Alfred Hitchcock Quotes

I’m a great believer in the possibilities of ignorance. In fact, without ignorance, I seriously doubt that any of us would ever get anything done. – Alfred Hitchcock

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. – Alfred Hitchcock

There is nothing quite so good as burial at sea. It is simple, tidy, and not very incriminating. – Alfred Hitchcock

I’m not against the police; I’m just afraid of them. – Alfred Hitchcock

The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them. – Alfred Hitchcock

I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle. – Alfred Hitchcock

When an actor comes to me and wants to discuss his character, I say, ‘It’s in the script.’ If he says, ‘But what’s my motivation?’, I say, ‘Your salary.’ – Alfred Hitchcock

To make a great film, you need three things: the script, the script, and the script. – Alfred Hitchcock

The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture. – Alfred Hitchcock

There is a distinct difference between ‘suspense’ and ‘surprise,’ and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. – Alfred Hitchcock

Give them pleasure – the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare. – Alfred Hitchcock

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. – Alfred Hitchcock

Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders. – Alfred Hitchcock

I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach. – Alfred Hitchcock

Old age is just a record of one’s whole life. – Alfred Hitchcock

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder. – Alfred Hitchcock

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. – Alfred Hitchcock

There is nothing to winning, really. That is, if you happen to be blessed with a keen eye, an agile mind, and no scruples whatsoever. – Alfred Hitchcock

In films, murders are always very clean. I show how difficult it is and what a messy thing it is to kill a man. – Alfred Hitchcock

Seeing a murder on television can help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some. – Alfred Hitchcock

I have a perfect cure for a sore throat: cut it. – Alfred Hitchcock

Revenge is sweet and not fattening. – Alfred Hitchcock

The people who watch my pictures are illiterate, simple people with regular jobs who like to see the villains get their comeuppance. – Alfred Hitchcock

Disney has the best casting. If he doesn’t like an actor, he just tears him up. – Alfred Hitchcock

I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach. – Alfred Hitchcock

Give them pleasure – the same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare. – Alfred Hitchcock

The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them. – Alfred Hitchcock

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. – Alfred Hitchcock

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder. – Alfred Hitchcock

Film your murders like love scenes, and film your love scenes like murders. – Alfred Hitchcock

What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out. – Alfred Hitchcock

Fear isn’t so difficult to understand. After all, weren’t we all frightened as children? Nothing has changed since Little Red Riding Hood faced the big bad wolf. What frightens us today is exactly the same sort of thing that frightened us yesterday. It’s just a different wolf. – Alfred Hitchcock

In my opinion, the only way to conquer stage fright is to get up on stage and play. – Alfred Hitchcock

The screenplay is not a finished product; it’s a blueprint for the film. – Alfred Hitchcock

Dialogue should simply be a sound effect, just as music is. – Alfred Hitchcock

I never choose a subject for its social merits. I’m always looking for a successful story, a commercially successful story. – Alfred Hitchcock

Luck is everything… My good luck in life was to be a really frightened person. I’m fortunate to be a coward, to have a low threshold of fear, because a hero couldn’t make a good suspense film. – Alfred Hitchcock

A good film is when the price of the dinner, the theatre admission, and the babysitter were worth it. – Alfred Hitchcock

Self-plagiarism is style. – Alfred Hitchcock

I never said actors were cattle, I said they should be treated like cattle. – Alfred Hitchcock

Television has brought back murder into the home – where it belongs. – Alfred Hitchcock

There are four types of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy. – Alfred Hitchcock

Some films are slices of life, mine are slices of cake. – Alfred Hitchcock

Seeing a murder on television can help work off one’s antagonisms. And if you haven’t any antagonisms, the commercials will give you some. – Alfred Hitchcock

There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it. – Alfred Hitchcock