Los Angeles Times (29/Dec/1955) - Hitchcock Gets Chuckle Out of Disappearance
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- article: Hitchcock Gets Chuckle Out of Disappearance
- newspaper: Los Angeles Times (29/Dec/1955)
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Paramount Pictures
Article
Hitchcock Gets Chuckle Out of Disappearance
Alfred Hitchcock, more amused than disturbed that he had been reported missing in the Orient, was home from his world-girdling tour yesterday full of the sights and sounds of the Far East.
The movie-maker sat benign as a Buddha behind a great desk at Paramount studio
and discussed his trip with reporters. The discussion developed more into an exhibition of the famed Hitchcock wit than anything else.
Of his reported disappearance last Dec. 4 — "The plane was some 22 hours late when we landed at Bangkok and when we developed engine trouble there we sat all night in the plane. We couldn't leave because we'd have to go through customs and there's nothing quite like British customs.
Singapore Stop Canceled
"I knew we were overdue in Singapore but I had no way to send a message. Finally, we were so late we had to cancel the Singapore stop."
Hitchcock left here two months ago on "a sort of public relations mission" on behalf of American films being shown abroad.
Hitchcock said the demand for American pictures in the Orient is enormous, particularly in Japan. In India, however, the philosophy of non-belligerence extends to the movies.
"I was asked, for instance, if I approved of killings and murders in pictures, and I answered: 'My dear sir, if I didn't I'd be out of business,'" he said. "But in their pictures you see this philosophy of the neutralist."
Hero Bows Out
"A man tried to take the hero's girl in an Indian picture I saw — and when the time came to fight, the hero simply bowed out and let him take her. I understand neutrality but I don't think it should extend to your girl."
In Thailand, Hitchcock said, instead of dubbing translations into pictures or printing subtitles, "they hire a man to stand before the screen and tell you what the picture is all about, acting out all the roles. Quite often these men, called chanters, are billed above the name of the star of the picture."
Asked if movie house admissions are cheaper abroad, Hitchcock said: "I had no yen to find out."
Plans More Movies
He also talked quite a bit about his current projects, both in television and motion pictures, saying that he plans to make two movies next year and continue with his TV work. A young reporter said she had noticed a great "concentration on sex" in the more recent Hitchcock pictures.
"Concentration on sex?" he said. "That, my dear lady, is but a regretful look at my own past."
