4 Gripping Alfred Hitchcock Thrillers Even Die-Hard Fans Didn't Hear About

When you think of Alfred Hitchcock, the first thing that comes to mind are the cult films the director made at the height of his fame: Psycho, North by Northwest, Vertigo, or Rear Window.

But Hitchcock is of the same age as cinema itself, and has managed to test all the possibilities of this art.

1. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, 1927

Even in the silent era of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock plunged into the thriller genre that would define his creative career. An unknown man moves into a room and makes a bad impression on his neighbors. The reason for this is a nervous breakdown, which leads to the idea that he and the London madman are the same person.

In the early 20s, Hitchcock managed to work in Germany. The school of expressionism captured the imagination of the future king of suspense, and it was from Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, as the director admitted, that he learned to tell stories without words.

The Lodger contains the motifs of all future Hitchcock films, where the search for a killer, an obsession with blondes and fatal prejudices of society are intertwined in one plot.

2. The 39 Steps, 1935

The 39 Steps is a precursor to Hitchcock's later masterpiece North by Northwest. An ordinary Canadian gets caught up in a secret government game and is forced to escape handcuffed to a random girl.

In Britain, the director did not have access to the financial power of American cinema, so he compensated for visual simplicity with sharp humor and a dizzying pace of action. The 1935 film was rather overlooked, but it showed the passion of a professional director who knew how to create first-class entertainment.

3. The Lady Vanishes, 1938

Returning to England by train, Iris finds herself in the company of passengers, including the elderly Miss Froy. The woman's sudden disappearance from the carriage forces Iris to embark on a complex adventure involving international espionage.

The Lady Vanishes is the cinematic equivalent of Agatha Christie and her Murder on the Orient Express. The film was a commercial success, and it was then that producer David O. Selznick noticed Hitchcock – now Hollywood was waiting for him.

4. I Confess, 1953

In 1953, the director made a religious drama with Montgomery Clift as Father Logan. The pastor hears the confession of a murderer, but cannot tell anyone about it. Eventually, Logan himself becomes a suspect in the case.

I Confess is certainly full of typical Hitchcockian topics: there are both unjust accusations and the dominant motif of faith. In the foreground is the main question: what will prevail in Father Logan – the duty of a citizen or that of a priest, obliged to keep the secret of confession?