For the entire movie, Jeff is bedridden and powerless, and reliant on the care from women, especially from Lisa. She wants him to be a domestic husband rather than a traveling adventurer, creating tension between the two. In the Thorwald apartment, Jeff sees a reflection of his own situation. Mrs. Thorwald is bedridden and a constant nag to Mr. Thorwald creating tension between the two. There is no sexuality in the relationship, but rather Thorwald is totally stripped of his power because he must take care of his sick wife. She mocks and belittles him to the point where he cannot take it any more. This is why he feels that the only way out of his situation is through murder. In both apartments, the men are desexualized by their circumstances.

This is why Jeff literally wants to see murder. He feels as though he is totally desexualized and powerless and wants to see the murder because it shows that there is a way out of this feeling. As Rushing states, “Jeff identifies with Thorwald who lives out of “the real deal of his desire” - killing the nagging wife who ties him down, freeing the male subject for further adventures” (317). Jeff wants to be free again as he was when he was a traveling photographer. Lisa, though, is taking this opportunity to tie Jeff down to domesticate him into a husband. “The woman represents a trap in this case the trap of domestic status” (Rushing, 316).

In the movie, all that Jeff sees is men who cannot pursue their own sexual wants and needs, amplifying his own fear of women and sexuality and his desire to see murder. In the case of Miss Torso, the scantily clad dancer, many men seem to desire her, but she ultimately holds the control as she thwarts every man's sexual advance. With Miss Torso, however, like murder, the audience and Jeff desires to see her become more than a tease. The husband in the newlyweds is literally sexually controlled by his wife and every time he comes up for air, he is called back for what the audience and Jeff presumes to be more sex. Ms. Lonely Hearts is unable to “trap a man” (Hitchcock, Rear Window) and when a man makes sexual advances on her, she does not like it, but wants to be in control herself. The couple with the dog is totally desexualized and there is no outward show of sexual emotion. When the dog is murdered however, it is interesting to note that the wife says the murder was done “because it loved you” (Hitchcock). This is interesting because in both Thorwald and Jeff's case, their significant others probably love them, and both men desire to be rid of them. In all of these cases, Jeff sees only negatives that go along with love and sexuality, making his own fears even worse. Obviously, the worst case that Jeff sees is Thorwald's and therefore, when Thorwald murders his wife, he sees himself through Thorwald. He does not actually see the murder, but can empathize with Thorwald's situation and can see why Thorwald would want to be rid of his wife.

Through the movie, the viewer can make the assumption that sex is dependent on love, but that love is a source of misery. We see this through the neighbors' various pursuits of sex or love. The people that have love are unhappy because they have become desexualized, either through sex acts, with the newlyweds, or through no sex acts, as is the case with Thorwald. On the other side, however, the people that do not have love (the pianist and Ms. Lonely Hearts) are unhappy because they do not have love and therefore, no sex. Jeff soon realizes subconsciously through what he thinks is murder in the Thorwald household that murder is the only way out of the misery of relationships. He is not sure of what he actually wants- does he want to be with the woman he loves and become like these other married men, or does he want to have no love at all?

Ultimately, the film relates murder and sexuality as the two things that the audience and Jeff presume occurs, but never actually sees. Jeff desires to see both sex and murder through his gaze and “window shopping” because he sees himself in his various neighbors' different situations, both in and out of relationships. He is able to identify the most, however, with Thorwald. Thorwald's wife is the source of his tension, just as Lisa is Jeff's source of tension. He wants to see the murder that he thinks happens because he is also desexualized, powerless, and in a tense relationship just as Thorwald is. Lisa is a trap to Jeff and he realizes this, but does not know how to deal with it and as a result desires to see the murder. This is how the film, Rear Window, relates love and sexuality to murder.

 

By studying his work, it is possible to understand the importance in cinema, of speech, sound FX and music as dramatic conveyance, justifying Hitchcock's mantle as "The Master of Suspense."

Early Works

There have been many arguments as to the authenticity of the Auteurism theory in cinema, but without doubt Hitchcock was one of the closest artists to have achieved this namesake. He was involved in virtually all aspects of the film, and the audio-logical department was no different.

Hitchcock began his directorial career during the early 20 th century, during cinema's "golden years". These were times when the "silent" movie was still prevalent. Even at this early stage of his career, Hitchcock recognised the importance of a soundtrack, often "advising" his composer's as to what he required.

However, it was the arrival of new technology and recording techniques that allowed Hitchcock to begin his development in sound. Blackmail (1929) Hitchcock's (and often cited as Britain's) first "talkie" was originally conceived as a silent movie, before the arrival of on set sound;

'…marked a decisive shift in the intensification process…'

(Hardy 1997, The BFI Companion to Crime, p.51)

Indeed the film was finally released in two versions, one silent (to appease the cinemas and theatres who could not afford sound equipment), and one "part sound" version, where upon Joan Barry spoke off camera, dubbing a miming Anny Ondra. This was due to Ondra's thick German accent, something of a inconsistency in the Cockney London setting. The ability to use sound in this new way was a major factor in Hitchcock's narrative and dramatic progression. An early example of his understanding of sound is clear even from his first use in Blackmail . After stabbing and killing a would-be rapist, Alice (Anny Ondra) is confined with a sense of guilt. Whilst sitting for breakfast after the incident, this feeling is heightened. We are granted Alice's subjective perspective as she is served her meal. Hitchcock repeats and highlights the word "knife" repeatedly throughout the dialogue to account for her conscience.

