
Magnum Opus Dissonance: Other Hitchcock films are better remembered today- Psycho, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Rear Window-but, as noted on the main page, Hitchcock considered this his favorite of his own works.His idea, called "Uncle Charlie," was based on the true story of Earle Leonard Nelson, a mass murderer of the 1920s known as "the Gorilla Man".
Inspiration for the Work: The project began when the head of David O Selznick's story department, Margaret McDonell, told Alfred Hitchcock that her husband Gordon had an interesting idea for a novel that she thought would make a good movie. Newton, played by Henry Travers (from England) and Patricia Collinge (from Ireland). It also meant that Travers was 18 years older than his onscreen wife Patricia Collinge. Henry Travers was 69, around two decades or so older than Mr. Teresa Wright, 25 at the time, as a recent high school graduate. Creator's Favorite Episode: Alfred Hitchcock named this as his favourite of all his films. Awesome, Dear Boy: Teresa Wright loved the plot outline Alfred Hitchcock gave her so much that she signed on without reading the script. As noted below, it was acclaimed by critics and considered Hitchcock's best film at the time - and still is by some to this day. Acclaimed Flop: The movie was a Box Office failure when it was released, only ranking at #81 for the year.