The inimitable, haunting films of Alfred Hitchcock took place in settings, both exterior and interior, that deeply impacted our experiences of his most unforgettable works. From the enclosed spaces of Rope and Rear Window to the wide-open expanses of North by Northwest, the physical worlds inhabited by desperate characters are a crucial element in our perception of the Hitchcockian universe. As Christine Madrid French reveals in this original and indispensable book, Hitchcock’s relation to the built world was informed by an intense engagement with location and architectural form—in an era marked by modernism’s advance—fueled by some of the most creative midcentury designers in film.
Christine Madrid French is a historian, author, screenwriter, and advocate for the study and preservation of American buildings. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and is a graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Virginia. Christine is the Director of Development at the California Preservation Foundation and has raised more than $2.5 million for non-profit causes in art and architecture. At the University of Florida, Christine taught courses at the College of Design, Construction and Planning and researched and co-directed the first statewide survey “Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Florida (1945-75),” which was awarded a Documentation Award for Excellence by Docomomo-US, a national advocacy organization. Her book “Architecture of Suspense: The Built World in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock,” focusing on the real-world histories of cinematic structures, will be released in September 2022 by the University of Virginia Press.