This is an effect Hitchcock would use throughout his career, however, conceptually the portrayal of an emotion through sound alone was something of a Hitchcockian signature.

Another distinguishing feature in his work, was Hitchcock's editing of digetic and non digetic sound to transition scenes. Moving forward to 1935 and The 39 Steps , Hitchcock deploys another stylish technique to cut between scenes. The film tells the story of a foreign man wrongly accused of murder. After a women he has just met stumbles into his room with a knife in her back before dying in front of him, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) follows the only clue the women left him to Scotland. On discovery of the women's body, the apartment cleaner turns toward the camera and screams. The next shot reveals a train powering it's way through a tunnel. It is on revelation of this train that we realise we are already "hearing" it. This said, although it's barely noticeable, the "scream" from the cleaning lady is in fact the whistle of the train. This is a master stroke of seamless montage editing attained through sound.

His biggest change in style derived from his move to America and the glitz of Hollywood in 1939.

'In his British films Hitchcock resorts to both aural and visual expressionistic effects in moments when he wants to reveal the feelings of his characters. In his American films he uses sound as a way out of visual expressionism. His distortions of sound draw less attention to his style than would their visual equivalents because audiences are less likely to notice aural than visual distortion.'

Weis 1978, The Sound of One Wing Flapping

The Hitchcockian Attitude

Hitchcock held a strictly authoritarian view to the purpose of sound in film. He often described his bias toward “pure film” - told visually through montage. However rather than neglecting the importance of sound, Hitchcock simply had a distaste for over using irrelevant dialogue.

“In many of the films now being made, there is very little cinema: they are mostly what I call "photographs of people talking." When we tell a story in cinema, we should resort to dialogue only when it's impossible to do otherwise. ... In writing a screenplay, it is essential to separate clearly the dialogue from the visual elements and whenever possible, to rely more on the visual than on the dialogue.”

(Tuffaut 1985, Hitchcock)

He does not denounce the use of sound and music, simply dialogue when action could be more appropriate to the story. Whereas many directors at the time used sound or music to tell a scene- or make it more realistic, Hitchcock insisted on treating each sound and soundtrack as a new expression, using every detail possible to encapsulate the audience. This is best described in the "Hitchcock Notebook," a journal of his clippings and notes. In a description of Psycho (1960), as Marion (Jane Leigh) pulls up to the "Bates Motel";

'Naturally, wind-shield wipers should be heard all through the moments she turns them on…. The rain sounds must be very strong, so that when the rain stops, we should be strongly aware of silence and odd dripping noises that follow…'

In many ways, this effect builds more character relation and plot development than any amount of dialogue could. We begin to relate certain sounds and score styles to synonymous events, for example, in Vertigo (1958) every time Scottie (James Stewart) feels his fear hit him, we are drawn in on it's intensity through some clever camera work and an orchestral crescendo. This pairing of visual and audible effects place us into the characters perspective, showing us his feeling. This idea of grouping what we see and what we hear as one is a style Hitchcock used throughout his career.

Subjective Sound: Rear Window

Typically, a film is constructed around three elements of sound. Dialogue, sound effects, and music. Hitchcock managed to successfully break these elements apart, often subverting an element to distort the audience perspective. In particular are his methods in Rear Window (1954), recognised for it's particularly subjective approach to sound.

'An ideal way to manipulate sound without distorting it is to dissociate it from its source. In Rear Window Hitchcock is able to maintain an almost total separation of what we see from what we hear. The result is a rich sound track that is both realistic in style and yet perhaps the most asynchronous and subjective of Hitchcock's career.'

Weis 1982, The Silent Scream - Alfred Hitchcock's Sound Track

After being confined to a wheelchair, L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart) begins to watch the residents of a building opposite him from his apartment window. Each "character" as it were, in view of his sight begins to develop their own story. Obviously being situated in Jeffries' position, we are unable to rely on dialogue to keep us entranced and involved in the story. Initially, we are limited to atmospheric noises emanating from Jeffries' apartment, combined with the occasional sound of traffic or whistle from a nearby dock. We are not able to hear the neighbours until they step onto their doorstep or turn on some loud music. This effect allows Hitchcock to manipulate our sense of prominence and shift our focus on the area in question. By rarely singling out a specific area, despite the camera aiming into a certain room, we become aware of the surrounding courtyard as a whole. As the camera pans between residents each leading separate lives, the sense of community as opposed to individuality is heightened. In turn, when Hitchcock does decide to focus sound as well as vision on a specified area, we are given a completely new and refreshing viewpoint, highlighting the oncoming event to extreme importance.

'The tension between separation and continuity in human lives is central to the film, [which] expresses in physical terms the metaphysical idea that no person can remain isolated emotionally from other people.'

Weis 1982, The Silent Scream - Alfred Hitchcock's Sound Track

By removing digetic action from characters audibly, Hitchcock can manipulate our feelings toward the protagonist and the case in subject. As his curiosity toward his subjects get the better of him, Jeffries uses a telephoto lens to magnify his vision. Contrary to realisms, Hitchcock uses this method to also amplify the sounds extruding from each area. As Thorwald (Raymond Burr), a particularly mysterious neighbour, and his invalid wife confront one another, we can hear their muted voices, but cannot interpret what they are saying. We can understand from their tone that they are arguing, however the actual argument remains abstract.

