Alma Lucy Reville, Lady Hitchcock (14 August 1899 – 6 July 1982) was an English screenwriter and film editor. She was the wife of film director

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

. She collaborated on scripts for her husband's films, including ''

Shadow of a Doubt ''Shadow of a Doubt'' is a 1943 American psychological thriller film noir directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an A ...

, Suspicion'', and ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...

'', as well as scripts for other directors, including

Henrik Galeen Henrik Galeen (7 January 1881 – 30 July 1949) was an Austrian-born actor, screenwriter and film director considered an influential figure in the development of German Expressionist cinema during the silent era. He wrote the screenplay for ''Nosf ...

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

, and Berthold Viertel.

Early life and career

Reville was born on 14 August 1899 in St. Ann's

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

(one day after her future husband), the second daughter of Matthew Edward and Lucy () Reville. The family moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

when Reville was young, as her father gained a job at

Twickenham Film Studios Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. Reville often visited her father at work and eventually obtained a job there as a tea girl. At 16, she was promoted to the position of cutter, which involved assisting directors in editing the motion pictures. Of editing, she wrote, "The art of cutting is Art indeed, with a capital A, and is of far greater importance than is generally acknowledged." She continued to work there as a scriptwriter and director's assistant. These roles enabled her to become involved in areas of film-making to which women would then rarely have access. Twickenham Film Studio, where Reville first worked, closed in 1919, but she was given a job at Paramount's Famous Players–Lasky, a subsidiary of the American company based in

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

, where she met her future husband,

. The same company gave him a job as a graphic designer before he became an art editor. The first film Reville worked on with Hitchcock was '' Woman to Woman'' (1923), with Reville as film editor, and Hitchcock as art director and assistant editor. As well as editing, writing and other production roles, Reville also appeared on screen making three film appearances: a lead role in ''

The Life Story of David Lloyd George ''The Life Story of David Lloyd George'' (originally titled ''The Man Who Saved The Empire'')The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog'' (1927) and ''

Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...

'' (1936).

Marriage and collaborations

Hitchcock and Reville married on 2 December 1926 at

Brompton Oratory Brompton Oratory, also known as the London Oratory, is a neo-classical late-Victorian Catholic parish church in the Brompton area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, neighbouring Knightsbridge, London. Its name stems from Oratorian ...

in London after Reville converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

from

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, apparently at the behest of Hitchcock's mother.Adair, Gene. ''Alfred Hitchcock: Filming Our Fears.'' Oxford University Press, 2002; Reville was baptized on 31 May 1927 and confirmed at

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, is the largest Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic church in England and Wales. The shrine is dedicated to the Blood of Jesus Ch ...

by Francis Cardinal Bourne on 5 June. In 1928, when they learned that she was

pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

, the Hitchcocks purchased "Winter's Grace", a Tudor farmhouse set in 11 acres (4.45 ha) on Stroud Lane, Shamley Green, Surrey, for £2,500. Their daughter and only child, Patricia Alma Hitchcock, was born on 7 July that year. Reville co-wrote '' The Ring'' (1927) – the first screenwriting credit she shared with Hitchcock – but worked with other directors as well. She co-wrote '' The Constant Nymph'' (1928), the first film adaptation of the best-selling novel '' The Constant Nymph'' (1924) by Margaret Kennedy, directed by

Adrian Brunel Adrian Brunel (4 September 1892 – 18 February 1958) was an English film director and screenwriter. Brunel's directorial career started in the Silent film, silent era, and reached its peak in the latter half of the 1920s. His surviving work fr ...

. In 1929, Reville co-wrote '' After the Verdict'', directed by

and '' A Romance of Seville'', directed by Norman Walker. In 1931 and 1932 she worked with directors such as

Harry Lachman Harry B. Lachman (June 29, 1886 – March 19, 1975) was an American artist, set designer, and film director. He was born in La Salle, Illinois on June 29, 1886. Lachman was educated at the University of Michigan before becoming a magazine and b ...

and

Basil Dean Basil Herbert Dean CBE (27 September 1888 – 22 April 1978) was an English actor, writer, producer and director in the theatre and in cinema. He founded the Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Repertory Company in 1911 and in the First World War, a ...

. In 1933, Hitchcock hired Joan Harrison as his assistant, and she assumed many of Reville's roles within his productions. She continued to work with some other directors, including

Phil Rosen Philip E. Rosen (May 8, 1888 – October 22, 1951) was an American film director and cinematographer. He directed more than 140 films between 1915 and 1949. He was born in Malbork, Marienburg, German Empire (now, Malbork, Poland), grew up ...

in 1934, Berthold Viertel in 1935 and Richard Wallace in 1945. Reville focused primarily on preparing and adapting her husband's scripts, including those for ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'', '' Foreign Correspondent'' (both 1940), '' Suspicion'' (1941) and '' Saboteur'' (1942). Reville worked with her husband on many more scripts in Hollywood. She collaborated with Joan Harrison on the script of ''Suspicion'', which was completed on 28 November 1940. They worked on it in the Hitchcocks' home in Bel Air, as Hitchcock preferred writing in a comfortable, intimate environment rather than an office. Reville had a keen ear for dialogue and an editor's sharp eye for scrutinising a film's final version for continuity flaws so minor they had escaped the notice of the director or the crew. It was Reville who noticed Janet Leigh inadvertently swallowing after her character's fatal encounter in '' Psycho'' (1960), necessitating an alteration to the negative. Reville was Hitchcock's closest collaborator and sounding board.

Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the ...

wrote in 1982: "The Hitchcock touch had four hands, and two were Alma's." When Hitchcock accepted the

AFI Life Achievement Award The AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the board of directors of the American Film Institute on February 26, 1973, to honor a single individual for their lifetime contribution to enriching American culture through motion pictures and ...

in 1979, he said he wanted to mention "four people who have given me the most affection, appreciation and encouragement, and constant collaboration. The first of the four is a film editor, the second is a scriptwriter, the third is the mother of my daughter, Pat, and the fourth is as fine a cook as ever performed miracles in a domestic kitchen. And their names are Alma Reville".

Death

Reville survived a bout of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. She died on 6 July 1982, at the age of 82, two years after her

husband A husband is a man involved in a marital relationship, commonly referred to as a spouse. The specific rights, responsibilities, and societal status attributed to a husband can vary significantly across different cultures and historical perio ...

. She was

cremated Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India, Nepal, and ...

and had her ashes scattered in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

In popular culture

Reville was portrayed by

Imelda Staunton Dame Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre pr ...

in '' The Girl'' (2012), and

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

in '' ''Hitchcock'''' (2012). Staunton was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

and a Primetime Emmy for her performance, while Mirren was nominated for

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

and SAG awards for her performance."Helen Mirren to Be Honored with the 2021 SAG Life Achievement Award"
''SAG Awards''. Retrieved 2022-06-07.

Legacy

In 1999, on the 100th anniversary of her birth, a plaque to Reville was unveiled in Nottingham, near the site of her birth, as part of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's "Centenary of Cinema" celebrations.

Selected filmography

Reville wrote or co-wrote many screenplays, including:

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

*
''Alma Reville: The Power Behind Hitchcock’s Throne'' at Brenton Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reville, Alma 1899 births 1982 deaths American Roman Catholics American women screenwriters Converts to Roman Catholicism from Protestantism English expatriates in the United States English Roman Catholics English film editors Mass media people from Nottingham Alfred Hitchcock Wives of knights American women film editors American film editors 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century English screenwriters 20th-century English businesspeople Women film pioneers British women film editors English women editors