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Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies ReviewA vulture is a bird of prey that feeds on the flesh of dead animals. This brings to mind Donald Spoto whose third book on Alfred Hitchcock, "Spellbound by Beauty," is a shabby rehash of his second Hitch book, "The Dark Side of Genius," which itself is an exercise in sleaziness. Interestingly, Spoto's first Hitch book, "The Art of Alfred Hitchcock," is an enlightening critical analysis of Hitchcock's movies. And since Hitchcock was still alive when Spoto wrote it, he had only praise for the director.
(This is the same Donald Spoto to whom Hitchcock gave the rare privilege of watching him direct his last feature, "Family Plot." On the book jacket of "Spellbound" is a photo of Spoto with Hitchcock, who is smiling, unaware that that this writer that he has befriended would repay that kindness years later by savagely attacking him and his family.)
After Hitch died, Spoto's claws emerged and he wrote "The Dark Side of Genius," in which he construed every aspect of his subject's life in derogatory ways, using pseudo-psychology to paint a portrait of a mean-spirited serial lecher. The book has an abundance of gaffes, probably because many of those closest to Hitch suspected Spoto's motives and didn't speak to him. Ultimately, it is more fantasy than serious biography due to the author's fabrication of murky sexual motivations for virtually everything Hitch did - on screen and off. Like all artists, Hitch was human and had flaws but Spoto's portrait is simply not the man that his friends and colleagues knew.
Following publication of "Dark Side," friends like James Stewart (who said that he "never saw a dark side"), Cary Grant, Norman Lloyd and numerous others vehemently denied Spoto's horrendous portrait. Hume Cronyn described Hitch as a man of "generosity, kindness and sympathy." Writer Whitfield Cook said "Hitch was difficult sometimes but not a monster" and called Spoto's deductions "ridiculous." Production associate Herbert Coleman called the book simply "false." But positive portraits do not sell books so Spoto created a fiend whose jocular appearance concealed a pathological sadist.
(Patrick McGilligan provides a more objective and honest biography with his "Alfred Hitchcock - A Life in Light and Darkness." The author avoids sensationalism and tells the story of a complex but decent and jovial man who dedicated his life to making movies. McGilligan doesn't gloss over Hitch's failings, but neither does he embellish or create false ones. Also of value is John Russell Taylor's "Hitch," which is far more truthful than Spoto's smear.)
"Spellbound by Beauty" repeats the same rubbish as "Dark Side," with its subject's life and work again filtered through Spoto's warped perspective. He describes Hitchcock as a miserable man filled with self-loathing, a cruel misogynist who verbally abused and sexually harassed his actresses. Once again, the apex of the book is the disputed "Marnie" incident that Spoto alleges represented the pinnacle of the director's repressed desire for his actresses. The source of this incident, in which Hitchcock is supposed to have sexually propositioned Tippi Hedren, is Hedren herself. There were no witnesses so we only have Tippi's word that this happened. It doesn't occur to Spoto to question the veracity of Hedren, whom he elevates to saintly status, because that wouldn't fit into his biased agenda.
(For a far more balanced view of what may or may not have happened, see Tony Lee Moral's "Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie," which exposes many of Spoto's inaccuracies and misstatements about the film's production.)
Spoto's tendency to maliciously interpret everything Hitchcock did and then support his theories with spurious psychiatric jargon is pure psychobabble. He even extends his pseudo-analysis of Hitchcock to his wife and daughter. He depicts a dysfunctional family, portraying Alma as a weak-willed wife whose lack of control over Hitch's mistreatment of women resulted in her "unwitting collusion" to his supposed abuse. Hedren, whose story seems to continually expand with the passing of time, reports that Alma apologized to her for her husband's abusive acts. But Alma is dead so she cannot dispute this. Spoto then describes daughter Patricia's relationship with her father as "tangled and problematic." Spoto nastily implies that Pat's devotion to her father since his death is not genuine but the result of the fact that she "inherited his millions."
(He is childishly punishing Patricia because she responded to "Dark Side" by saying that "Spoto took things and twisted them." For a truthful account of the warm and close relationships of the Hitchcocks, see Pat's "Alma Hitchcock: the Woman Behind the Man" and Charlotte Chandler's "It's Only a Movie," both of which indicate that Spoto not only twisted things but fabricated them.)