Consequently, later in the film when Thorwald murders his wife, we are invited to "view" the scene, however not to hear it. We "see" arguing through the window, before it is shut from our view. The only clue granted is a scream emanating from outside Jeffries room. We are not directed as to where the scream came from, and again, it is up to us to assume. When re-opened, Thorwald's wife is gone. We are given visual clues to encourage our belief that a killing has taken place, however, without the confirmatory visual-sound link, cannot be certain as to what has taken place.

Hitchcock uses this abstract motif to great effect as a climax to the picture. After suspecting the worst, Jeffries sends his friend Lisa (Grace Kelly) to drop an anonymous note at Thorwald's house. As Jeffries watches his reaction, he narrates his thoughts to us, becoming "the voice of God." He is in a position of power. He blackmails Thorwald into leaving the house, allowing Lisa to investigate, however, after he returns earlier than expected, Thorwald spies Lisa miming gestures toward Jeffries' room. He telephones Jeffries, confirming that his secret has been discovered, and exits his house. Suddenly, in a complete role reversal Jeffries is vulnerable. His room, once his place of safety and privacy, has now become a prison. Whilst he could see all but not hear, he was comfortable, separated from the dangers in front of him. Hitchcock flips this effect to achieve the reverse effect. Whereas before the room was filled with homely atmospheric sounds and noise from the streets outside, it is now silent. The only sound we hear is the crash of a door on the floor to his apartment, followed by long, reverberating footsteps, each one counting down an ultimate doom. Hitchcock followed the principle that "an unseen threat is more terrifying than a visual one," a clear truth in this case. In further ironic reversal, Jeffries turns off all light in his home, leaving the room in darkness. As his nemesis enters, he asks “What do you want from me?” The advantage he once held has completely turned tail, he can now only hear Thorwald, and barely see him.

As Elisabeth Weis states in regard to Rear Window ;

'…it is possible to consider the entire sound track as a subjective extension of Jeffries' feelings. The sounds gradually become more and more focused.'

As the film begins, Jeffries is simply a man bored and restricted to a wheelchair. The traffic sounds and vague random noises of the area reveal his state of mind, however, once he begins to become more involved with the detective like following of Thorwald, sounds become more refined. From the acquisition of his telephoto lens "magnifying" a more specific aural selection, to the finale, at which the killer speaks to him directly, as he realises his position and feelings.

Music and the Influence of Bernard Hermann

As mentioned, Hitchcock had a strong hand in every aspect of the films he directed. This included the scoring of a film, as well as on set recording. Every song or track was chosen in regard to the utmost relevancy in depicting character, setting and mood. Unlike many directors, who used music to compliment a scene, Hitchcock used music to quite literally tell a scene.

Characters were often defined by a sound, however insignificant, and Hitchcock used these as metaphors. In Vertigo , Scottie (James Stewart) complains to his adoring secretary Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes), to turn off the music she is playing. It is a symphony by Mozart. Later, after he suffers the ordeal which brings forth his vertigo, a doctor suggests some music to try and calm him down. Again Mozart is played. Midge, knowing of Scotties relationship with another women seems to admit defeat, stating “I don't think Mozart's going to help at all.” This line-

“...conveys her sense not only of Mozart's inadequacy but of her own."

(Wood 1969, Hitchcock's Films)

Of all his composers, Bernard Hermann has become most renowned, scoring seven soundtracks, as well as working as a consultant on the more experimental "electronic" soundtrack of "The Birds". The initial partnership took off immediately, with Herrmann successfully impressing Hitchcock with his numbers for The Trouble With Harry (1955) and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). The third film with which they would work together, The Wrong Man (1957) would mark a first in Herrmann's career, as his first collaboration on more than two films with the same director. Hitchcock learned to trust Herrmann as their relationship grew, granting him more and more leeway and creative freedom.

Typically, the two began to develop what Royal Brown in "Overtones and Undertones: Reading Film Music" (1994) describes as;

'…the “Hitchcock chord,” a minor major-seventh chord in which there are two major and one minor third.'

This was a motif the two would use to juxtapose important sequences, for example, as North by Northwest is introduced- by Hitchcock himself, a two note medley is played. Later on in the film, during the scene involving a plane crash, the same selection is heard.

Perhaps their most famous collaboration was over the soundtrack to Psycho . After viewing the rough cut, a disappointed Hitchcock had lost faith in the film, considering cutting it as a short television drama. He was also considering experimenting with no music at all during the majority of the action sequences. Herrmann, albeit ignoring the wishes of Hitchcock, composed a score using only strings.

'Bernard Hermann was to concoct nothing less than a cello and violin masterwork, "black and white" music that throbbed sonorously as often as it gnawed at the nerve endings. The score would prove to be a summation of all of Hermann's previous scores for Hitchcock's films, conveying as it did the sense of the abyss that is the human psyche, dread, longing, regret in short, the wellsprings of the Hitchcock universe.'

(Rebello 1999, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho)

A look at the film reveals much regarding the directors intent, and Herrmann's influence upon it. The score brilliantly combines with the monotone visual style to create an eerie, grating sensation, providing as much a "scream" as the on screen action itself. In a superb twist to the demand for resolute, "happy" endings asked for by the studios, Hitchcock and Herrmann understanding the power of minimalist recording over full orchestral set ups were able to use music to achieve a sense of "irresolution" (Haeffner 2005, p.52).

It was on scoring Torn Curtain that the two broke their bond. Hitchcock was convinced he could design a pop music-esque soundtrack to appeal to a changing audience, however, Herrmann continued to write a grittier, more romantic score, fitting into the dark tone of the story. Hitchcock deplored the soundtrack, effectively firing Herrmann from his role. A new one was scored, but too failed to achieve the "hit tune" makeup Hitchcock had demanded.

Conclusion

Without question, Hitchcock's impetus toward music and sound tracks was at times revolutionary. A look at the surrealist musical style of Spellbound (1945), or the electronic essence of The Birds (1963) shows an infallible conceptual idealism in his work. Indeed, The Bird's goes as far as to even a remove digetic sounds (such as a car starting up) in favour of a mechanical "hum." Weis (1978) states that this- amongst some of his other techniques:

'…is ultimately a sign of the director's control over his characters, his viewers, and his art.'

Alfred Hitchcock's films were some of the most innovative, ground-breaking, important creations in the history of cinema. Whilst his use of sound is usually considered second to his visual style, it serves to provide as much, and often more depth to his films. His status in film is fully justifiable, as his knowledge of film sound and it's effect on the human psyche was virtually second to none.

 

Additionally, Mr. Hitchcock's distinctive “drawn” profile at the closure of each mystery is something one isn't soon to forget.

The movie, I think, I recall best is the one entitled “The Birds.” I found the show so terrifying as a child, I was reticent about going outside. My mother assured me the birds where we lived did not carry such overwhelming demonic tendencies. In fact, she made certain that I understood birds in general did not behave in such fashion as demonstrated in the well-known Hitchcock film.

But let us suppose that birds did behave in such a fashion. The thought that birds could cloud the sky with their presence and descend upon humans as prey was quite a role reversal of sorts. Thus began my introduction to Alfred Hitchcock. Other movies followed: some produced at earlier dates than The Birds and others at later dates. Nevertheless, I would have to count “The Birds” as the most memorable for me of the Hitchcock films.

Herein, we will review Hitchcock's films. One of Hitchcock's earlier films was the famous “ 39 Steps”. This film starred Madeline Carroll and Robert Young. The film was produced in 1935. Hitchcock, it is rumored was “quite smitten” with Ms. Carroll. He also placed the actress in his move “Secret Agent” where the opening scene displays the normally well put-together (at the time) Madeline Carroll with a face full of cold cream!

Hitchcock even involved himself in the silent film industry: “The Lodger” premiered in 1927 as a Hitchcock silent film. The very first film made with sound was “Blackmail” in the year 1929. Both of these British films relied on a “romantic” plot. The films are similar in that both involve a couple whose connection is delayed romantically due to the intervention in the plot line of a third party.

Romance develops in “The Lodger” between beautiful Daisy (Bunting) and a gentleman lodger (thus, the name of the move.) There is a growing suspicion as to The Lodger's identity as he makes nightly trips into London. Speculation has it that this lodger is the “Avenger.” The “Avenger” in the film is a serial murderer. Thus, the tension is created in the movie. Daisy's suitor becomes more and more jealous of this gentleman Lodger. Her suitor is a policeman by the name of Joe Betts. The Lodger, is thus, falsely arrested. The misunderstood Lodger, by the end of the story is rescued from an angry mob of people as it is finally revealed that the Lodger is not the Avenger. The Lodger's true identity is that of the brother of the Avenger's first victim. The gentleman Lodger, in the end was merely seeking revenge on the Avenger.

“Blackmail” is similar in structure to “The Lodger.” Alice and Frank (who is a policeman) are not immediately connected romantically, as their relationship is put “on hold” by two males. Alice discretely visits an artist's lodgings (behind Frank's back). She is forced to kill the artist when she is attacked. Frank is assigned to the murder investigation. During his investigation, Frank finds a glove left by Alice at the scene and withholds the evidence. Alice's behavior and subsequent guilt sets the stage for the movie. In theory, the audience identifies somewhat with Alice's impropriety as well as her guilt.

In “39 Steps” made in 1939, there are two women involved and man as opposed to two men and one woman. Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) is “picked up” by Annabella. Annabella ends up being a double agent. Needless to say, she is a woman whose morality is in question. Annabella will work for any nation that will pay her to spy. She is seeking a safe place for the night from her pursuers. She, thus, spends the night in Hannay's apartment; however, by morning, Annabella has become a fatality. Hannay is forced to go “on the run” and seeks to clear himself of a crime he did not commit. He, along the way, meets Pamela (Madeline Carroll). Pamela and Hannay are captured by the spies who committed the crime against Annabella. The two, Pamela and Hannay, escape the criminals while being bound together by handcuffs.

In 1939, Hitchcock decided to leave England to reside permanently in the United States. Hitchcock felt he could make better films in Hollywood. Thus, the films made between 1940 and 1950 are produced with classic Hollywood style: realistic in nature with linear plots. Three very important films made during this time frame were: “Shadow of a Doubt” (1943); Spellbound (1945); and Notorious 1946).

Hitchcock wanted to capture the spirit of an American movie; thus he hired Thornton Wilder to help write “Shadow of a Doubt. Consequently, “Shadow of a Doubt” is written in a very traditional American way: from an age of innocence to one of experience. Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) feels that she and her family have “lost spirit,” therefore, she sends for her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton) to “cheer things up” a bit. Uncle Charlie, however, turns out to be a murderer with a disagreeable perspective upon the world.

In addition, Uncle Charlie attempts to take charge of the Newton household. Charlie, herself, gains this insight in regard to her Uncle. She finally is able to get him away from the family, keeping the whole affair a secret but at the sake of her own innocence.

