Hitchcock's Blondes
Icy... and So Mesmerizing
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert once wrote that ALFRED HITCHCOCK's female characters "reflected the same qualities over and over again: They were blonde. They were icy and remote. They were imprisoned in costumes that subtly combined fashion with fetishism. They mesmerized the men, who often had physical or psychological handicaps."
Critics have hooted at Hitchcock's 'obsession' with cool blondes, which began in the 1940s and reached a climax with the troubled, secretive women of Psycho (1960) and Marnie(1964). Still, the director must have been on to something: three of his 'blonde' flicks were listed among the top 100 American movies of all time by the American Film Institute in 1998. Here's a look at the most famous of Hitchcock's Blondes.