The dressing room incident can be interpreted many ways. One example: Prior to filming, it is reported that Grace Kelly is returning to Hollywood to star in "Marnie." But Grace has to withdraw and Hitchcock gives the role to Tippi, who resents being second choice. She knows that she lacks Grace's charisma and, when "The Birds" was released, was stung by critics' unfavorable comparisons of her with Kelly. Feeling inferior, her anger steadily increases during production. One day, Hitch visits her in her dressing room and jokingly engages in sexual banter, which he did with many actresses, most of whom joked along with him. But Tippi explodes with all of her pent-up rage and excoriates the director. After Hitch cancels her contract, offers for other films do not occur. Charles Chaplin sympathetically gives her a supporting role in "A Countess from Hong Kong" and this becomes her last appearance in a major movie as her career then deteriorates into minor roles in B movies and on television. Meanwhile, her bitterness toward Hitch, whom she blames for the collapse of her career, magnifies and looks for an outlet. Enter Spoto who, sensing a goldmine, embroiders her story and provides for her the fame that she never achieved as an actress.
(Grace Kelly's letter of regret to Hitchcock for not being able to star in "Marnie" is one example of the pleasant relationships Hitch had with his actresses; the letter and Hitch's cordial reply can be seen in Bill Krohn's book "Hitchcock at Work." Janet Leigh's "Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller" provides another example. Janet once referred to Hitch as "an adorable and mischievous teddy bear;" when asked her opinion of Spoto, her irate reply is unprintable.)
The above alternative interpretation of the "Marnie" incident has more credibility than the Spoto-Hedren account in view of the many words of respect and gratitude from - in addition to Grace Kelly and Janet Leigh - such Hitchcock actresses as Ingrid Bergman (who cherished his friendship for the rest of her life), Jane Wyman (who called him "a pussycat"), Joan Fontaine, Teresa Wright, Eva Marie Saint and many others.
Patrick McGilligan provides another more plausible explanation of Hedren's story. When Tippi told Joan Fontaine her version of the incident, Joan told her that it was Hitch's habit to tease his leading ladies by pretending to be a dirty old man but it was always in jest. Joan's correction to Tippi must have made Spoto furious. In "The Art of Alfred Hitchcock," he praised Joan in "Rebecca," for "an extraordinarily delicate and fragile performance that neither she nor we are likely to ever forget." Apparently he forgot, because in "Spellbound," he attacks her acting as inadequate and writes that her performance was "remarkably enhanced in the editing and dubbing rooms." Like a spiteful child, he peevishly reacted to Joan's truthful statement by unjustly castigating her for daring to provide an account of Hitch's actions that has more authority than his own.
Tony Lee Moral provides additionl clues which are useful in determining the truth. Spoto writes that, following Tippi's supoposed rejection of Hitchcock, he was furious and lost all interest in the movie. However, Tony quotes the film's star, Sean Connery, as saying: "I know that Hitch was intrigued by that blond Grace Kelly type of woman but I find it kind of sad to be looking for something like that against somebody as special as Hitch was." Pathetic might be a better word than sad to describe Spoto's obsession. Sean adds, "I adored and enjoyed working with Hitchcock tremendously. He never lost his patience or composure on the set. He certainly wasn't an emotional basket case." In all probability, the tension on the set after the incident and Hitchcock's distance from Tippi was due to her totally inappropriate reaction to Hitch's teasing, something a more experienced actress would never have done.
Spoto attempts to tarnish Hitchcock's genius by writing that his skill was a by-product of his tortured personality. He also tries whenever possible to deny Hitchcock's auteur status by transferring credit for his successes to others. He writes that the triumph of Hitchcock's films are due to "the number of extraordinarily talented women without whose courage, grace and patience we would not have some of the most deeply rewarding movies ever made." It is a wonder that he doesn't accompany this sentence with a drawing of Hitchcock twirling a handle-bar moustache while mercilessly whipping his actresses.
(Though film is a collaborative medium, numerous books attest to Hitchcock's extensive involvement in his films, from pre-production through filming and post-production. No matter how many talented people he worked with, his style and vision always predominated. Thus, Donald, he was an auteur. See "The Alfred Hitchcock Story," by Ken Mogg, "Hitchcock's Notebooks" by Dan Auiler, "Hitchcock -The Murderous...Read more›
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