51 Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer
(Photo by Universal)
The latest: Netflix is now hosting a collection of classic Hitchcock films, including Vertigo, Rear Window, Frenzy, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Family Plot, and The Birds!
Watching the movies Alfred Hitchcock made over his five-decade career is not only a thrilling way to spend your free time, but doubles as a legitimate lesson in the history and development of cinema. As director, Hitchcock withstood every significant upheaval of the industry and, in fact, seemed to flourish with each transition. He started in the 1920s during the silent era (The Lodger), transitioned to sound when many of his peers and actors could not (The 39 Steps), and came to America at the height of Hollywood’s Golden Age (Best Picture-winning Rebecca). And yet Hitch was only just getting started. When color became the movie standard, he ascended to the Master of Suspense mantle that will become his enduring legacy. 1948’s Rope was his first color film, and what followed seemed an endless beloved parade of wrong men, guilty women, and nefarious murderous plots: Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, and on and on. Even as movies hardened in the ’70s after the collapse of the Hays Code, Hitchcock gleefully followed suit, concluding his career with sordid, cynical takes on his formula in Frenzy and Family Plot. Now, it’s time to dial F for Fresh as we look back with Alfred Hitchcock movies ranked by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
#1
Critics Consensus: Alfred Hitchcock's earliest classic -- and his own personal favorite -- deals its flesh-crawling thrills as deftly as its finely shaded characters.
Synopsis: Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) visits his relatives in Santa Rosa. He is a very charming man, but his niece slowly
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#2
Critics Consensus: Hitchcock exerted full potential of suspense in this masterpiece.
Synopsis: A newspaper photographer with a broken leg passes time recuperating by observing his neighbors through his window. He sees what
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#3
Critics Consensus: Hitchcock's first American film (and his only Best Picture winner), Rebecca is a masterpiece of haunting atmosphere, Gothic thrills, and gripping suspense.
Synopsis: Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the
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#4
Critics Consensus: A provocative premise and inventive set design lights the way for Hitchcock diabolically entertaining masterpiece.
Synopsis: In Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's thriller, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is enraged by his trampy wife's
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#5
Critics Consensus: One of Alfred Hitchcock's last British films, this glamorous thriller provides an early glimpse of the director at his most stylishly entertaining.
Synopsis: On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel
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#6
Critics Consensus: Gripping, suspenseful, and visually iconic, this late-period Hitchcock classic laid the groundwork for countless action thrillers to follow.
Synopsis: This classic suspense film finds New York City ad executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) pursued by ruthless spy Phillip
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#7
Critics Consensus: Infamous for its shower scene, but immortal for its contribution to the horror genre. Because Psycho was filmed with tact, grace, and art, Hitchcock didn't just create modern horror, he validated it.
Synopsis: Phoenix secretary Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away
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#8
Critics Consensus: Packed with twists and turns, this essential early Alfred Hitchcock feature hints at the dazzling heights he'd reach later in his career.
Synopsis: While on vacation in London, Canadian Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) becomes embroiled in an international spy ring related to the
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#9
Critics Consensus: Sublime direction from Hitchcock, and terrific central performances from Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant make this a bona-fide classic worthy of a re-visit.
Synopsis: In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of
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#10
Critics Consensus: Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent features a winning combination of international intrigue, comic relief, and some of the legendary director's most memorable set pieces.
Synopsis: Crime reporter John Jones (Joel McCrea) is turning in nothing but dull copy. His editor, unhappy with his work, hopes
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#11
Critics Consensus: Proving once again that build-up is the key to suspense, Alfred Hitchcock successfully turned birds into some of the most terrifying villains in horror history.
Synopsis: Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store and decides to follow him
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#12
Critics Consensus: An unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful meditation on love, loss, and human comfort.
Synopsis: Hitchcock's romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes
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#13
Critics Consensus: As formally audacious as it is narratively brilliant, Rope connects a powerful ensemble in service of a darkly satisfying crime thriller from a master of the genre.
Synopsis: Just before hosting a dinner party, Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) and Brandon Shaw (John Dall) strangle a mutual friend to
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#14
Critics Consensus: It may occasionally be guilty of coasting on pure charm, but To Catch a Thief has it in spades -- as well as a pair of perfectly matched stars in Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.
Synopsis: Notorious cat burglar John Robie (Cary Grant) has long since retired to tend vineyards on the French Riviera. When a
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#15
Critics Consensus: The Master of Suspense's swan song finds him aiming for pulpy thrills and hitting the target, delivering a twisty crime story with pleasurable bite.
Synopsis: Blanche (Barbara Harris), a less than reputable psychic, and her equally shady boyfriend, George (Bruce Dern), are hired by an
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#16
Critics Consensus: Marking Alfred Hitchcock's return to England and first foray into viscerally explicit carnage, Frenzy finds the master of horror regaining his grip on the audience's pulse -- and making their blood run cold.
Synopsis: London is held in the grip of a serial killer whose modus operandi is to murder his victims by strangling
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#17
Critics Consensus: Dial M for Murder may be slightly off-peak Hitchcock, but by any other standard, it's a sophisticated, chillingly sinister thriller -- and one that boasts an unforgettable performance from Grace Kelly to boot.
