The Dark Side of Genius

The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

By: Donald Spoto

Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach

The story of the man who changed people’s relationships with their showers forever, thanks to Psycho, this is the classic, Edgar Award-winning biography of the enigmatic and intensely private Alfred Hitchcock. One of America’s greatest film directors, his suspenseful subject matter ranged from the dark drama of a man possibly trying to kill his wife, to the humorous problem of disposing of a body, to the ecological underpinnings of an attack by fowl fiends in a sleepy harbor town.

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.

Donald Spoto is the author of more than 20 books, including best-selling biographies of Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn. He lives with his husband, Danish artist and school administrator Ole Flemming Larsen, near Copenhagen, Denmark.

©1983 Donald Spoto (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"The finest book about a filmmaker yet. Sensational in its revelations; at the same time, a biography of unassailable integrity. I could not put it down." (Gregory Peck)

"Absolutely compulsory reading." (New York Times Book Review)

"A vivid and perceptive portrait…. Knowledgeable and revealing." (Time)

ALFRED HITCHCOCK

The Dark Side of Genius is a biography of Alfred Hitchcock. A fan of Hitchcock movies will relish Donald Spoto’s insight to Hitchcock’s fascinating and enigmatic genius. A listener with little interest in movies may be put-off by Spoto’s psychological dissection of Hitchcock, but Spoto’s intimate understanding of Hitchcock’s films; his personal acquaintance with Hitchcock, Hitchcock’s family, Hitchcock movie’s stars, writers, and producers, make The Dark Side of Genius highly entertaining and intuitively believable.

Hitchcock taps into a subconscious reservoir of human repression, present in the nature of human beings. Spoto illustrates Hitchcock’s genius for translating male’ repression into film; it is there for the entire world to see but, sadly, for few to fully appreciate or care to understand.

Eye Opener

Okay - so I went into this biography knowing very little about Alfred Hitchcock. Probably like most people, I enjoy the majority of his movies. There is no question about his creative ability. However, his business practices will raise one or both eyebrows. Some of the things he put his actors and actresses through were despicable. Definitely an eye opener and brow raiser.

Must Have!

A must have for the Hitchcock fan. Well presented. A life like no other. The Man and the Myth.

EYE OPENING!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Dark Side of Genius to be better than the print version?

Personally, I prefer the audio edition to print because there were a lot of french words that I would have struggled with had they not been read for me. Also, I could listen to the book during my workouts.

What did you like best about this story?

It was fascinating to hear the background that went into Hitchcock's movies including the manipulative ways he climbed the ladder to success. I loved hearing about the way he went to great lengthens to lay out his movies (i.e., story boarding / moving sets). He was not appreciated in his day, (but, who is?) and today other up-and-coming directors have benefited from his struggles.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I felt the book title was apropos for Hitchcock's personal and lifelong demons he battled. Many things shocked me in this book, but two things stood out. The first was his constant underlying sexual deviance and under-handed dealings with just about everyone, except his wife. Second, when Hitch dangled a severance under the nose of his secretary of 25 years that would not be realized!

Any additional comments?

This book was very fascinating, disturbing and yet, I would recommend reading 'til the end. I was sadden to hear how a few events from his early childhood influenced, controlled and fueled much of his life-long struggles. I didn't give this book 5 stars overall because, I could not relate to the stars mentioned during Hitchcock's time as discussed in the book. It was a little hard to gloss over the names of certain writers, directors and actors of that time and not be able to quickly draw on a memory so that I could connect with the situation. However, I did Google them later for a point of reference to see their body of work.

Hitch's life and phobias keep you "Spellbound"

Having read this book decades ago, I was thrilled to purchase this audiobook. It's just as fascinating as I remembered. If you are looking for technical details of Hitchcock's movies, forget this one. However, if you want a psychological analysis of Hitch's life and his many phobias, you will be spellbound. Born the son of a Cockney grocer, Alfred Hitchcock began writing titles for silent movies. All Hitchcock's movies contain his fears, fascinations (especially with his leading ladies), and phobias. The author, Donald Spoto, was the first to dehumanize Hitch's genius by revealing his dark side, but somehow this makes future viewings of Hitchcock's films more fascinating.