List of Hitchcock cameo appearances

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Thirty-seven of director Alfred Hitchcock's 53 surviving major films (the second is lost) contain a cameo appearance by Hitchcock himself. The director would be seen for a brief moment boarding a bus, crossing in front of a building, standing in an apartment across the courtyard, or even appearing in a newspaper photograph (required for the film Lifeboat which otherwise provided no other opportunity for him to appear). This playful gesture became one of Hitchcock's signatures and fans would make sport of trying to spot his cameos. As a recurring theme he would carry a musical instrument - especially memorable was the double bass case that he wrestles onto the train at the beginning of Strangers on a Train. In his earliest appearances he filled in as obscure extras, in a crowd or walking through a scene in a long camera shot. His later appearances became more prominent, such as when he turns to see Jane Wyman's disguise as she passes him in Stage Fright, and in stark silhouette in his final film Family Plot. His appearances became so popular that he began to make them earlier in his films, so as not to distract the audience from the plot.

Hitchcock indisputably appears in all 30 features from Rebecca (his first American film) onward; before his move to Hollywood, his appearances were sporadic.

Here is a list of Hitchcock's appearances, listed alphabetically by title:

Title	Hr:Min	Description
The 39 Steps	0:06	Tossing some litter while Robert Donat and Lucie Mannheim run from the theater.
The Birds	0:02	Leaving the pet shop with two white Sealyham terriers as Tippi Hedren enters.
Blackmail	0:11	Being bothered by a small boy as he reads a book in the subway.
Dial M for Murder	0:13	On the left side in the class-reunion photo.
Easy Virtue	0:15	Walking past a tennis court carrying a walking stick.
Family Plot	0:38	In silhouette through the door of the Registrar of Births and Deaths.
Foreign Correspondent	0:13	After Joel McCrea leaves his hotel, wearing a coat and hat and reading a newspaper.
Frenzy	0:03	In the center of a crowd, wearing a bowler hat; he is the only one not applauding the speaker.
I Confess	0:01	Crossing the top of a staircase.
The Lady Vanishes	1:30	In Victoria Station, wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette.
Lifeboat	0:25	In the "before" and "after" pictures in the newspaper ad for "Reduco Obesity Slayer".
The Lodger	0:03	At a desk in the newsroom.
	1:32	In the crowd watching an arrest.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)	0:31	Walking across the screen in a dark trench coat (back to the camera).
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)	0:25	Watching acrobats in the Moroccan marketplace (back to the camera).
Marnie	0:05	Entering from the left of the hotel corridor after Tippi Hedren passes by.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith	0:43	Passing Robert Montgomery in front of his building.
Murder!	1:00	Walking past the house where the murder was committed.
North by Northwest	0:02	Just missing a bus.
Notorious	1:00	At the big party in Claude Rains's mansion, drinking champagne and then quickly departing.
The Paradine Case	0:36	Leaving the train at Cumberland Station, carrying a cello.
Psycho	0:06	Through Janet Leigh's window as she returns to her office, wearing a cowboy hat.
Rear Window	0:25	Winding the clock in the songwriter's apartment.
Rebecca	2:03	Walking near the phone booth just after George Sanders makes a call.
Rope	0:00	A man crossing the street.
	0:55	His trademark can be seen briefly on a neon sign in the view from the apartment window.
Saboteur	1:00	Standing in front of Cut Rate Drugs as the saboteur's car stops.
Secret Agent	0:08	Coming down the ship's gangway in front of Ashenden.
Shadow of a Doubt	0:17	On the train to Santa Rosa, playing cards.
Spellbound	0:35	Coming out of an elevator at the Empire Hotel, carrying a violin case and smoking a cigarette.
Stage Fright	0:39	Turning to look back at Jane Wyman in her disguise as Marlene Dietrich's maid.
Strangers on a Train	0:10	Boarding a train with a double bass fiddle as Farley Granger gets off in his hometown.
Suspicion	0:46	Mailing a letter at the village postbox (long shot).
To Catch a Thief	0:10	Sitting to the left of Cary Grant on the bus.
Topaz	0:28	Being pushed in a wheelchair in the airport. Hitchcock gets up from the chair, shakes hands with a man, and walks off to the right.
Torn Curtain	0:08	Sitting in the Hotel d'Angleterre lobby with a blond baby.
The Trouble with Harry	0:25	Walking past the parked limousine of an old man who is looking at paintings.
Under Capricorn	0:04	In the town square during a parade, wearing a blue coat and brown hat.
	0:14	One of three men on the steps of Government House.
Vertigo	0:10	In a gray suit walking in the street.
The Wrong Man		Seen in silhouette narrating the film's prologue.
Young and Innocent	0:15	Outside the courthouse, holding a camera.

[edit] Trivia

• In The Simpsons fourth-season episode "A Streetcar Named Marge," Homer picks up Maggie from day care in a scene reminiscent of The Birds. As Homer leaves, an animated Hitchcock is seen outside walking a dog.

• Hitchcock's silhouette appears in the opening titles for The Pink Panther Strikes Again, although this is shown to be a cardboard cutout held by the animated Pink Panther.

[edit] See also

• List of directors who appear in their own films