After Charlie, does “come of age” she is able to work with a young detective tracking the case of the “Merry Widow Murderer,” determined to be Uncle Charlie. The young detective has been investigating the case and at the same time courting Charlie. Charlie Newton and her detective suitor are both knowledgeable in the fact that the Newton family as well as the town have been spared the details regarding Uncle Charlie.

In “Spellbound and “Notorious” the women characters do not fare so well as the young Charlie in “Shadow of Doubt”. One woman is a professional and the other woman is a spy.

“Spellbound” is the first of Hitchcock's films to deal with psychoanalysis. The primary emphasis of the film, however, is the romance between Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. Constance falls in love with Gregory Peck's character who is suffering from amnesia. Peck's character believes he has killed the person whose identity he has acquired. Constance solves the mystery by way of psychoanalysis along with “female” intuition.

“Notorious” employs the three character design. Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), and Devlin (Cary Grant) are not brought together until Alexander Sebastian (Claude Raines) is removed from the story line. Alicia agrees to spy on behalf of the United States as a way to make up for the treason incurred by her father. She is to spy on Alexander Sebastian, an old suitor of Alicia's who happens to be part of a Nazi group of agents located in Rio. Alicia, thus marries Sebastian as a way of infiltrating the Nazis. This is Alicia's story, anyway, as told to Colonel Prescott. Prescott is the head of United States Intelligence. The real reason for the marriage is that Devlin (who is the man Alicia has “fallen in love”) appears to be indifferent.

Alexander Sebastian, is no doubt the most interesting of the characters in “Notorious.” Sebastian, being the story's villain is left at the end, by his wife and her lover, Devlin, thus facing the consequences of having married a spy.

The next decade, (1950 to 1960), Hitchcock created three of his masterpieces: “Rear Window” (1954); “Vertigo” (1958); and North by Northwest (1959).

“North by Northwest” is a romance-suspense film while “Rear Window” and “Vertigo” are quite different.

In “Rear Window” L.B. Jeffries (James Stewart), a photojournalist is confined to a wheel chair. He watches the private lives of his neighbors through his window. Lisa Freemont (Grace Kelly) wants to marry Jeff. Jeff finds Lisa to be “too perfect”: too beautiful and sophisticated. Lisa helps solve a murder mystery by breaking into the apartment of a suspected murderer in order to attain information and evidence. Lisa handles herself effectively in a “rear window” world that is equally as dangerous as “Jeff's world.”

“Vertigo” is a different type of film than “Rear Window.” Scotty (James Stewart) becomes obsessed in changing Judy (Kim Novak) into the “perfect” woman. Scotty convinces Judy to wear a gray tailored suit and dye her hair platinum blonde. He literally takes the “spirit” out of Judy. However, Judy, complies with Scotty's scheme because she loves him. By the end of the film, Scotty is most upset about the fact that Judy's former lover created the image of Judy of which Scotty had initially “fallen in love.”

“Psycho” (1960); The Birds (1963); and Marnie (1964) are three significant works of the 60s decade.

“Psycho” begins with Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) demanding her lover marry her. She also steals money from one of her employer's clients. (The client has made an advance so Marion feels justified in the theft.) The money is “earmarked” for her lover who is not financially well off. The first half of the movie Marion must contend with her lover, her employer's client, a highway patrolman who appears suspicious; and a used car salesman named “California Charlie.” Marion deals with each of these individual characters (somewhat successfully) only to run into Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins.) And, as many know, who are acquainted with the “legendary” film, Marion meets her tragic fate during the “shower scene,” halfway through the film.

Melanie Daniels (played by Tippi Hedren) is repeatedly attacked in the film, “The Birds”. The last assault occurs in an attic scene. This memorable scene is often compared to the “shower scene” in “Psycho”.

Melanie's character is portrayed as a strong, independent woman; however, the “attic scene” diminishes that depiction to some degree.

Throughout the course of the movie, Melanie pursues Mitch Brenner (played by Rod Taylor.) During the first bird attacks, Melanie takes care of Rod's sister and incapacitated mother. Later, however, Melanie is the one who is helpless and is left to the care of Mitch (as well as a “caring” Mother.)

Marnie Edgar (played by Tippi Hedren) defies a “male” world. Marnie “hates” men and she steals from her employer. She is captured by Mark Rutland, her employer, who blackmails Marnie into marrying him. Mark attacks Marnie on the “honeymoon” night and then tries to cure her by way of amateur psychoanalysis. Significant changes were made to the story line, by Hitchcock, from the original book version written by Winston Graham.

Whatever film one observes, there is a trait in the Hitchcock characters, namely the women, in which the audience can identify. For instance, even though the character may be a thief, there is a vulnerable side. In the earlier Hitchcock films there is a suspended romantic involvement which keeps the audience curious. All in all, the films are rich in scope, and most enduring.

Introduction

Freudian theory of psychoanalysis has been the main source for many directors and producers who created films in the thriller genre since the 1940s. They used this theory as a plot device in many films to fulfill the need of the audience for such films with psychotherapy and psychoanalysis during the period of World War II and post- World War II. Among other films shot within this theory is Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945), nominated for six Academy Awards. "Psychoanalytic theory is central" in this film (Sterritt, 1993:88).

