Hitchcock's Blondes

The Unforgettable Women Behind the Legendary Director's Dark Obsession

De: Laurence Leamer

Narrado por: Sharmila Devar

Bestselling author of Capote’s Women Laurence Leamer shares an engrossing account of the enigmatic director Alfred Hitchcock that finally puts the dazzling actresses he cast in his legendary movies at the center of the story.

Alfred Hitchcock was fixated—not just on the dark, twisty stories that became his hallmark, but also by the blond actresses who starred in many of his iconic movies. The director of North by Northwest, Rear Window, and other classic films didn’t much care if they wore wigs, got their hair coloring out of a bottle, or were the rarest human specimen—a natural blonde—as long as they shone with a golden veneer on camera. The lengths he went to in order to showcase (and often manipulate) these women would become the stuff of movie legend. But the women themselves have rarely been at the center of the story, until now.

In Hitchcock’s Blondes, bestselling biographer Laurence Leamer offers an intimate journey into the lives of eight legendary actresses whose stories helped chart the course of the troubled, talented director’s career—from his early days in the British film industry, to his triumphant American debut, to his Hollywood heyday and beyond. Through the stories of June Howard-Tripp, Madeleine Carroll, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, Kim Novak, Eva Marie Saint, and Tippi Hedren—who starred in fourteen of Hitchcock’s most notable films and who bore the brunt of his fondness and sometimes fixation—we can finally start to see the enigmatic man himself. After all, “his” blondes (as he thought of them) knew the truths of his art, his obsessions and desires, as well as anyone.

From the acclaimed author of Capote’s Women comes an intimate, revealing, and thoroughly modern look at both the enduring art created by a man obsessed…and the private toll that fixation took on the women in his orbit.

A Well-Narrated, But Biased Read

As an amateur fan of film history, I went into this with a bit of excitement. However, while there is enough information I didn't know to make the purchase worth it, the information I did know makes me look back at this book with a grain of salt. The author clearly had a bias in favor of Hitchcock, often making the "Hitchcock Blondes" seem more like the villain of the working relationships. The narrator did her best to make it sound more equal than the words on the page did, but there was only so much narration can do.
There is also some use of misinformation. One such example was the common misconception that the book "Psycho" was inspired by real-life serial killer, Ed Gein. The book was roughly 85-90% written when Gein was arrested and sensationalized. He did use some details from the newspapers, but the majority of the novel was not inspired by it. This kind of nuance, while often overlooked, should have at least been mentioned in the book.
Overall, I'd say that this is good for people that are getting into Hitchcock's work and wanting to know stuff about the actors and behind-the-scenes drama, but for those looking for a more in-depth look to not bother.

anther great Hollywood story

story I liked the way the narrative flowed ) and was spoken. She has a very pleasant voice and I could just picture everything in my head

What a book. Cinephiles rejoice

If anyone knows the works of Mr Leamer they will know he has a remarkable talent of creating astonishing non-fiction with characters and stories woven together to take you on a journey. His only weakness is banal titles that may make people dismiss the books as one-dimensional. They are not. To my mind, Laurence Leamer is one of the best non-fiction writers in the USA today. The performance by Ms. Devar is flawless and she doesn't narrate the story, she inhabits the characters. It is a delight to listen to. This is an auditory journey not to be missed (as is Capote's Women) and I literally inhaled it.

Jaw Dropping

A jaw dropping book that pulls back the curtain on Hitchcock and his Blondes. Not sure which is more eye opening the story of the director himself and the movies he made or the women who starred for him. I am a huge Rear Window fan and Grace Kelly fan but oh my oh my. I could not believe her story.

Fascinating story

Very interesting info but the vocal affectation of the reader was at times too much

Probably Most Effective If You’ve Never Seen a Hitchcock Film

I am a big fan of Hitchcock’s work and admire his cinematic innovations, but I think familiarity with his films set my expectations too high for this book. I didn’t feel there was much new information here, and a huge portion of the book is detailed, at times scene-for-scene description of the movies. If you don’t mind spoilers, this might be interesting to you. If you’ve seen the movies, you’ll be bored with having them recounted in painstaking detail for no apparent reason.

The author’s tone was somewhat judgmental and at times overtly hostile toward the actresses around whom the book is structured, while Hitchcock’s “eccentricities” are glossed over. I enjoyed the gossipy nature of the stories about the actresses, but question their veracity at times. Leamer doesn’t go out of his way to establish the credibility of many of his statements. This is really a book about the sex lives of women who happened to work with Hitchcock, not so much about their experiences on his sets.

In terms of narration, Devar has a lovely voice and confident tone, but I was distracted at several points by words she mispronounced (Oenophile, Marbella [Spain], etc.) I find that very frustrating in a professionally- narrated nonfiction book. She did a good job overall, but once I started noticing the mistakes I couldn’t stop.

Mispronunciations Galore

Where is quality control or ...does anybody learn phonics, correct syllabification and pronunciation...even celebrity names mangled. ..so if your ears can take the assault, the story OK but sordid. Lives of the actors a mess.. amoral seems to be the shallowness du jour.

Hatchet Job on Tippi Hedren

The author seems quite biased against Ms Hedren. He doubts that Alfred Hitchcock lunged at her in a car, even though he quoted a French actress as saying the exact same thing happened to her. And he quotes Hedren‘s hairdresser on the same page talking about Hitchcock’s inappropriate behavior at the time. Other than that, the book was fine.

Recap of films

This is more a retelling of the plots of the movies than about the woman and very little about the relationship of Hitchcock and the women. Narration was just OK. I fast forwarded through a lot of the book.

The stories of the actresses different styles and personalities

I am a great Hitchcock fan and love his movies and how he chooses his scripts and different casts. He was so meticulous in everything and had everything completely envisioned in his mind ( and completely storyboarded) he almost never looked through the camera lens.
So when he picked his leading lady it was hugely important and these stories tell that story.