April 29: The Master of Suspense

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is April 29th, and our story is The Master of Suspense. Alfred Hitchcock spent the better part of his life focused on death, and yet it took his own impending death to bring his life into focus. Born in England in 1899 to Catholic parents, Hitchcock went to Mass at the parish pastored by his cousin. He received a Catholic education, thanks to the Salians and Jesuits, and then began a career as a draftsman.

While working in advertising by day, Hitchcock dabbled in the mysterious and macabre, first writing stories for British magazines, but soon moving into the fledgling motion picture industry. Within five years, he was directing. Within five more, he'd become one of Britain's most popular filmmakers. Along the way, he married writer and editor Alma Reville, who converted to Catholicism upon their marriage. With Alma as his partner at work and home, which, after 1940, was California, Hitchcock established himself as one of the most influential directors of all time.

He was a pioneer in cinematic storytelling who made an art out of mystery and suspense. Through it all, the Catholicism of his youth crept into those stories, with religious imagery and themes, both subtly and not so subtly, woven into his greatest films. I confess, Vertigo, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Strangers on a Train, The Birds, and more.

Despite that intermingling of religion and art, Hitchcock's own understanding of the faith was riddled with doubt. He fell away from the church after the Second Vatican Council, and once turned down an audience with the Pope. He said he feared he'd be advised to include less sex and violence in his films.

In the last months of his life, however, the rift between Hitchcock and the church healed, and two Jesuits called at his home every Saturday to hear his confession and offer Mass. As one of those priests later recalled, Hitchcock quietly said his responses in Latin and cried after he received the Eucharist. Hitchcock died on April 29, 1980. His funeral mass took place at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.

Hitchcock reminds us that our work, talents, and vocation can reflect faith, even imperfectly, and that reconciliation and spiritual growth are always possible. Today, consider a gift or talent you can use to glorify God and reflect on areas where reconciliation or spiritual renewal may be needed. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, April 30th, for another story of faith and courage in America.