Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca was the director's first American production. Released in 1940, it became the first and only Hitchcock directed to film to win an Oscar for Best Picture, though Hitchcock himself would never win .

It was, in the words of the New York Times , "an unlikely Broadway survivor." The 39 Steps , a critically acclaimed stage adaptation of the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie, ended up running for two years on the Great White Way, despite the lack of a starry cast, stunning sets, or shocking subject matter.

Even with the ability to nominate 10 movies for the best picture category, the Academy Awards manages to rile the moviegoing public with snubs, year after year.

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute opens its "Eternal Return" film series with a screening of Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Vertigo," on Thursday, Jan.

Remember a few weeks back when Kim Novak took out a trade ad to say she felt like she'd been raped by the use of Bernard Herrmann's "Scene d'Amour" from his Vertigo score in The Artist ? IndieWire's Press Play blog just held a contest that invited participants to test the theory that you can add new meaning and emotion to any piece of film, from ... (more)

If Rebecca disappoints, it is only because of the sky-high expectations. Alfred Hitchcock's first Hollywood film, a David O. Selznick production, a stellar cast, an adaptation of a classic novel, and its status as the Oscar winner for Best Picture of 1940 all contribute to the anticipation of a masterpiece, which did not quite materialize.

Debating whether to check out " Alcatraz ," the time-traveling crime drama on Fox that drew mixed notices for its premiere episodes last week? Here's one reason to watch.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 suspense classic Rear Window came in the middle of an incredible two-year run for the director, sandwiched between Dial M for Murder , released earlier that year, and 1955's To Catch Thief and The Trouble With Harry.

The widow of Vertigo composer Bernhard Herrmann, has entered the row about the use of her husband's music in The Artist.

I post a weekly diary of the historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I featured this past week in "Cheers & Jeers". For example ..... ART NOTES - an eight-painting exhibit of Monet's Water Lilies ends at the Saint Louis, Missouri Art Museum today, January 22nd.