Chapter 5
Hello, Hollywood

There were already many British directors, writers, and actors in Hollywood when the Hitchcocks arrived in 1939. But Hitch preferred the company of Americans like his new movie star neighbors, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.

Hitch’s early days in Hollywood were focused on making his first American movie, Rebecca, starring Joan Fontaine and Lawrence Olivier.

CLARK GABLE
AND CAROLE LOMBARD

CLARK GABLE (1901–1960) WAS A LEADING MAN IN OVER SIXTY MOVIES FROM 1931 UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1960. PERHAPS KNOWN BEST FOR HIS ROLE AS RHETT BUTLER IN GONE WITH THE WIND, HIS FINAL LINE IN THAT FILM IS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS IN MOVIE HISTORY: “FRANKLY, MY DEAR, I DON’T GIVE A DAMN.”

CAROLE LOMBARD (1908–1942) WAS THE HIGHEST-PAID STAR IN HOLLYWOOD IN THE LATE 1930S. SHE WAS KNOWN FOR HER QUICK TIMING IN COMEDIC ROLES AND FAMOUS PRANKS.

GABLE AND LOMBARD STARRED IN A MOVIE TOGETHER IN 1932 AND WERE MARRIED IN 1939. IN 1942, CAROLE’S PLANE CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NEVADA. CLARK WAS NEVER QUITE THE SAME AFTER HER DEATH.

 

World War II was close to breaking out in Europe. Soon England, especially London, would be the target of German bomber planes. Hitch’s old friend and boss Michael Balcon called Hitch a “deserter” for leaving England, but the British government was grateful for artists like Hitchcock working in Hollywood. Even movies that weren’t about the war were often seen as promoting a brave British attitude.

Rebecca premiered in Hollywood in 1940. At the Academy Awards in 1941, Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director, and Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year. His first American movie had won the biggest prize of all—it hadn’t taken Hitch long to conquer Hollywood.

At age thirteen, Hitch’s daughter, Pat, was cast in a play on Broadway. The play was called Solitaire. Hitch and Alma were very proud of her success.

Alma went to New York for the play’s opening night, but Hitch had to stay in Hollywood and work. Pat didn’t mind. She said she would be more nervous with her father in the audience watching!

On September 26, 1942, Hitch’s elderly mother died. And only a few months later, his brother, William, died unexpectedly of heart failure. His sister had moved to South Africa. Now Hitch had no family left in England.

In many ways Hitchcock’s next movie, Shadow of a Doubt, was a tribute to his mother. Most of the mothers in Hitch’s films were a little bit scary, but the mother in this film is written with great affection. Hitchcock more than once said that Shadow of a Doubt was one of his favorite pictures. He loved the story of the typical American family in a typical small American town . . . with a little murder thrown in.