Spellbound, focuses on the use of many experiences, in highlighting the identity of one of the main characters, Ballantine (Gregory Peck) who suffers from amnesia. In the forefront of these experiences is Dr Constance Peterson (Ingrid Bergman). As Gilligan rightly revealed, “Freudian analysis helped Bergman … to uncover Gregory Peck's past” (Gilligan, 2003:379). Spellbound, "presented an effective use of psychiatry and psychoanalysis as plot ingredients" to reinforce the "bourgeois reality" of the post-World War II (Spears & Wood, 1971:320; 1998:47).

The dream sequence, which was designed by Dali, fits very well into this effectiveness of marginalized situation. This essay intends to analyze Hitchcock's film Spellbound by the use of Freudian and post-Freudian theory. It is not intended to discuss character analysis as such, although so much of the theory of psychoanalysis is based upon the character's relationships. Secondly, the analysis of the use of symbolism, as a form of representation, is also a prospect of this paper.

Fantasies and Reality

Guilt Complex: Repeated Motifs

Spellbound's use of ideas that are drawn from Freud's discoveries, of concepts like repressed memories, includes the main theme of “how it is that in our normal state we are able to distinguish between fantasy and reality” (Freud, 1991:225). For Boyd “fantasy itself … is Oedipal in nature” and it leads to “Freudian depths of incestuous desire and patricidal guilt” (Boyd, 2000: http://www.sensesofcinema.com).

For example the ideas of guilt complex identifiable throughout the film are used to determine the main plot. It is this guilt complex, triggered by the accidental killing of his brother in his childhood that has caused Ballantine's amnesia and made him believe that he is the one who killed Dr Edwards. From this point Spellbound contrasts Ballantine with the other patient in the film who suffers from guilt complex, and believes that he has killed his father, using this as a conjunction to highlight similarities with Oedipal themes, but in function to the fabula.

For Žižek these "repeated motifs" linked with Freud's "compulsion to repeat" are in function of both the story and the visual complex in the film (Žižek, 1992:126). Similarly Greenberg sees it as “appreciated only in repeated viewings; with its subtle insistence of the influence of childhood conflict upon adult destiny” (Greenberg, 1993:138). Also, Spellbound explores the distinctive ideas of the new replacing the old, such as when Dr Edwards was to replace Dr Murchison as the head of the Green Manors mental asylum.

The Paternal Function: Politicized Experience

The notion of politics used in the psychoanalysis of Spellbound takes for granted the existence of power relations that are linked with basic social structures and that are involved in the construction of each individual. For Silverman, Spellbound speaks “to the failure of the paternal function” (Silverman, 1992:52). For instance, the “individual task” that Constance undertakes “in order to begin to escape from the spaces, roles, and gestures that [she has] been assigned and taught by the society of men” is among other facts contributes to the “experience to be politicized” (Irigaray, 1977:164).

Obviously all this "experience" is under question because it has not taken “into consideration the specific exploitation of woman” (1977:165). As for Mulvey it is a "political weapon" of the patriarchal system (Mulvey, 1975:6). The fact that Constance's picture was in front of the newspapers when she abandoned Green Manors to find Ballantine clarifies that she has been "prescribed by the patriarchal system", but the presence of the two investigators, face to face with Constance and Ballantine in Dr Brulov's house, brings the conclusion that the “patriarchal system” is not functioning properly. For Irigaray, “politics has … questioned its own relation to phallocratic power” (1977:165).

However, Constance instantly contributes to this as “the unattractive "woman" who knows too much” (Žižek 1992:125). “She finds the signifier of her own desire in the body of the one” who is Ballantine “to whom she addresses her demand for love” (Irigaray, 1977:62). Irigaray's theory highlights this concept as: “dialectic of relations that are sexualized by the phallic function” (1977:62). Grosz's response to Irigaray's "plallocentrism" concludes that, “the patriarchal symbolic order leaves no space or form of representation for women's autonomy” (Grosz, 1990:174). For Grosz “the relations each sex has to the phallus”, leads to the fact that this relation “defines the structure of romantic relations between them” (1990:116). Relations and mother figure

Thus, according to Freud, individuals' relations enhance the narrative that shifts in the importance of these event relations. Freud says, “in dreams we go through many experiences” which leads to the fact that “our experiences take the form of visual images” (Freud, 1922:78). As Foucault's statement argues, “relations” consist of “relations between statements and groups of statements, and events of quite different kinds” the film borrows from these definitions to enhance its plot and fabula (Foucault, 1972:29). These relations are more evaluated experiences on sequences when the police investigation goes on for the murderer of Dr Edwards, and when Constance decides to cure Ballantine and go through with it until the end. Freudian theory works clearly at this point.

Perhaps most firmly in the references to "Constance as a mother-figure", first by Dr Fleurot, a psychiatrist who is interested in starting a relationship with Dr Peterson, and claims to "detect the outcroppings of a mother instinct toward Dr Edwards," and later by Brulov, who warns her, "You are not his mama" (Boyd, 2000: Sensesofcinema ).

The Mirror Stage

Mirror and Castration; Second World War as pretext

Jacques Lacan's "mirror stage" can also be read in Ballantine's world in the screen. Ballantine does not believe in himself and he does not know who is. For Mulvey "forgetting the world as the ego" can be related to "the extraneous similarities between screen and mirror" (Mulvey, 1975:10). For example when he shaves himself at Dr Brulov's house in front of the mirror, he is enthralled. When he talks with Constance and looks on window it is either scarred or impotent; "represents an aspect of feminine subjectivity in the film" (Samuels, 1998:41).

Thus Ballantine's unconscious is related with many facts linked with its lack of activity in the film were Constance is shown to be active. For Samuels "this lack of activity" is connected "to some wound that the subject received in a war" (1998:41). Because the film was made after the Second World War when Ballantine was a soldier and escaped from a plane crash, for Samuels it is a problem of "a man who has been castrated by the war" (1998:41). According to Samuels four scenes of castration and loss in this film; "linguistic castration", "the real loss of the subject"s brother', the loss caused by "the death of the doctor and the absence that is represented by writing and femininity" are beyond Freudian's fantasy (Samuels, 1998:35).

It can be read as Hitchcock's fantasy "a visual representation of the memory system of writing" (1998:36). Freud, of course, discussed this situation in function to male fears of castration. But, Freud does not adequately explain why the castration in its masculine construct should be subject to frustration and unconscious, so Ballantine's behavior looks unacceptable. When Constance is trying to help him, show Freud's idea that “when one speaks hopefully to them … their condition invariably becomes worse” (Freud, 1984:390). For Mulvey, Constance is related to this mission because "she can exist only in relation to castration" (1975:7).

Oedipal Desire: Imaginary Signifier

Metz's crucial work to film theory states that film could be analyzed with reference to unconscious and "the screen image as a resuscitation of the earlier experience of the mirror" (Metz cited in Aaron, 2007:12). For instance Ballantine's appearance on screen with "designated lure of the ego" produces an "imaginary signifier" of all happenings as a result of the "other mirror, the cinema screen" (Metz, 1975:15). Freud's theory of "creative fantasy", in fact, helps to clarify this "imaginary signifier" (Freud, 1922:145).

The dream sequence, which is used by Dr Constance to unlock the mystery, is a perfect example of this. It starts with a gambling house, which has no walls, but is surrounded by curtains with a lot of eyes. A man was walking around cutting all the drapers of hair. The eye symbol and the man's presence with scissors in his hand cutting eyelashes is a complete analogy of the dream theory that is related to the fear of going blind and is perfectly created to fulfill the meaning that surrounds Ballantine's behavior in the sequence.

In Creed's argument within Freud's theory of "linking the eye" is "a sign of Oedipal desire for the mother ... the phallic mother" (Creed, 1990:132). The image of the eye slashed by the man and other disembodied eyes watch the chaotic action from their position on top of plant stalks, as a “visual superego” creates depictions of the subconscious in the sequence (1922:147). In the political context ghostly eyes are launching the fact that the state is not able to highlight the crime.

Symbols and Semiotic: Symbolic Order

Hitchcock also used devices based on symbols represented in dreams throughout the film, such as the opening of the doors when Constance and Ballantine who is posing as Dr Edwards, first kiss. This, according to Freudian theory, represents trust, giving and opening. For instance, Constance's country-walk and the wind disheveling her hair are drawn in contrast to her naturalness. Wood explores this fact as "restoration of Constance"s persona' as before she is presented as "masculinised and desexualized" (Wood, 1989:320).

At this point the film has some more interesting conflicts related within symbolic representation in the semiotic context overall, as images and language do not fit together in many parts. As the language of images completes the meaning, a dialogue between Dr Peterson and Ballantine, when they first go for a walk together, is vague; "words fail to match it is actual nonetheless" (Wright, 1984:1). In contrast to that, the music and sound effects complete this emptiness. For instance, the music in the dream sequence shifts the boundaries between images effectively portrayed by Ballantine and its unknown nature of the subconscious mind.

In continuous situations the message changes the continuity by changing from the known, represented by words, to the unknown of the characters' thoughts by “shifting relationship between reality and illusion” produced in the sequence (Sterritt, 1993:1). Samuels explains that Ballantine "is plagued by a horror of representation because he has been traumatized by the Symbolic order” (Samuels, 1998:41).

The Problems

Self-referential Presence; Moral Panic and Phallic Panic

The anarchy created after Ballantine"s disappearance was used as "moral panic" and becomes defined as a threat to social values and interests (Cohen, 1980:9). All combinations of guilt complexes and the trauma of childhood used in Spellbound are in fact in the role of the questions raised about moral panic. Lurking beneath, the story complicates these combinations and transforms them into "moment of phallic panic" (Bruzzi, 1997:158). The characters' behavior offers sympathy and further analysis are in serve to answering naturally that question.

Related to the theory of psychoanalysis Maltby responds: “Hitchcock movies bear ... a self-referential presence” (Maltby, 1995:437). Behind all this is a main theme; a female psychiatrist falls in love with her new male boss only to discover that he is an impostor who believes he is a murderer.

From the feminist point of view, Spellbound, "dramatize the temporary collapse of the mechanisms" in the course of which "the female subject is “normally” obliged to assume male lack" (Silverman, 1990:114). The fact that Constance walks into Ballantine's room in the middle of the night, for Silverman it shows that “[Ballantine] is unable to align himself with the phallus” (1990:114).

Repressed Memory: Vulgarization of Freudian Concepts

These problems become more complicated when we consider the findings of Freud in particular, that unconscious motives apparently influence the behavior of the characters. For Freud “the dreams command of childhood material … falls through the gaps in our conscious power of recollection” (Freud, 1999:16). For instance Ballantine's past, and the event that has caused his amnesia, are causing him to break down every time he sees parallel lines, as his brain is trying to remind him of his past, but he is trying to shut it out. This happens when Constance draws the fork lines in the tablecloth; when he sees the lines in her dress, the lines in the bed covers and the dark sledge tracks in the snow.

