Exploring The Importance Of Appearances In Alfred Hitchcock's Film

Hitchcock appearances are a characteristic element in his films, it can be said that it become his signature. When Hitchcock appears, he does it in a very discreet way; it is almost unperceivable forthe audience, he blends with the crowd and performs a secondary role, as an extra. For example, in The Lodger he appears when the crowd follows the lodger and he is hanging on the fence. In The 39 Steps, he appears as a man walking and throwing a piece of paper in the street, littering. In The Lady Vanishes, in the train station walking with a small lunch box in his hand. In Rebecca, Hitchcock just walks to a building while Jack Favell talks to a police officer, after using the phone
Also his appearances are very quick, lasts only for a few seconds in which he walks or performs a regular person´s daily activity. One of the longest and more evident appearances occurs in Blackmail when he is in a train as a passenger and is bother by a kid, who pull his hat while he is reading, he asks the kid´s parents to control him. In this scene Hitchcock shows his playful and childish personality, he probably tries to give a certain relieve of the tension that happens in the film.
Hitchcock probably use this resource as a way to make the audience more aware of the film, to force them to see the …show more content…
In The Lodger, when Hitchcock is sitting in the newsroom desk writing and the camera focus his back, probably it has a meaning, he transmit that he is in control. As he controls in that scene the news, he also has power in other media resources, in his film; he would control the information that arrives to the audience. On the other hand, when he appears in The Lady Vanishes, the action he performs seems banal and so quick that is very difficult to draw a conclusion about