Hitchcock’s American And British Suspense Genre And How They Reflect Social Concerns Of The Period

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Hitchcock’s
American and British Suspense Genre
And how they reflect
Social Concerns of the Period


Hitchcock’s British films use suspense, genre and character identification quite different from his American works. When comparing his British and American films two principal British films are The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes and two of his most significant American films are Psycho and Vertigo. These films have strong ties to the country in which they were produced and display different characteristics that make them specifically British or American.
In Hitchcock’s American suspense films, the knowledge or the secret is revealed early in the film usually by means of restricted narration which is tied to one or two characters. The restricted narration is designed to provoke identification with the main or main characters. In Psycho the audience is drawn into the film by Marion Crane, the viewer is only allowed to view the events through her perspective until she meets Norman Bates. The narration is done in such a way that we see the world on the screen through the eyes of Marion and we are able to understand her desires as well as what motivates her to pursue them. From the beginning of the films the viewer can understand that Marion is unhappy with her job, the fact that her boyfriend, Sam lives in another state and that she is unable to do much to change her situation. The viewer can relate to the fact Marion steals the money in an attempt to be able to settle into a better life with Sam. We also find out early in the film what Marion’s terrible fate will be and that Norman isn’t exactly the normal guy we once thought he was.
The film Vertigo also is characteristically American because key information is also revealed early compared with other events in the film. The audience understands that the vertigo cripples Scottie and will keep him from performing his job properly as a detective on the police force....