Humor in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Autor/in	Novak, Glenn D.
Titel	Humor in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock.
Quelle	(1986), (16 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Auteurism; Film Criticism; Film Study; Films; Humor; Literary Styles; Media Research; Popular Culture + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Filmkurs; Film; Humoristische Darstellung; Literarischer Stil; Medienforschung; Popkultur
Abstract	Although usually considered the "master of suspense," Alfred Hitchcock relished working humor into his films, frequently juxtaposing it against scenes of utter gruesomeness. This placement of comic elements--comic relief--in an otherwise serious murder mystery or suspense thriller became a Hitchcock trademark early in his career. Hitchcock's humor generally appeared in four different ways: (1) the famous cameos of himself, designed as a brief amusement for the audience (he appeared in 36 out of 53 films); (2) humor derived from exaggeration, stereotyping, or caricature; (3) humor involving sexual innuendo; and (4) true "black" or macabre humor that results from the juxtaposition of the horrible or dangerous with the absurd or mundane. He treated the stereotypes of the staid, reserved Englishman and the vaguely villainous, culturally pretentious German in "The Man Who Knew Too Much," while "The Lady Vanishes,""The Thirty-Nine Steps," and "Rear Window" are all touched with the humor of sexual innuendo. The macabre appears in "Rear Window," in the guise of a discussion about dismembering a corpse, and in "The Trouble with Harry," in the guise of a corpse that will not stay buried. While it would be incorrect to state that Hitchcock's movies are comedies or that their popularity is due primarily to their comic elements, it is these humorous and outrageous scenes that help make his films distinctly "Hitchcock." (NKA)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC