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Talent of the century Alfred Hitchcock’s settings and effects still shape the thriller today. Today, hardly anyone knows where he shot his first two films.
Alfred Hitchcock spoke fluent German – and that because he took his first steps in the film industry Bayern made. As a young assistant director on “The Princess and the Violinist” in 1925, he watched director FW Murnau work on “The Last Man” in the neighboring studio on the Babelsberg Ufa site in Potsdam. A year later, Hitchcock filmed “Maze of Passion” and “The Mountain Eagle” in Munich. These were his first films as a director.
During his many stays in Munich, Alfred Hitchcock also attended the Oktoberfest. © Keystone/Imago
Alfred Hitchcock’s directorial debut took place in Munich
His directorial debut “Maze of Passion” was made in the so-called Geiselgasteig – today: Bavaria Film Studios in Grünwald and in Italy. He stayed in Munich for the drama “The Mountain Eagle,” which was shot afterwards; the Brit only moved to nearby Tyrol for the snowy exterior shots. It is the only film from Hitchcock’s entire oeuvre of which there are no longer any copies – it is considered lost. The director took his first professional steps in Munich. The director particularly liked it the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, The thriller icon stayed here during each of his many stays in Munich.
Hitchcock made it a point to speak German
It was only after his first two films had been shot and the director had his first successes that people in his native England considered him experienced enough to direct them themselves. No wonder then that the creator of the… Thriller-Cinemas in Germany were still well remembered even in old age. Until his death in 1980, he made a point of conducting interviews and TV discussions in German.