Synopsis: Ex-tennis pro Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) wants to have his wealthy wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), murdered so he can get
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#18
Critics Consensus: Remaking his own 1934 film, Hitchcock imbues The Man Who Knew Too Much with picturesque locales and international intrigue, and is helped by a brilliantly befuddled performance from James Stewart.
Synopsis: Dr. Ben McKenna (James Stewart) is on vacation with his wife (Doris Day) and son in Morocco when a chance
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#19
Critics Consensus: Spellbound's exploration of the subconscious could have benefitted from more analysis, but Alfred Hitchcock's psychedelic flourishes elevate this heady thriller along with Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck's star power.
Synopsis: When Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance
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#20
Critics Consensus: A coolly constructed mystery revolving around a character who's inscrutable to a fault, Marnie finds Hitchcock luring audiences deeper into the dark.
Synopsis: Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) is a customer of one Mr. Strutt, whose business was robbed by his secretary, the mysterious
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#21
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When normal guy Robert Tisdall (Derrick de Marney) discovers the body of actress Christine Clay (Pamela Carme) washed up on
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#22
Critics Consensus: Not even notorious studio meddling can diminish the craft and tantalizing suspense of Suspicion, a sly showcase for Joan Fontaine's nervy prowess and Alfred Hitchcock's flair for disquiet.
Synopsis: Charming scoundrel Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) woos wealthy but plain Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine), who runs away with him despite
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#23
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When a landlady (Marie Ault) and her husband (Arthur Chesney) take in a new lodger (Ivor Novello), they're overjoyed: He's
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#24
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Musician Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) needs money to pay for his wife Rose's (Vera Miles) dental procedure. When he tries
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#25
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A woman faces a crisis of conscience when her father insists that she marry a lawyer instead of her true
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#26
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The police think actor Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd) is a murderer, and now they're on his tail. He asserts that
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#27
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A ring of saboteurs is causing havoc in London with a series of explosive terrorist attacks. Karl Verloc (Oscar Homolka)
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#28
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A widowed British farmer (Jameson Thomas) enlists his housekeeper's (Lilian Hall-Davis) help to find a wife.
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#29
Critics Consensus: Hitchcock proves he can wring suspense from the most confined of settings aboard a raft teeming with vivid personalities in this maritime thriller.
Synopsis: In this tense Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a John Steinbeck novella, American and British civilians who have survived the
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#30
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Jack (Carl Brisson) is a carnival-employed boxer; patrons pay cash to take him on in the ring, and he earns
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#31
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: On a family vacation in Switzerland, Bob (Leslie Banks) and his wife, Jill (Edna Best), become friendly with a man
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#32
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Actress Edna Druce is found dead, and fellow thespian Diana Baring (Norah Baring) can't explanation why she's holding the murder
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#33
Critics Consensus: Amplified by a darkly irreverent tone, The Trouble With Harry finds Alfred Hitchcock masterfully balancing his trademark suspense with pitch-black laughs.
Synopsis: When a local man's corpse appears on a nearby hillside, no one is quite sure what happened to him. Many
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#34
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: During a date, Alice White (Anny Ondra) has a fight with her boyfriend, Scotland Yard Officer Frank Webber (John Longden),
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#35
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: British intelligence fakes the death of Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) to send him on a mission in Switzerland, where as
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#36
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A young man falls into the European underworld from boarding-school rugby stardom.
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#37
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Father Logan (Montgomery Clift) is a Catholic priest, but he finds his faith put to the test when he is
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#38
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Factory worker Barry Kane (Robert Cummings) is wrongfully accused of setting a deadly fire at an airplane plant in an
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#39
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Attorney Anthony Keane (Gregory Peck) agrees to represent Londonite Mrs. Paradine (Alida Valli), who has been fingered in her husband's
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#40
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Accountant Fred Hill (Henry Kendall) and his wife, Emily (Joan Barry), lead lives of tedious regimentation -- until a kindly
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#41
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In an empty London house, a hobo named Ben (Leon M. Lion) looks for shelter yet instead finds a corpse.
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#42
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When a Soviet official defects to the United States, he brings with him claims that Russia is using Cuba as
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#43
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An alcoholic's (Franklin Dyall) ex-wife (Isabel Jeans) falls in love with a younger man (Robin Irvine).
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#44
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: American physicist Michael Armstrong (Paul Newman) shocks his friends and family by defecting to East Germany to work with the
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#45
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When David Smith (Robert Montgomery) concedes to his wife, Ann (Carole Lombard), that he's not quite satisfied with their marriage,
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#46
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A millionaire (Gordon Harker) pretends bankruptcy to teach his daughter (Betty Balfour) responsibility.
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#47
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After the death of her mother, young Mary (Maureen O'Hara) travels to the Cornish coast seeking her Aunt Patience (Marie
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#48
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A lady (Ingrid Bergman) marries an upstart (Joseph Cotten) and turns alcoholic in 1830s Australia.
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#49
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Johann Strauss is inspired to compose a waltz after watching bakers toss rolls and mix batter.
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#50
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An English aristocrat's wife (Helen Haye) blackmails a progressive (Edmund Gwenn) over a land deal.
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#51
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A working-class Irish family experiences tragedy as they await a large inheritance. Based on Sean O'Casey's play.
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