Buzz
Even iconic filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock faced setbacks. Throughout his celebrated career, Hitchcock was forced to shelve numerous projects due to budget constraints, conflicts with actors, studio interference, or his own realization that the film wouldn’t meet his creative expectations.
To honor what would have been the 117th birthday of the Master of Suspense, we explore some of his abandoned ideas, including a project so disliked by studio executives that they compelled Hitchcock to sign an agreement vowing never to pursue it.
1. NUMBER 13
This 1922 silent film for Gainsborough Pictures was intended to mark Hitchcock's first venture into directing. Starring Clare Greet and Ernest Thesiger, the screenplay was penned by a studio employee who had previously collaborated with Charlie Chaplin. Hitchcock managed to shoot only a handful of scenes before financial issues halted production. Both the script and the footage have since vanished, with speculation that the studio destroyed the film to reclaim its silver nitrate. Hitchcock himself later dismissed the project, remarking, "It wasn't very good, really."
2. NO BAIL FOR THE JUDGE
In early 1959, Hitchcock began adapting Henry Cecil's novel, planning to cast Audrey Hepburn in the lead role. However, Hepburn withdrew from the project on May 19th, citing personal reasons, including her recent childbirth and discomfort with a rape scene in the script. Her departure effectively ended the project, leaving Hitchcock frustrated. Despite this setback, he channeled his energy into creating the iconic film Psycho.
3. THE BLIND MAN
In 1960, Hitchcock teamed up with acclaimed screenwriter Ernest Lehman to develop The Blind Man, a story about a blind pianist who gains sight through a transplant from a murder victim. Hitchcock envisioned Jimmy Stewart in the lead role and planned a pivotal scene at Disneyland. However, Walt Disney, who despised Hitchcock's Psycho, refused to grant permission for filming at the park. This rejection ultimately led to the project's demise.
4. HAMLET
During the late 1940s, Hitchcock conceived an unconventional plan to adapt Hamlet into a contemporary psychological drama set in England, with Cary Grant as the lead. However, the project faced legal challenges after Transatlantic, Hitchcock's studio, announced it. A professor who had penned a modernized version of Shakespeare's play threatened to sue, bringing the idea to a halt.
5. FLAMINGO FEATHER
In 1956, Hitchcock acquired the rights to Flamingo Feather, a story by South African author Laurens van der Post, which revolved around a Russian plot to manipulate South Africans for Communist agendas. However, during a location scouting trip to South Africa, the project unraveled. Hitchcock envisioned Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in lead roles, which would be costly, and required 50,000 African extras. The terrain didn't meet his expectations, and the logistical challenge of assembling such a large cast in a farming-dominated society proved insurmountable. Hitchcock later admitted, "It was all so confusing that I dropped the whole idea."
6. MARY ROSE
In the later stages of his career, Hitchcock often cited Mary Rose, a 1964 project that never materialized, as one of his greatest professional regrets. In his extensive interview with François Truffaut, Hitchcock likened the story to "a science fiction tale," describing a woman who hears otherworldly voices and disappears at mysterious intervals.
Hitchcock invested significant effort into Mary Rose, meticulously planning lighting techniques and even urging Truffaut to take on the project. However, the film's supernatural themes were rejected by studio executives. Hitchcock later disclosed, "It's explicitly stated in my current contract that I cannot produce Mary Rose." Despite having creative freedom, he was barred from this project as long as he adhered to a $3 million budget cap.
7. R.R.R.R.
In 1965, Hitchcock collaborated with Italian screenwriters Age and Scarpelli, known for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, to develop a script about an Italian immigrant who achieves success in the hotel industry and brings his Sicilian family to America. Unaware of their criminal tendencies, the hotelier's relatives attempt to steal a rare coin collection from the hotel. The title derives from numismatic terminology. Hitchcock later explained to Truffaut, "I abandoned the project because it lacked structure. Italians tend to be disorganized in storytelling, often meandering without focus."
8. THE THREE HOSTAGES
The Three Hostages was one of Hitchcock's unrealized projects following Marnie. Based on John Buchan's 1924 novel, the story revolves around a government's plan to dismantle a criminal gang by a specific date. In retaliation, the gang kidnaps three children to regain control.
Hitchcock initially announced the project but ultimately abandoned it due to challenges in securing the rights and concerns about the script's reliance on hypnotism. He later remarked, "Hypnotism on screen feels too detached from the audience's reality to be believable."
9. KALEIDOSCOPE/FRENZY
In 1969, Hitchcock aimed to revive his career with Kaleidoscope (also known as Frenzy), a dark story about a charming serial killer targeting women. Inspired by real-life British crimes, the script included disturbing elements like necrophilia and acid baths for body disposal. Hitchcock envisioned it as a prequel to his 1943 classic Shadow of a Doubt.
Hitchcock filmed an hour of test footage, but Universal rejected the project, fearing audiences wouldn't embrace a film centered on a serial killer. Despite his frustration, Hitchcock reused some ideas and the title for his 1972 film Frenzy, which became one of his final masterpieces despite its lackluster cast.
10. THE SHORT NIGHT
Hitchcock's last project before his passing in 1980 was The Short Night, a spy thriller adapted from Ronald Kirkbride's novel and set in Finland. He considered casting Walter Matthau, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Catherine Deneuve, and Liv Ullmann for key roles. However, Universal halted the project in 1979 due to Hitchcock's declining health.
11. GREENMANTLE
After the success of his adaptation of John Buchan's The Thirty-Nine Steps, Hitchcock aimed to adapt another Buchan novel, Greenmantle. He envisioned Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman as the leads, but the Buchan estate's high demands for rights derailed the project. Hitchcock later achieved his dream pairing in the 1946 film Notorious.
12. THE BRAMBLE BUSH
In 1951, Hitchcock worked on adapting David Duncan's novel into a screenplay. The plot followed a Communist fugitive who steals a murder suspect's passport while evading authorities. Dissatisfied with the outcome, Hitchcock deemed the project "not good enough" and shifted his focus to Warner Bros.' newly acquired Broadway hit, Dial M for Murder.
13. THE WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE
Hitchcock long desired to collaborate with Gary Cooper. After Cooper declined the lead in Foreign Correspondent due to its thriller genre, Hitchcock found another opportunity in 1959 when MGM secured the rights to The Wreck of the Mary Deare. The film was intended to star Cooper, but the project never materialized.
Hitchcock and Ernest Lehman spent weeks developing the script for The Wreck of the Mary Deare but concluded that the story devolved into a dull courtroom drama. They abandoned the project and redirected their efforts toward planning North by Northwest.
