History of The Thriller Genre

History of the Thriller Genre

·      I thought it would be a good idea to research the history of the thriller genre, as it is interesting to see how the genre has progressed and changed over time, with new and upcoming film directors entering the movie scene all the time. One is these, is the renowned Alfred Hitchcock, born in August 1899 and died in April 1980. Hitchcock started off in the film industry by drawing the sets and was allegedly a very skilled artist. He was a master of pure cinema who almost never failed to reconcile aesthetics with the demands of the box-office.

1920’s – 1930’s:

·      1926 – Alfred Hitchcock released his third silent thriller called ‘The Lodger’ which was a Jack the Ripper story filled with suspense.

·      1929 – he released another film called ‘Blackmail’ which was not only the first sound thriller film but also the first sound film to be made in Britain.

·      1931 – the film ‘The Chilling German’ by Fritz Lang was released and stared Peter Lorre in his first ever film. The film was based on the life of a serial killer.

1940’s:

·      Hitchcock continued to direct more suspense thriller films. He released ‘Foreign Correspondent’ and ‘Rebecca’ (which became an Oscar-winning film)

·      1941 – Hitchcock released ‘suspicion’, which was about a woman who was in danger from her own husband. He also released his favorite out of all of them called ‘shadow of a doubt’, which was based on a true story about a serial killer.

·      1944 – Director George Cukor released two psychological thrillers; one called ‘Gaslight’, about a husband plotting to make his wife go insane to inherit her inheritance. The second film was called ‘film noir’ and consisted of a murder investigation.

1950’s:

·      In the 1950’s, Hitchcock released a few more thrillers which we the highest points of his career and he became a huge success. These films included:

1.     Strangers on a Train – 1951

2.     Dial M For Murder – 1954 (about a vicious husband plotting his wife’s death)

3.     Rear Window – 1954 (about a man, convinced that one of his neighbors is a murderer)

4.     To Catch a Thief – 1955

5.     Vertigo – 1958 (starring James Stewart who becomes obsessed with his old friend's disturbed wife)

6.     North By Northwest – 1958 (about someone who is being chased across the country)

·      Whilst Hitchcock was making a whole load of films and having great success, other directors such as Henry Hathaway and Charles Laughton released other thriller films.

·      1953 – Henry Hathaway released a film called ‘Niagara’ which starred Marilyn Monroe who played a character plotting to kill her husband.

1960’s:

·      1960 – Hitchcock released a disturbing thriller film called ‘psycho’, which left the audience at the edge of their seats. It was about a murderous motel owner.

·      Other psychopathic films released in 1960 involve ‘peeping tom’ by Michael Powell.

·      Cape fear was released in 1962 and starred Robert Mitchum. The film was directed by j. Lee Thompson.

·      Some spy films released in the 1960’s were:

1.     The Locress File

2.     Funeral in Berlin

3.     Billion Dollar Brain

4.     The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

5.     The deadly affair and

much more…..

1970’s:

·      After two decades of foreign films, Hitchcock released an English film called ‘Frenzy’ in 1972 and it was a brilliant start to the thriller genre of 1970. The film was shocking and violent and had high certificate ratings everywhere it was shown.

·      The film ‘duel’ was released in 1971 and directed by Steven Spielberg. It was a low-budget film.

1980’s:

·      The novel ‘the oysterman weekend’ by Robert Ludlum was made into a film in 1983 and was directed by Sam Peckinpahas one of his last films to direct.

1990’s:

·      More thriller films about obsessions were released in this decade, such as ‘unlawful entry’, ‘single white female’.

·      Other than obsession type thriller films that were becoming popular within the thriller industry, other themes such as FBI agents and detectives tracking down serial killers.

Present Day:

·      Until this very day, thriller films remain much the same. Thriller films have shared ideas and themes and have similar elements within them. However, in the recent thrillers that have been made, directors try to maintain an aspect of individuality by making them stand out from the rest for example, ‘the dark knight’ directed by Christopher Nolan is so renowned and successful because its storyline is unique and different, as well as amazing tension, suspense and graphics.  In most films, they do this by adding more gore, horror, violence, blood and brutal behavior. Thrillers used to be a lot more psychological but have now started to have horror aspects within them.