Jerry Adler, the production coordinator on Alfred Hitchcock Presents was asked by Hitchcock in October 1961 to find ‘The Girl’ he saw in the ‘Sego’ television commercial and bring her to meet Hitch. Now for the first time he tells the true story – and it’s very different to how it’s shown in HBO’s The Girl. Mr Adler was interviewed on August 27^th, 2013 in Los Angeles, California:

“Hitch called me one morning, and said I’ve seen this girl in a TV commercial, I’d like you to find her. So I called over to my agency people, I found her and called her, I guess it was a Thursday. I said there’s a producer who’s interested in you, do you have a reel? She brought her portfolio over on Friday morning on the Universal lot, so she knew I was for real, and I wasn’t working in some little storefront somewhere.

I sent the reel over to Hitch at Paramount. He called me first thing on Monday morning and said take her over to see his agent Herman Citron at MCA, because I think I’m going to sign this girl. I thought, him with the blonde actresses, Vera Miles, Grace Kelly, he’s going to make another star out of a blonde. The Svengali. Whatever it was, I didn’t reveal anything to her until we walked into Herman’s office. He was on the phone talking about Shirley MacLaine. The first thing Herman said when he got off the phone to her was “Well, You’ve impressed Mr. Hitchcock.”

I drove her over to Paramount where I introduced her to Hitch. We had lunch in his office.  I doubt it very much it was like what was shown in the HBO movie. I think Peggy (Robertson) was in the room, I remember there was some conversation about Edith Head doing her costume. I highly doubt the conversation was like what we saw in that movie. I don’t believe a word of it and I was there the whole time. He’s too classy a guy to say something like that then (ie; dirty limericks). Never would have that man have that kind of suggestive conversation.  I don’t think Hitch looked at this girl in the Sego commercial and said I want to sleep with her, it doesn’t make sense in any shape or form.

Subsequently I don’t think she was much of an actress. If she had something it would have overshadowed what was going on and made her in demand.”

Stories change with time and memory. In an interview from 2nd April 1963, while promoting The Birds in her home town of Minneapolis, the leading lady describes filming of the attic bird attack: “Mr. Hitchcock hated the scene and the set. He was scared. And he really hates to be scared, poor man, much as he enjoys scaring other people. He wouldn’t come onto the set until they had everything completely ready. Then he’d come, stay only long enough for them to make the shot, and then leave immediately.” Just how different is this from the scene in The Girl?

In anticipation of his re-released book Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock, John Russell Taylor, Hitch’s official biographer compares the recent spate of Hitchcock biopics. While he finds “Hitchcock” the movie with Anthony Hopkins, “incomparably the more accurate and believable of the two films”, Taylor calls The Girl “a tissue of melodramatic invention” and “arrant nonsense” and questions how the “story seems to change exponentially” of those involved.

Great entertainers, says Taylor, never die, and Hitch was one of the greatest. You can read the entire article here:

Alfred Hitchcock: Fact and Fiction by John Russell Taylor

The Emmy Nominations have been announced and highly criticised Hitchcock drama “The Girl” failed to be nominated in the Best TV Movie or Miniseries category. Sienna Miller was also snubbed failing to pick up a nomination for her portrayal in the Best Actress category. Leading the nominations are “American Horror Story” with 17, “Game of Thrones” with 16 and “Behind the Candelabra” with 15 nominations. Michael Douglas is tipped to win over Toby Jones in the Best Actor category for a TV or Miniseries for his superb portrayal of Liberace.

At the BAFTA awards in London, Hitchcock drama The Girl lost out in every category – Best Single Drama, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Toby Jones and Sienna Miller joined the stars on the red carpet in the rain, only to lose out to Ben Wishaw for his stunning portrayal of Richard II and Sheridan Smith for her role in Mrs Biggs. The television drama, a joint production between the BBC and HBO, has been mired in controversy ever since its release last autumn. Associates close to Hitchcock, including cast and crew, have angrily defended the director, saying that the drama was one-sided and inaccurate in its portrayal. Although being nominated 8 times, The Girl only won an award for production design.

The Girl is nominated for 4 Baftas at this weekend’s TV awards. Here are 10 good reasons why we think it shouldn’t win.

