Alfred Hitchcock's Use Of Suspense In Film

Suspense is defined as the author withholding information or when the unexpected happens, leaving you guessing and wanting more. In the story “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, he has inserted much suspense in this short (long) story, for the reason that it makes the reader want to know more and having to mindset of excitement or surprise. Another reason he added many suspense is so that it wouldn’t be so blunt, it wouldn’t just tell us what happened it would give us details and how he got or how he did that and more.

Theater is an established art form that has served as public entertainment for several years. Theatre provides us with a mirror of the society within which we live, and where conflicts we experience are acted out on stage before us. The audience observes the emotions and actions as they happen and share the experience with the characters in real time. Last weekend I watched the famous play Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap directed by Jeff Brown at Long Beach Playhouse. The thesis revolves around the significance of using suspense and mystery plot. The paper will explain the effect of using these techniques of suspense in mystery. Suspense is when an individual experiences gratifying expectation and excitement regarding the outcome of a story. Suspense is necessary in writing mystery plays because it captures the audience’s interest and imagination.

Psycho directed by Alfred Hitchcock was created for the purpose of creating fear and suspense to engage its audience. Hitchcock’s messages were safety, theft and mental health. Psycho encouraged and allowed the audience to think about/ reflect on the messages through the film. Hitchcock utilize colour and lighting, camera angles and the use of mirrors and reflection to create suspense for his audience.

In Vertigo, Hitchcock begins with building credibility and composure in Scottie’s character. The film starts off with a chasing scene in

Development of Suspense by Hitchcock in Psycho 'Psycho,' the somewhat infamous film by Alfred Hitchcock was produced in 1961, a time when the American censors, The Hays Office, still dominated the film industry with their strict rules and principles. It earned its notoriety by defying the traditional cinematic convections of that time and pushing the boundaries of what could be shown in mainstream cinema. The rules implemented by The Hays Office were far stricter than they are today, and Hitchcock uses all available means to reach and go slightly beyond the set limit. Using clever and different camera angles, he implies things that are not shown. He proves that innuendoes can portray the

Suspense is very important in the story. It draws readers in and keeps not only the reader alert and alive, but it keeps the story alive as well. Suspense is developed when Whitney and Rainsford discuss the supposedly dreaded island that Rainsford ends up having to swim to after falling into the water. Suspense is sustained throughout the story when one mysterious event leads to another. The role that chance plays in the story is significant.

By adding more complications to the plot, Agatha Christie is able to start building some suspense. She makes the reader wonder how this murder was committed and—more importantly—by whom. Perhaps, this surprise causes panic to erupt out of all the guests leading to a more intricate plot. It is extremely interesting to watch panic and chaos occur right in front of our eyes. Next, the author also uses very vivid imagery when presenting a scene with a near-death experience.

Harvey uses to create suspense in his story is by withholding information. By withholding important information about the character or the setting around the main character, makes us want to read more to find out what these little bits of detail mean. For example, “The final result, for hurried sketch, was, I felt sure, the best thing I had done. It showed a criminal in the dock immediately after the judge had pronounced sentence”(Source 2). This small part of the passage is what makes one to wonder who is this man and why he is seen in a courtroom waiting to hear his a sentence, which is the very suspense Mr. Harvey is trying to create. Another example of withholding information, “There? what do you think of that?” he said with an air of evident pride. The inscription which read for the first time was this -- SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JAMES CLARENCE WITHENCROFT BORN JAN 18TH 1860 HE PASSED AWAY VERY SUDDENLY ON AUGUST 20TH 190-- “In midst of life we are in death.”(Source 2). This is the part of the story where Mr. withencroft sees what the man, Mr. Atkinson, has been working on with this piece of marble, only to find out it was a gravestone with his name on it. Its these type of scenes that build up on the suspense and makes one read on to find out what will happen to the

The first half of this course focused on Alfred Hitchcock and how his techniques are now recognized as iconic. From class discussions and film screenings, it is clear that Hitchcock pays every attention to detail when he crafts a scene. Many Hitchcock films we have seen this semester highlight how he builds suspense through cinematic elements such as shadow, dialogue, and composition. While many of his suspenseful scenes stir feelings of intensity and uncertainty, Alfred Hitchcock builds a more romantic suspense in his 1955 film To Catch a Thief in the fireworks scene (1:06:35-1:11:00).

     In Shadow of a Doubt, Hitchcock utilizes and stretches the ambiguous line between comedy and suspense by utilizing smaller characters in the film to keep the story line moving, and to help break sequence or rhythm of what the audience had been perceiving at the time. Many of the minor characters were used as “fillers”, such as the waitress in the bar when Uncle Charlie and Charlie are sitting in the bar, and makes the comment “I would die for a ring like this”; or the quiet, gentle neighbor Herb who is fascinated with the process of homicide and murder. It brings to the audience an immediate comic relief, but similar to all of Hitchcock, leaves an unsettling feeling of fear and suspense with

In Hitchcock's widely known movie Psycho, there are many techniques of tension that draws the audience in to continue watching and wonder what's to happen next. One form he used, now a very common form, is mystery. The first main part of mystery is holding back knowledge. Everyone is always craving more knowledge than what the characters know. Hitchcock held back the information the audience wants to know.

In Shadow of A Doubt, the audience is hit with a thriller about Young Charlie who shares the name of her favorite uncle, whom she has a special bond with. She feels that her handsome uncle is the only one that understands her and makes her feel bigger than the small town she lives in. However, when Uncle Charlie arrives, things start changing between the two Charlies. A series of unusual clues connecting to the “Merry Widow Murderer” are very similar to her Uncle Charlie and his nice, charming, loving behavior changes to something more sinister. Young Charlie starts to find out that her charming uncle that she loves very dearly is not what he seems to be. While feeling broken, she realizes that her life might be in danger. Throughout the film, the audience can see different visual styles of Hitchcock like the

Suspense is the state of tension when someone knows that something is going to happen. They just do not know what. This is very commonly found in a movie. It can be done with camera angles, lighting, and even the score of the movie. I feel that Insomnia was the most suspenseful film that we watched because of its use of camera angles, setting, and sounds.

Hitchcock uses many techniques throughout the film “Rear Window” to convey suspense. The major theme of the film regards Jefferies voyeurism. His intrigue in the everyday lives of his neighbours is viewed as intrusive and morally wrong on principle. However, without this voyeuristic tendency the crime committed by Thornwald would never have been solved. Thus, the audience is lead through emotional turmoil in questioning whether it is wrong to invade someone’s privacy, or just and heroic to solve a crime. We see the climax of the film when Lisa and Stella venture out of Jefferies apartment to investigate the murder of Mrs Thornwald. This leads to a confrontation between Thornwald and Jefferies. These scenes build suspense through the use of detachment, the use of ‘split-screen’, ‘red-herring’ plot devices, lighting, music and diegetic sound.

The four detective stories are suspenseful because of the plots, detectives, and criminals. (Thesis) The four stories, “Full Circle”, “Utterly Perfect Murder”, “Wasp’s Nest”, and “The Great Taos Bank Robbery” show how all of these stories are suspenseful. (Preview) During the story, “Full Circle”, the criminals, detectives, and plot are a perfect example of showing suspense.