy hat.
Rear Window 1954 0:25 Winding the clock in the songwriter's apartment.
Rebecca 1940 2:03 Walking near the phone booth just after George Sanders makes a call.
Rope 1948 0:02 A man walking along street (holding a newspaper) after the opening credits.
Rope 1948 0:55 His trademark silhouette can be seen on a red neon sign in the view from the apartment window.
Saboteur 1942 1:04 Standing in front of Cut Rate Drugs as the saboteur's car stops.
Shadow of a Doubt 1943 0:17 On the train to Santa Rosa, playing cards.
Spellbound 1945 0:35 Coming out of an elevator at the Empire Hotel, carrying a violin case and smoking a cigarette.
Stage Fright 1950 0:39 Turning to look back at Jane Wyman in her disguise as Marlene Dietrich's maid.
Strangers on a Train 1951 0:10 Boarding a train with a double bass as Farley Granger gets off in his hometown.
Suspicion 1941 0:46 Mailing a letter at the village postbox (long shot).
The 39 Steps 1935 0:06 Tossing some litter while Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim run from the theater.
To Catch a Thief 1955 0:10 Sitting to the left of Cary Grant on the bus.
Topaz 1969 0:33 Being pushed in a wheelchair in the airport. Hitchcock gets up from the chair, shakes hands with a man, and walks off to the right.
Torn Curtain 1966 0:08 Sitting in the Hotel d'Angleterre lobby with a baby on his knee. He shifts the child from one knee to the other.
The Trouble with Harry 1955 0:22 Walking past the parked limousine of an old man who is looking at paintings.
Under Capricorn 1949 0:04 In the town square during a parade, wearing a blue coat and brown hat.
Under Capricorn 1949 0:14 One of three men on the steps of Government House.
Vertigo 1958 0:11 In a grey suit walking in the street.
The Wrong Man 1956 Seen in silhouette narrating the film's prologue. According to Donald Spoto's biography, Hitchcock chose to make an explicit appearance in this film (rather than a cameo) so as to emphasize that, unlike his other movies, The Wrong Man was a true story about an actual person.
Young and Innocent 1937 0:15 Outside the courthouse, holding a camera.

[edit] Trivia

  • In Notorious, there is a fake cameo of Hitchcock. Earlier in the movie, a man who looks like Hitchcock walks by in the famous Hitchcock profile and checks his watch. Hitchcock added this decoy in the belief that after the audience thinks they have seen him, then they will not notice his actual appearance, when he takes up half of the screen.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
Misc
List of Hitchcock cameo appearances · List of unproduced Hitchcock projects