Even if Martin Scorsese doesn’t win the Oscar this year,
he’ll be in good company: Alfred Hitchcock was nominated five
times for Best Director and never won.
“(Hitchcock) was disappointed that he didn’t get it;
he used to say to me that he didn’t get it because he
didn’t seem like an artist because he was too fat and
hadn’t starved in a garret,” said Charlotte Chandler,
author of the soon-to-be released “It’s Only A Movie:
Alfred Hitchcock: A Personal Biography.”
But the only thing too large with Chandler is the number of
celebrities she has interviewed throughout her lifetime. From
charming actors Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart to directors Hitchcock
and Federico Fellini, Chandler has wined and dined with
Hollywood’s finest in the past few decades. She has enjoyed
personal relationships with them, resulting in some of the most
complete biographies ever written on these celebrities.
Her book on Hitchcock will be released March 2, the same day the
UCLA School of Film, Theater and Television is hosting a
“Celebration of Alfred Hitchcock” in honor of her
biography and the director’s body of work. The event features
an impressive list of speakers, from Martin Landau, cast member of
Hitchcock’s 1959 film “North By Northwest,” to
his daughter Patricia Hitchcock.
Chandler’s biography stands out from the rest largely
because of her innumerable interviews with those surrounding
Hitchcock ““ his family, the actors and technicians in his
films, and close friends. The result is a work not only about
Hitchcock himself, but about those who influenced him, such as his
wife, Alma.
“(Alma) was always important in advising him. He always
asked her what she thought, even when she wasn’t
credited,” said Chandler. “At the end of his life, when
she was very ill, it really was sort of the end of the films
because they shared them so much and he really needed
her.”
While Hitchcock’s career may have ended too soon, he still
touches all generations. Once at a party, Chandler discussed his
films with some 8-year-old girls.
“Their mother said (to me), “˜Oh, you’ve
written a book about Hitchcock,’ and they began to discuss
the movies they’d been seeing on television, and they were 8
years old!” Chandler laughed. “They (even) said
they’d like to meet him.”
Hitchcock fans can be found on campus, harboring fears from
viewing films too early. Chandler Ohl-Trlica, a third-year
political science student, first viewed “The Birds” at
age 6. Fifteen years later, he is able to recognize
Hitchcock’s genius in the horror film genre.
“Hitchcock had the ability to tap into fears we never knew
we had, and then would proceed to scare the hell out of us as
viewers,” said Ohl-Trlica. “Who isn’t at least a
little afraid of those menacing seagulls at the beach?”
Despite never winning that Oscar, Hitchcock crafted a body of
work that still stabs its way into viewers’ hearts.
“What’s extraordinary is that Hitchcock is really so
much everybody’s favorite now,” Chandler said.
“It’s been years since he died, but he’s the most
recognizable person ““ you don’t need his name; just the
profile, the picture of him, is totally recognized. It’s the
21st century, and here he is, as famous as ever, maybe more."