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Takashi Fujimura's Thesis: Hitchcock-Hawksianism

Hitchcock Criminal List

Names of pathological criminals, even first-time offenders, are written in blue. Names of criminals who feel guilty are written in red.

① The nature of the crime,

② Whether the criminal felt guilty about the criminal act, was brought to trial and confronted the issue of guilt, or "reformed," and criminals who felt guilty are written in red.

③ The presence or absence of an "origin (the reason that makes them who they are today)" of the crime committed is noted.

1. Criminals with First Offenses

◆ "BLACKMAIL" (1929)
Annie Ondra
① Murder.
② Yes. Attempts to surrender due to guilt.
③ Yes. Self-defense; stabs and kills a man who tries to rape her.
◆ "MURDER!" (1930)
Esme Percy
① Murder
② Yes. Although somewhat mentally ill, she leaves a confession note before dying, indicating she is not pathological, is intelligent, and possesses a sense of guilt.
③ Yes. Kills a woman who tries to expose her sexual impotence in order to conceal it.
◆ "SECRET AGENT" (1936)
John Gielgud
① Accomplice in murder related to espionage.
② Yes.
③ Yes.
Madeline Carroll
① Accomplice in murder related to espionage.
② Yes.
③ Yes.
◆ "SABOTAGE" (1936)
Oscar Homolka
① Sabotage.
② Yes. His first act of sabotage only drew ridicule (first-time failure). His second attempt was successful, but he accidentally killed his wife Sylvia Sidney's brother, and, feeling guilty, he tried to explain himself to his wife.
③ Yes. Poverty.
Sylvia Sidney
① Murder
② Kills her husband and tries to turn herself in due to guilt.
③ Yes. Because her husband killed her brother.

♦ "The Lady Vanishes" (1938)
Passengers.
① Shoots and kills enemy soldiers
② No.
③ Self-defense

◆ "JAMAICA INN" (1939)
Marie Ney (Maureen O'Hara's aunt)
① Imprisonment, concealment of criminals, etc.
② Yes. Helps investigator Robert Newton escape.
③ Yes. Love for her husband, the boss of a gang of thieves.

◆ "Revecca" (1940)
Laurence Olivier.
① Murder. Kills his ex-wife. Possible assault resulting in death rather than murder.
② Yes. He is grappling with guilt over the death of his ex-wife.
③ Yes. Discord with his ex-wife.

◆ "LIFEBOAT" (1943)
Allied side
① Murder. Americans all push a German man into the sea and kill him. Probably his first offense.
② Yes
③ Yes. Distrust and jealousy towards Germans.

◆ "SPELLBOUND" (1945)
Leo G. Carroll.
① Murder
② No. He commits suicide, but the aspect of despair due to the loss of honor is strong, and his sense of guilt is weak. His actions are intelligent but lack pathological tendencies.
③ Yes. He didn't want to lose his position as hospital director.
Gregory Peck
① Manslaughter. He accidentally killed his younger brother when he was a child.
② Yes
③ Yes. An accidental death while playing.

◆ "THE PARADINE CASE" (1947)
Alida Valli
① Murder. Kills her husband.
② No. However, she is put on trial and forced to confront her guilt.
③ The existence of a lover.

◆ "ROPE" (1948)
John Dall. Farley Granger
① Murder. A current student and first offender. Intellectual, not pathological.
② Yes. Farley Granger reveals his true colors due to his guilt.
③ Yes. The superior has the right to kill the inferior.

◆ "UNDER CAPRICORN" (1949)
Ingrid Bergman
① Murder. Shoots and kills her brother who interfered with her attempt to elope with Joseph Cotten in the past.
② Yes. She feels guilty towards her husband, who took the blame for her crime.
③ Yes. He shot and killed his brother who tried to kill his lover.

◆ "I Confess" (1952)
O.E. Hasse
① Robbery and murder
② Yes. He begs for God's forgiveness in the last scene.
③ Yes. Poverty.

◆ "DIAL M FOR MURDER" (1954)
Ray Milland
① Attempted murder by contract.
② No
③ Wife's infidelity.
Grace Kelly
① Self-defense murder
② Feeling guilty. Terrified of having killed.
③ To protect himself.

♦ "Rear Window" (1954)
Raymond Burr
① Murder. Probably his first offense, but he also has a pathological tendency of a "habitual offender."
② No
③ Yes? Discord with his wife?

◆ "THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY" (1956)
The main characters
① Assault (Shirley MacLaine). Mildred Natwick's assault was in self-defense. The murder was an impossible crime. Harry died of a heart attack.
② Yes. Edmund O'Brien had one.
③ No

◆ "VERTIGO" (1958)
Tom Helmore
① Murder. Probably a first offense.
② No
③ Yes. Because his wife was a hindrance.
Kim Novak
① Aiding and abetting murder
② Yes. Feels guilty towards Stewart.
③ Yes. For money.

◆ "SYCHO" (1960)
Janet Leigh
① Embezzlement
② Yes. Killed when she changed her mind and tried to return the money.
③ Yes. For money.

◆ "TORN CURTAIN" (1966)
Paul Newman
① Murder. Leaking state secrets
② Yes. He makes a face after killing the enemy spy by putting him in an oven.
③ Yes. To protect himself.

