Greatness Hitch Notes

Hitch Goes To Hollywood - Notes aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Text a Home

Bill Dorris

Information and quotes in this section of the Notes(from "The movies we associate…" to "… repressed sexuality ") come from Spoto (1983), pp xiii, 352-53; LaValley (1972), pp 6, 8, 15; Modleski (1989), pp 90, 107-08.

In order to maintain the flow of the writing here (and in the rest of the book), quotes which are used are sometimes changed slightly - eg, "producing" changed to "produce"; "is" changed to "was", ". . ." omitted, etc.

(2)Information and quotes in this section (from "Associated with…" to "…overwhelming and chaotic world ") come from LaValley (1972), pp 6, 14, 29; and Spoto (1983), pp 90, 457-8.

(3)Information and quotes in this section (from "A third preoccupation…" to "… hung off of Mt. Rushmore .") come from LaValley (1972), pp 6, 9; Durgnat (1972), p137; Rohmer & Charbrol (1992), pp110, 128.

(4)Information and quotes in this section ("And what of the mind…" to "…bricked up in") come from Spoto (1983), pp 428, 431, 473-77, 481-2, 526-7; Rebello (1992), pp15, 17-19.

(5) Information and quotes in this section (What would it take…" to "…'international institution'".) come from LaValley (1972), pp 5, 25, 33, 145++; Spoto (1983), pp xi, 352, 429, 440-41; Hitchcock (1937), pp 34-5; Modleski (1989), p 104; Rebello (1992), pp 19, 93, 96.

(6) All of the available evidence suggests that Hitch was born “anxious” in the sense of inherited temperamental biases such as “inhibition” (Kagan &Snidman, 1991), “activity level”, “sociability”, and “emotionality” (Plomin et al, 1988; Buss, 1989). Little Freddy almost undoubtedly had a low “threshold to responsiveness”, not to mention “adaptability to new experience”. As for “approach/ withdrawal”, Hitch was definitely not what you’d call an “easy child” (Thomas & Chess, 1977). In Costa & McCrae’s terms he was most likely also high on “neuroticism” and low on “extraversion” (Pervin, 1996, 43-51).

(7) All the information and quotes used in this section (“No doubt Alfred...” to “...name was momma.”) is taken from Spoto, 1984, pp 14-18, except for “intrusive” which is from Egeland, et al, 1993, p359. Occasionally - here and throughout the book - a quote is changed slightly for the sole purpose of maintaining the flow of the writing. For example, in the above section the original quote,”looked and observed...” is changed to “looking and observing...”

(8) Re "…finally got his hands on the joy stick…" to "…witch's back". This is the first of several attempts in this chapter to ‘flesh out’ the workings of Hitch’s “active inner life” in line with the evidence available.

(9) The analysis of the likely effects on young Alfred of his “intrusive mother” (with reference to developing a fear of being overwhelmed/ controlled by an unpredictable world, of close contact with people/ overt expression of emotion, and hence of the child becoming ever more vigilant, and likewise retreating into and creating s own fantasy world so as to regain control, security, and express unacceptable anger) are all elaborated in various ways which are clearly relevant to Hitchcock in the following sources: Lowe, 1993, ch 1 & 2; Storr, 1983, ch5 & 8; Miller, 1995, pp57-60; Riso, 1988, ch 7, esp pp 134-140; and Roe, 1953, esp pp 170-1, 177. Re issues of “trust” & “autonomy” see, eg, Erikson, 1963, pp247-54; Allen, 1994, p161-3; Stern, 1985, p194-6. Re “maternal intrusiveness” see, eg, Egeland et al, 1993; Belsky et al, 1984; Greenspan & Lieberman, 1989. See Laing, 1965, pp43-5 re “isolation as main maneuvre used to preserve identity” by persons threatened with “absorption into another person”, ie “engulfment”. See Gorodensky, 1997, esp pp31-55, 149-56, for rich analytic account of relationships similar to Hitch & his mom’s.

(10) Information and quotes in this section (from “By the time Hitch...” to “...asked about story boards.“) come from Spoto,1984, pp 7, 11-22, 273, 280; Taylor, 1980, pp5-7, 10; Rohmer & Chabrol, 1992, p3; LaValley, 1972, p18; Truffaut, 1978, p28; Lowe, 1993, pp85-91; Riso, 1988, p138. Additional quotes and information describing the sights Hitch might have read about or seen in his travels around London come from Mulzac, 1972, pp32-33; and Chaplin, 1964, pp5-7, 29-31.

(11) Information re the play age/ Erikson’s 3rd stage of initiative vs guilt/ Piaget/ Kohlberg’s heteronomous stage is available from many sources, all of which focus on the inevitable rub between the child’s rapidly expanding “intelligences” (Gardner, 1985) and “personal and social boundaries” (Lowe, 1993, p91) and the powers that be, including notably dad, re the big issues of the day, ie sexuality, initiative, and hence fear, introjection of parental values, and thus conscience formation. See, for eg, Lowe, 1993, Ch 3; Erikson, 1963, 255-58; Durkin, 1996, pp471-79; Gardner , 1985, pp130-32; 247-49; Allen, 1994, p163-4.

(12) Re relative lack of "influence of birth order on sibling strategies" of Hitchcock children, see Sulloway, 1998, pp133-34. Re Hitch's 'chaperoning' his sister, see Forer w/ Still, 1976, pp64-5, for an eg of how a last born child, who is much younger - and hence weaker and smaller -than s siblings, may learn to avoid asserting mself for fear of angering them and thus threatening s “security”.

(13) Re Hitch's "permanent retreat into momma's lap", vivid illustrations of the acute sensitivity of children to emotional fluctuations within the family - esp those kids most closely tied to parental or intergenerational conflicts, ie, the “identified patients” - are available throughout the family therapy literature. See for example, Minuchin, 1979, pp7-9, re Dede, the “superlabile diabetic; Haley, 1976, pp 222-268, esp p227, re the case of “a modern ‘Little Hans’”; or Palazzoli, Boscolo, Cecchin, & Prata, 1978, pp77 -82, re Ernesto, the “ten year old grandfather”.

(14) Research relevant to the development of Hitch’s “active inner life of fantasy” is available in many sources. See, for eg., Gardner, 1973, pp 198-241, re child’s artistic development re literature & pictorial art; pp 242-46, re Sartre’s childhood; Gardner, 1982, p175-78, & Wood, 1993, pp 127-8, re age and individual differences in children’s understanding of storylines and genres; Gardner, 1985, pp 81-3; 178-80; 247-50, re linguistic, spatial, and personal intelligences; McCurdy, 1957, pp155-69, re early development of imagination; Lowe, 1993, pp 86, 93, 99-100, re fantasies as source of stimulation and conflict; Sloane & Sosniak, 1985, pp 96-101, re parallels with sculptors; Cytowic, 1994, pp153-62, re centrality of emotion/ limbic system in guiding human brain. Ericsson & Faivre (1988) present an analysis relevant to the development of “astonishing” memory abilities (such as Hitch’s) on pp 448-57 of their article.

(15) All the information and quotes used in this section (“By the time school days...” to “That fear of Hitchcock’s.”) re Hitchcock is taken from Spoto, 1984, pp 7, 16-32; Taylor , 1980, pp7-9; and Truffaut, 1978, pp 28-9. Additional material re Bleak House is from Miller, 1985, pp 11-34; re Robinson Crusoe is from Pocock, 1981, p viii, and Defoe, 1981, pp 15-16, 50. Additional quotes come from Gardner , 1982, p 180 (“psychological metaphors”), and Freeman & Munns, 1987, pp 31 & 45 (“focus” & “shifting viewpoints”).

(16) The importance of friendships with peers during latency/ school age, and hence the danger this might have posed for Hitch’s career - if left to his own devices - is discussed in many sources, eg, Gardner, 1985, pp250-51; Hartup, 1983; Gottman & Parker, 1987; Selman, 1980. Various researchers have noted the influence of frequent family moves on disrupting the development of childhood friendships (cf Brett, 1982, p453, 457); increasing the likelihood of the child seeking authority figures to take care of m (Stewart et al, 1982, p1270, 1274-5); having the child be pulled back into the family by parents’ declining sense of community (Stokols et al, 1983, p15) and heightened fear for the child’s safety (Goldberg, 1980, p219).

(17) The family therapy literature on “enmeshed boundaries” and their influence on “undermining independence”, and “exploration”, and inhibiting the development of “cognitive-affective skills” seems especially relevant to Hitchcock. See, for eg, Minuchin, 1974, esp pp 53-56; and Andolfi, 1980, pp 143-56 re Luciano, whose “fear of being alone” “forces him to sleep with his mother”.

(18) Literature relevant to Hitch’s development of a fullblown “moral fear” - thanks to the combo of his “overly protective parents”, and most especially, spending Kohlberg’s “law-and-order stage” in the grip of St. I’s - is available in many sources, eg, Wise, 1986, pp361- 70; Minuchin & Shapiro, 1983, pp 230-34.

(19) Re "…what was 'going on underneath' was…" to "…That fear of Hitchcock's", literature relevant to Hitch’s accelerated transition from “concrete” to “formal” operations in his understanding of, eg, “public institutions”, and in his development of “visual dramatic” skills is available in various sources, eg, Wood, 1993, pp 147-180; Gardner, 1973, pp 256-8; Gardner, 1982, pp 178-83. Re Hitch’s “visualizing of fiction”, see Rebello, 1992, p19; Kirshmer, 1996.

(20) Information and quotes in this section (From “By the time the testosterone...” to “...with a murderous rape.”) come from Spoto, 1984, pp 16-17, 29, 32-36, 40-41, 44, 46, 70-72, 103-4, 229, 273, 303-4, 352, 363, 431, 500-01, 514, 528, 538, 545-6, 552, 582; Taylor, 1980, pp 10-11; and Truffaut, 1978, p34. Examples of the sorts of sex education Hitch was not experiencing come from Andrews, 1979, p 53; and Joyce, 1986, pp 21, 30-31, 52. Quotes illustrating Hitch’s experience of Madame Bovary come from Flaubert,1984, pp 65-6, 69, 72-3, 75; and Brombert, 1966, pp 46, 62; and his experience of Edgar Allan Poe come from Poe, 1933, pp 46-7, 50-1, 53, 84-5, 90, 100-01; and Levin, 1980, pp 156-7, 159-60.

(21) Being a social “isolate” from childhood on would have cut Hitch off from all of the early same-sex peer activities and later mixed-sex adolescent groups that are crucial to creating social norms re sexuality and hence to establishing and evaluating a person’s skills/ self concept/ self esteem re sexuality. That Hitch’s childhood was filled with virtually all of the personal social characteristics associated with male homosexual development (ie. with deviance) - eg, avoidance of competitive/ contact sports; sensitive, emotional, wept easily; aesthetic interests; outsider, loner, secretive; rejected by peers; overwhelming/ dominant mother - and that he lived in a culture which provided no legitimate outlets for deviant sexuality (vs eg Native American or Latin American cultures) - and worse yet had just buried Oscar Wilde down at the Old Bailey - indicates not only how total his social/ sexual isolation must have been, but also how devastating the impact would have been on his own self concept/ confidence re sexuality. For relevant literature re influence of peers on the development of sexual identity/ behaviors/ confidence see, eg, Golombok & Fivush, 1994, pp 112 -131; Dunphy, 1963; Allen, 1972; Lester, 1973; Carson, 1983; and Lowe, 1993, pp 152-65. Re Development of homosexuality see, for eg, Golombok & Fivush, 1994, pp 138-45; Isay, 1993,pp23-46; Isay, 1986, 467-89; Friedman, 1986, 483-519; Bell et al, 1981, pp183-92. For critique see D’Augelli, 1994, pp118-32. For info re cultural context of Hitch’s early life see, for eg, Bronski, 1984, pp22-71; Hyde,1991, eg, pp 285-6, 291-2, 296-9, 374-5, 421, 424, 449, 487-8.

(22) Hitch’s hugely conflicted (and hence repressed) sexuality can no doubt be traced straight back to the folks. First off, his early and sustained Oedipal “success” left him firmly in the grip of an intrusive Victorian mother. Likewise the “toys, games, and activities” of his early childhood were more “neutral” than “masculine” - while his books, maps, and fantasies definitely encouraged “autonomy”, they didn’t exactly prepare Hitch for the “rough and tumble” streets of Leytonstone, where the lads would soon be pumping up their sexual IDs. As for “appropriate sex role models” Hitch probably didn’t have too much trouble sussing out the difference between who pushed the pram and who drove the van. On the other hand he wouldn’t have had much trouble figuring out who was carrying the big stick either. Moreover while Hitch no doubt soon came to appreciate the sort of benefits that might be had in escaping from his “symbiotic relationship” with momma, his “stern and repressive” father didn’t exactly provide that essential “motivation” for “identifying with” the old man. See Lowe, 1993, pp 98-103, re the trouble with “Oedipal success”; Golombok & Fivush, 1994, pp 77-83, & 83-87; Durkin, 1996, pp187-9, re the influence of “toys, games, and activities”, “modeling” & “peers” on “gender development”; and Greenson, 1967, pp 258-64, re boys “dis-identifying from mother”. See Gorodensky, 1997, pp37-8, 57-63, re development of gender identity in “mamma’s boys”. See Spoto, 1984, p 37, re the old man.

(23) Re Hitch’s sexual/ aggressive fantasies - see Benjamin, 1983, re “fantasies of erotic domination” as attempts to “relive an original effort at differentiation that failed” (p292); Storr, 1983, re repressed hostility as source of sexual fantasies (pp140-45), and Ian Fleming as eg of compensatory nature of sexual/ aggressive fantasies (pp34-38); Kaplan, 1986, pp142-45, 155-65, re the “erotic possibilities” of “compulsive” adolescent reading; Spoto, 1984, pp 34-5, & Caputi, 1987, pp4-6, 12-13, 25, re cultural sources of Hitch’s adolescent fantasies.

(24) For evidence re Hitch’s marriage paralleling his earlier relationship with momma, and hence, sustaining his sexual/aggressive fantasies, see Spoto, 1984, pp 72, 95, 103-4, 228-9, 303-8, 363, 500, 523, 538, 552; 101-2, 273+, 297, 306+, 428, 431, 495+, 504; 273, 352 -53, 367-9, 545-6, 582; and Taylor,1980, 81-3, 319, backcover. Re relationships to his films, see eg, LaValley, 1972, pp1-15; Rohmer & Chabrol, 1992, eg pp106-112; Almansi, 1992, esp pp87-9; Miller, 1990, pp128-9; Barton, 1991; Wollen, 1997.

(25) All the information and quotes used in this section (“Of course in the Fall of 1913...” to “...living at home with momma.”) come from Spoto, 1984, pp 35-47, 56-60; Taylor, 1980, pp11-19; Truffaut, 1978, pp29-31; Tierney, 1992, 104, 128; and Maland, 1989, pp9-14, 36-7.

(26) Thanks to his obesity & the opportunities created by World War 1, Hitch had the luxury of going through one of Erikson’s identity crises, or in Winnicott’s terms, of finding which “self to be true to”. In Marcia’s terms, his identity status went from “diffusion” (pre art classes) to “crisis/ moratorium” (til entering Henley ’s ad dept) to “identity achievement”. See Lowe, 1993, pp152-65; Allen, 1994, 165-67; Marcia, 1980; Waterman, 1985; Waterman & Archer, 1990.

(27) Re the importance of successful role models in motivating adolescents see, eg, Simonton, 1994, pp375-382; Gardner, 1973, pp262-4; Amabile, 1983, 146-9.

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