Spellbound: In Praise of Hitchcock’s Women

2 minute read

A 2012 critics poll that—shockingly, to some—toppled Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane from its long-time perch atop the Sight & Sound “Greatest Films of All Time” list and replaced it with the unsettling 1958 masterpiece, Vertigo, also had two other welcome results: it sparked passionate debate among movie fans and critics about their own favorite films, and it brought Vertigo‘s singular director, Alfred Hitchcock, back into the spotlight.

Hitchcock’s movies are unlike any other filmmaker’s for reasons that have been celebrated and (over)analyzed for half-a-century. For our purposes we can state, without fear of contradiction, that his unique melding of wry humor, suspense, powerhouse performances and a healthy regard for adult relationships, i.e., sex, make Sir Alfred’s films among the most entertaining and, at the same time, aesthetically rewarding in the history of the medium.

From early gems like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes to later classics like Lifeboat, Spellbound, Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, Psycho, The Birds and so many others, Hitchcock’s movies—even when quite genuinely disturbing—are at-once sophisticated and fun.

That he’s not above the occasional, laughably obvious visual pun—who can forget the train barreling into the tunnel at the end of North by Northwest?—adds a playfulness to his movies that might well feel utterly self-absorbed in a lesser artist’s hands.

Here, LIFE.com pays tribute to Alfred Hitchcock by celebrating the many actresses who served as muses—and, in some cases, emotional punching bags—for the demanding and often completely besotted director.

Tippi Hedren testing for Marnie (in which she starred) in 1963. She also starred, most famously, in Hitchcock's The Birds.John Dominis—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Teresa Wright (Shadow of a Doubt) and Alfred Hitchcock in 1942.Gjon Mili—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Joan Fontaine with Alfred Hitchcock and Laurence Olivier in 1939
Joan Fontaine -- of Rebecca and Suspicion fame -- with Alfred Hitchcock and Laurence Olivier in 1939.Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Tallulah Bankhead on the set of Lifeboat in 1943.Peter Stackpole—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Grace Kelly (on the set of the movie The Country Girl in 1954) was one of Hitchcock's favorite actresses, starring in To Catch a Thief, Rear Window and Dial M for Murder.Ed Clark—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Doris Day, who starred in The Man Who Knew Too Much.John Florea—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Julie Andrews, who starred in Torn Curtain.Leonard McCombe—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Anne Baxter, who starred in I Confess.John Florea—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Eva Marie Saint, who starred with Cary Grant and James Mason in North by Northwest.Nina Leen—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Janet Leigh, who starred in Psycho.Allan Grant—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Ingrid Bergman, who starred in Notorious and Spellbound.Gordon Parks—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Shirley MacLaine, who starred in The Trouble With Harry.Loomis Dean—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Kim Novak, who starred in Vertigo.J.R. Eyerman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com