Alfred Hitchcock Movies: Essential Films

1935 - 19639 Films16h 47m4.8 Average

Alfred Hitchcock has made many great movies - here we've put together the very best, his greatest achievements and most influential works. Our curated selection begins with his British breakthrough The 39 Steps, which established his signature themes of the wrongly accused man and a cross-country chase.

Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture and showcased Hitchcock's ability to craft Gothic romance. Rope demonstrated his technical audacity with its experimental long-take approach, while Dial M for Murder perfected the mechanics of the locked-room thriller.

The 1950s brought his golden age: Rear Window became a masterclass in pure visual storytelling, Vertigo wove a hypnotic tale of desire and deception, and North by Northwest delivered the definitive spy thriller. Psycho revolutionized horror and shattered audience expectations, while The Birds demonstrated that nature itself could become the ultimate antagonist.

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1
The 39 Steps poster

The 39 Steps

19351h 26m4.3
MysteryThriller
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft

After a mysterious woman is murdered in his apartment, Richard Hanney becomes a fugitive from both the police and enemy spies. He must uncover the truth behind a secretive spy ring called The 39 Steps while evading capture across the Scottish Highlands.

2
Rebecca poster

Rebecca

19402h 10m4.8
MysteryRomanceThriller
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce

A young woman marries a widower and moves to his estate, only to find herself haunted by the lingering presence of his deceased first wife, Rebecca. She must navigate the hostility of the obsessive housekeeper Mrs. Danvers while uncovering dark secrets about her husband's past.

3
Rope poster

Rope

19481h 21m4.8
ThrillerCrimeDrama
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier

Two young men believe they have committed the perfect murder and decide to test their theory by hosting a dinner party with the victim's family and friends.

4
Dial M for Murder poster

Dial M for Murder

19541h 45m4.8
ThrillerCrime
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Anthony Dawson

A wealthy woman's jealous husband devises an elaborate murder plot when her American lover comes to visit London, hoping to eliminate her and claim her inheritance.

5
Rear Window poster

Rear Window

19541h 52m5
ThrillerMystery
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr

A wheelchair-bound photographer becomes obsessed with watching his neighbors from his apartment window and grows suspicious that one of them may have committed murder.

6
Vertigo poster

Vertigo

19582h 8m5
MysteryRomanceThriller
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones

A retired San Francisco detective with a fear of heights becomes dangerously obsessed while investigating the mysterious behavior of an old friend's wife.

7
North by Northwest poster

North by Northwest

19592h 16m4.8
ThrillerAdventure
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis, Leo G. Carroll

An advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent and finds himself pursued by enemy spies across the country in this classic Hitchcock thriller.

8
Psycho poster

Psycho

19601h 49m5
HorrorThrillerMystery
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

A young woman on the run with stolen money stops at the isolated Bates Motel, where she encounters the peculiar manager Norman Bates and his mysterious mother.

9
The Birds poster

The Birds

19632h4.4
HorrorThriller
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright

In this classic Hitchcock thriller, a peaceful seaside town becomes the target of inexplicable and increasingly violent bird attacks that terrorize the residents.