Hitchcock and Poe: The Legacy of Delight and Terror

by Dennis R. Perry

This first comprehensive study of the relationship between the tales of Edgar Allan Poe and the films of Alfred Hitchcock uncovers an unexpected range of affinities underlying the director's well-known regard for Poe. As an adolescent Hitchcock avidly read Poe and later acknowledged a direct influence: "I can't help but compare what I try to put in my films with what Poe put in his stories." Hitchcock's chief take-home lesson from Poe was that "fear…is a feeling people like to feel when they are certain of being in safety." Thus, Poe's legacy to Hitchcock was an obsession to delight and terrify audiences simultaneously.

This study explores the aesthetic of Poe and Hitchcock in terms of a set of common obsessions, techniques, and genres. The structure of the study revolves around Eureka , Poe's explicit and allegorical treatise on the development of the universe. Each chapter explores the similarities and differences between Poe's and Hitchcock's treatment of such issues as doubles, the perverse, voyeurism, and romantic obsession. While Hitchcock's films consistently mirror plots, imagery, and relationships within Poe's tales, Perry also shows how Hitchcock's resistance to the traditional trappings of gothic tales sets his films apart from the works of Poe and gives them a unique touch.

Researchers, students, and Hitchcock fans alike will by stirred by the original ideas and detailed research in this fantastic resource.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dennis Perry writes a nice book on the connections between Alfred Hitchcock and Edgar Allan Poe. Many of the thematic parallels addressed by Perry have been fairly common topics of critical discussion for Hitchcock and Poe studies people. This book, however, is the first time the two have been talked about together, which might not be that interesting a thing for some. Fair enough. But the commonalities that Poe and Hitchcock share are interesting and show how the same topics of discussion - voyeurism, duality, the sublime, psychological fracture, etc. - have been addressed at different points in time by two different artistic mediums. In that way, it is fun to read about how Poe expressed through literature similar things that Hitchcock expressed cinematically. Well-read critics and scholars of Hitchcock and/or Poe might not gain much from this book; but for a class of undergraduates wanting to learn something about Hitchcock and Poe could really benefit from this book.

I particularly like how Perry uses Poe's Eureka to help guide his analysis. I'm less enthusiastic about some of the Jungisn psychoanalysis, but that is more of a taste issue. Perry shows an enthusiasm for Hitchcock and Poe, which is cool. This book provides enough interesting analysis to help any novice of Hitchcock and/or Poe studies.