Suspense is like a woman. The more left to the imagination, the more the excitement. ... The conventional big-boomed blonde is not mysterious. And what could be more obvious than the old black velvet and pearls type? The perfect ‘woman of mystery’ is one who is blonde, subtle and Nordic. ... Although I do not profess to be an authority on women, I fear that the perfect title [for a movie], like the perfect woman is difficult to find.

— Alfred Hitchcock

Television has brought back murder into the home - where it belongs.

— Alfred Hitchcock

Television is like the invention of indoor plumbing. It didn't change people's habits. It just kept them inside the house.

— Alfred Hitchcock

The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.

— Alfred Hitchcock

The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them.

— Alfred Hitchcock

The paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace the hardcover book -- it makes a very poor doorstop.

— Alfred Hitchcock

The picture's over. Now I have to go and put it on film.

— Alfred Hitchcock

There is a distinct difference between "suspense" and "surprise," and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. I'll explain what I mean. We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let's suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, "Boom!" There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the decor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions, the same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene. The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: "You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!" In the first case we have given the public fifteen seconds of surprise at the moment of the explosion. In the second we have provided them with fifteen minutes of suspense. The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story.

— Alfred Hitchcock

Twenty to life, she got, with time off for good behavior. You come around next spring. I'll introduce you.

— Alfred Hitchcock

We seem to have a compulsion these days to bury time capsules in order to give those people living in the next century or so some idea of what we are like.

— Alfred Hitchcock