1. Crew members from The Birds and Marnie who were interviewed for the TV drama, Rita Riggs and Jim Brown’s widow, deny the sensationalist portrayal of Hitchcock. Other crew members who were not interviewed – Virginia Darcy, Lois Thurman, Hilton Green and actress Louise Latham – have also spoken out against the drama.
2. The film has deeply upset the Hitchcock family, including grandchildren and great grandchildren, who have chosen to remain silent instead of justifying the movie with a response.
3. Scenes suggest that Hitchcock put his leading lady in physical jeopardy, while the production records show that all due care was taken on the set, for both cast members and the trained birds. The American Humane Association was on set all the time when birds were used.
4. The depiction of the telephone booth and attic filming is contradicted by the production archives at the Margaret Herrick Library and also on-set witnesses Virginia Darcy, Rita Riggs and Lois Thurman.
5. Production was not shut down after the infamous filming of the bird attack in the attic. Co-star Veronica Cartwright confirms that they carried on filming while the leading lady recovered. Production records also show that the movie’s secretary Suzanne Gauthier reported she wasn’t harmed but needed three work days of rest, returning on Thursday 7th June 1962 to film the sand dune scene.
6. Hitchcock producer Norman Lloyd called the TV movie ‘basically bullshit’ to Variety magazine – here speaks the wisdom of a 98 year old.
7. The script is one-sided masquerading as objective truth. There is no mention of Noel Marshall, who the leading lady was engaged to at the time, which was a major reason for Hitchcock being upset, leading to the famous falling out.
8. Star Kim Novak has publicly defended Hitchcock: “I never saw him make a pass at anybody or act strange to anybody. And wouldn’t you think if he was that way, I would’ve seen it or at least seen him with somebody? I think it’s unfortunate when someone’s no longer around and can’t defend themselves.”
9. Hitchcock never raped or intentionally injured anyone – unlike some other directors. He lived his life in fantasy which is reflected in his movies. Vertigo has been named the Number 1 film of all time.
10. “Hitch was in fact a wonderful human being as well as a master filmmaker,” says Norman Lloyd. “He deserves to be remembered that way.”

Reviewed in this month’s TOTAL FILM and EMPIRE FILM Magazines

AND COMING SOON

Helen Colvig, Psycho’s costumer designer, who also went on to design the costumes for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was interviewed on Monday 3rd December 2012 in Los Angeles:

“Of all the directors I worked with, I think Hitchcock is the one that people ask about the most. He didn’t have many failures. Vertigo didn’t do as well, but it was a heck of a good film.

He probably had it all figured out in his mind, so when he came on the set, he was as calm as could be and said roll them. Of course he gave directions, he was very relaxed about it. He didn’t lose his temper, he said cut, he didn’t scream.

Was the opening scene shocking? Was it ever. You see everything now, but it was risqué then. I thought it was shocking. That’s what Hitch was going for, a shocker. Mr. Hitchcock wasn’t really fond of Mr. Gavin. Mr. Hitchcock said, it doesn’t matter, he’s not going to be in the picture much, so he dropped him into shadow.

He allowed Anthony Perkins to bring his own sweater to wear in the movie, which was dark red, it was good for the location and the season. They worked well together. Perfect casting, he was a little quirky in real life, and his strangeness came through. I think Hitchcock knew he was gay, I realized people started to refer to him that way after the movie, I don’t think he wanted to come out of the closet, he just was.

Hitchcock wanted it to make Psycho look so people were familiar with, clothing, underclothing, suitcasing, so everyone recognizes that, it lulled you in, so that when you got to the stabbing scene it will blow you away. He wanted Janet Leigh to wear an Olga bra which would be familiar with women everywhere. Janet Leigh’s dress fabric was a very light wool, so it doesn’t wrinkle that much, so its going to look the same, scene after scene, you want it to look similar.

Vera Miles wasn’t up there attractive as Janet in the film, her character would never have done what Janet did, ie stolen the money. It’s possible that Hitchcock made her dowdy but I was never aware of it. Vera was one of the loveliest ladies, very quiet and professional.

I dressed ‘Mother’ and made twelve different dresses for her in various sizes. That was a lot of fun to do.

In my interview with him, Mr. Hitchcock told me what he expected from each character and how it should look. He said some shocking things, he’s been and seen everything. He likes to share. I did like him, first of all comes respect, if you respect someone, then comes like.

I liked his directness, his way of explaining things to you, was very detailed and precise. He had his own ideas which was going to be followed and those weren’t compromised.”

Unfortunately Vera Miles, star of The Wrong Man and Psycho, doesn’t give interviews today, but an archive interview from 1982 shows that she only has fond memories of working with Hitchcock:

“There was a great deal of respect between Hitchcock and me. .He expected people to be good and never rehearsed them at all. When you signed a contract with Hitchcock it stipulated the number of hours a day you would work.

And as for playing casting couch in the role, I’d have told him to go to hell. Neither of us had time for that kind of thing.” You can read the entire article here:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19830625&id=i-0vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=su4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7155,4717710

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