“Hot” and “Cold” War Through the Cinematic Lens of Alfred Hitchcock

Between 1925 and 1976 Alfred Hitchcock, the acclaimed “Master of Suspense,” directed 53 feature films that stimulated viewers’ imaginations, and sometimes scared the hell out of them.  But his treatment of specific subjects, such as obsession, psychoanalysis, and guilt, cannot be overlooked.  During the 1940s he devoted considerable attention to the events surrounding World War II.  Then in the 1950s and 1960s he returned to “cold war” espionage, a favorite theme from his early career on the British soundstage.  Join us at 9 am as we take a look back at some of his memorable films, including “Notorious” and “North by Northwest.”  We’ll explore subversive groups bent on sabotage, confronting one’s enemy in a lifeboat, infiltrating a post-war nest of spies, running from a crime one hasn’t committed, going behind the Iron Curtain to extract a scientific secret, and uncovering a spy ring within an allied country’s government.  We will watch brief clips from these films and discuss their importance as well as share some backstories from Hitchcock’s extensive body of work.

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