To Ballantine, these all symbolize the skiing tracks when Dr Edwards died. Furthermore, Ballantine's neurotic breakdowns appear to be sufficiently accounted for by the films unconcealed Freudian explanation of repressed memories of childhood trauma. For Žižek this is "trauma" of Spellbound (Žižek, 1992:64). The use of Freudian psychology "was highly selective" which lead to "vulgarization of Freudian concepts" (Bordwell, Staiger & Thompson, 1988:20-21).

Character's Behavior and Social Feelings

The film constitutes to integrate its aim through characters' behavior. Constance is as cold socially as she is passionate about her profession. She represents in many parts the figure that within the theme of the film can be difficult to recognize in that situation. As a doctor she needs to be careful in dealing with patients, their problems and their behavior. But Constance gets closer to her amnesiac lover, risking her reputation and even her life.

The Freudian reading of a guilt complex in sexual relationships seems to work also in this case where Constance's personal sacrifice is devoted to the profession. Boyd's analysis highlighting these complex devices states that “fantasy evinces itself not only in the relationship between the film's Oedipal protagonist, his mother figure, and his three father figures, but in multitude of images” that produce public judgments and social feelings (Boyd, 2000: Sensesofcinema).

According to Freud “the social feelings arise in the individual as a superstructure built upon impulses of jealous rivalry” (Freud, 1984:377). Dr Murchison scared that Dr Edwards will replace him as head of Green Manors, shoots him dead, in front of Ballantine, and is only found out when Constance uncovers the mystery. Murchison as a professional psychiatric knew that the event would trigger Ballantine's amnesia, and knowing about guilt complex, he knew that he could shift the blame to Ballantine.

Furthermore, Murchison manipulates his other colleagues; in the shot when all the staff of Green Manors are sat around a table, the only two empty chairs belong to Constance and Ballantine, and Murchison capitalizing on Constance's love for Ballantine, makes sure that she is blamed too, so that this woman devoted to the profession will not be replacing him as head of the institution either. So Murchison is strengthening his hold and is making himself irreplaceable for the job.

Freudian Fetish

The imaginary world that links dream status and viewing the dream as a part of psychoanalysis is another point that would be considered as Freud's concept in Spellbound. The girl, which appears in Ballantine's dream, is one of these examples. In this example of what appears to be a case of the Freudian fetish, Ballantine's fascination with the girl's short skirt is less provoked than the rest of continuity in the sequence. Žižek's rightly explains, “the unconscious desire, which animates the dream is not merely the dream's latent thought, which is translated into its explicit content, but another unconscious wish” (Žižek, Lrb ).

She is beautiful, short dressed and physically selected. For Žižek “it is through this distortion that another, much more fundamental desire encodes itself in the dream, and this desire is unconscious and sexual”. The girl's presence fullfils partly the dream's meaning but is more of wishful thinking by Ballantine. As Freud's analysis stated, wishful impulses in the subconscious require "a dream-wish" (Freud, 1991:234).

Maltby, who refers to Freud's theory, explains that, “the analogy between dream and viewing was crucial to the application of psychoanalysis to cinema” (Maltby, 1995:437).

Superego, Conflicts and Contradictions

Finally, another reference to Freud's theory is Hitchcock's style of representation of conflicts and contradictions, often carried to the character's situation. Sterritt concludes that, “a brutalizing past event has frozen John Ballantine not physically but in his psychological trajectory” (Sterritt, 1993:18). For him guilt may be transferred within a single human psyche as when he becomes the victim of his own overactive superegos because of death for which he is physically, but not morally responsible.

The flashback that took place in the mountain scene and reveals the accident that brought about his brothers death, cures Ballantine and solves the problem, revealing his innocence, about Dr Edwards's death. From this fact it is obvious that “the Oedipal scenario supports the entire dynamic of the narrative” (Bellour, 1990:204). Then the film continuity confirms that Constance proves Ballantine's innocence by analyzing his dreams, and the asylum's previous director is revealed as the murderer. At the end of the film the gun occupies the screen and at meantime it is sublime that "Hitchcock"s profound awareness of the workings of the death drive' (Samuels, 1998:38).

Conclusion

In summary, Freud's achievement in the theory of psychoanalysis has been followed by visual representation of Hollywood films. This essay has been apprehensive to this theory, with which the main object has been to supply a straightforward account of psychoanalysis in Hitchcock's Spellbound. My purpose has been to present the evidence of Freudian and post-Freudian psychoanalytic theory, not as simple theory, but rather from an impartially distinct point. Among the main features of this standpoint is the feeling that, in the past, psychology has tended to concentrate too much on isolated problems, such as the sexual difference, and not enough on the nature of political context of the theory.

In the particular paragraphs that are devoted to psychoanalysis in Spellbound I have dwelt primarily on the theories of Freud. Foucault's postulate of “relations” has been used in support to this theory. In particular I have mentioned Luce Irigaray and Elisabeth Grosz who have drawn on psychoanalysis to represent it from a feminist point of view. Bellour, Žižek, Mulvey, Metz, Boyd, Gilligan, Silverman, Sterritt, and many others, have also made their contribution to the film psychoanalysis and Freud's theory.

The inevitable deduction made from psychoanalytic theory is that images and characters' thoughts are in juxtaposition with the phallocratic system. The outcome to Freud's theory in Spellbound is that message boundaries have been breached and experienced in a very political way. The aim is, perhaps, to discover what has emerged, to shift these boundaries in order to retake interest of such classic films.