Over just six years, from 1954 to 1960, Alfred Hitchcock made four movies -- Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960) -- that are routinely mentioned among the very best movies ever made. It's maybe an unparalleled run in the history of cinema.

And that's just those four movies. Hitchcock's filmography is full of classics: Notorious (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), The 39 Steps (1935), The Wrong Man (1956), The Birds (1963). The list goes on.

At the same time, Hitchcock's relationship with his actors has been the subject of much discussion and debate for many decades. He's said to have thought of them as "cattle" and "animated props." He's said to have sexually harassed at least one of them.

At the same time as that, Hitchcock's films earned eight of his actors nine Academy Award nominations and produced many more all-time-great screen performances, from Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940) to Tippi Hedren in Marnie (1964) and many others.

This hour: a look at the work of Alfred Hitchcock... and his actors.

GUESTS:

• Tom Breen - Managing editor of the New Haven Independent and the host of Deep Focus on WNHH radio
• Dan Callahan - Author of The Camera Lies: Acting for Hitchcock

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 3, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.