◆ "FAMILY PLOT" (1976)
Karen Black
① Kidnapping. William Devane tells her, "Everyone's like that the first time," suggesting it's likely her first offense.
② Yes. She opposes committing murder.
③ Yes. She becomes obsessed with the allure of jewels.

2. Criminals in Habitual Offenders

♦ "THE PLEASURE GARDEN" (1925)
Miles Munder
① Murder, attempted murder. Suffering from a fever.
② None
③ A woman is a hindrance. Ordered by a ghost.

♦ "THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH" (1934)
Peter Lorre
① Kidnapping, attempted murder
② None
③ None

♦ "THE 39 STEPS" (1935)
Godfrey Thiall (The man with the missing little finger)
① Theft of state secrets. Murder.
② None
③ None

Willie Watson (Mr. Memory)
① Theft of state secrets.
② None
③ None

♦ "SECRET AGENT" (1936)
Robert Young (Enemy spy).
① Espionage (a crime only for the enemy country).
② None
③ None

Peter Lorre (an allied spy).
① Murder associated with espionage.
② None
③ None

♦ "Young and Innocent" (1937)
George Curson (the blinking man).
① Murder. Killed his unfaithful wife.
② None
③ Yes. His wife's infidelity. He faints the moment he recalls "The Origin."

◆ "The Lady Vanishes" (1938)
Googie Withers, the nun in high heels.
① Kidnapping associated with espionage.
② Yes. He switches sides, saying he cannot kill a British person.
③ None

Other Enemy Spies
① Kidnapping
② None
③ None

◆ "JAMAICA INN" (1939)
Leslie Banks
① Murder and robbery
② Yes
③ None

Charles Laughton
① Accomplice in murder and robbery
② None. Committed suicide but showed no remorse.
③ None

"Revecca" (1940)
Judith Anderson
① Arson of an occupied building.
② None
③ None.

◆ "Foreign Correspondent" (1940)
Herbert Marshall
① Murder and kidnapping related to espionage (on the enemy side).
② Committed suicide by jumping into the sea after explaining to his daughter due to guilt.
③ Yes. Because he was German.

♦ "Saboteur" (1942)
Otto Kruger (Enemy Spy)
① Murder related to espionage
② None.
③ None.

Norman Lloyd
① Espionage (Enemy side)
② None. He hangs from the Statue of Liberty and begs for help. It's unclear whether he felt guilty, as he begged for help to save his life.
③ None.

♦ "Shadow of a Doubt" (1943)
Joseph Cotten
① Serial murders
② None
③ Yes. A quiet, book-loving child is hit by a streetcar in a bicycle accident, suffering a skull fracture. After a long hospital stay, he becomes an uncontrollable troublemaker and stops reading.

♦ "LIFEBOAT" (1943)
Walter Schlesak
① Pushes William Bendix into the sea from a lifeboat, causing him to drown.
② None
③ None.

◆ "STAGE FRIGHT" (1950)
Richard Todd
① Murder. Second murder.
② Yes. Explains the crime to Jane Wyman in a carriage backstage.
③ Yes. A man who can't stop when he gets angry.

♦ "Notorious" (1946)
Claude Rains. A mama's boy, and almost pathological.
① Murder related to espionage (enemy country), etc.
② No
③ No

♦ "STRANGERS ON A TRAIN" (1951)
Robert Walker
① Murder.
② No
③ Yes. Hatred towards his father. But he's insane.

♦ "DIAL M FOR MURDER" (1954)
Anthony Dawson.
① Attempted murder by contract. Has a history of numerous crimes.
② None
③ None

♦ "TO CATCH A THIEF" (1955)
Brigitte Aubert
① Theft
② None. She is forced to confess, but only because her life was in danger, not out of guilt.
③ None.

◆ "THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH" (1956)
Brenda de Banzee
① Accomplice in kidnapping and attempted murder
② Develops feelings for the child and helps him.
③ None

♦ "THE WRONG MAN" (1957)
Richard Robbins (the culprit).
① Robbery
② None
③ None

♦ "NORTH BY NORTHWEST" (1959)
James Mason (enemy spy)
① Murder related to espionage activities (on the enemy side).
② None
③ None. It could also be considered pathological.

♦ "SYCHO" (1960)
Anthony Perkins
① Murder. Killed 4 people, and 6 people if you include the 2 missing.
② None
③ Yes. Becomes mentally unstable around the time of his father's death.

♦ "THE BIRDS" (1963)
The Birds
① Murder and assault. Similar incidents have occurred in the past.
② None. Does not repent.
③ None. The reason for the attacks is completely unknown.

◆ "MANIE" (1964)
Tippi Hedren
① Theft
② Yes. Tormented by guilt after psychoanalysis.
③ Yes. Kills a client of his prostitute mother.

♦ "TORN CURTAIN" (1966)
Wolfgang Keeling
① Hitman
② None
③ None

♦ "TOPAZ" (1969)
John Vernon and other Cuban executives.
① Murder, kidnapping.
② None
③ None.

♦ "FRENZY" (1972)
Barry Foster.
① Serial murderer
② None
③ None.

♦ "FAMILY PLOT" (1976)

William Devane
① Kidnaps and steals jewels as ransom.
② None
③ Obsessed with the allure of jewels.