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Laurie's Classic Movies Blog

By Laurie Boeder, About.com Guide to Classic Movies

Hitchcock in Drag?

Wednesday August 20, 2008

I hesitated to write about this, since I don't really know the answer, but I guess even the question is fun.

Did Alfred Hitchcock make one of his famous cameos in drag in North by Northwest? Check out this frame grab in London's Telegraph. The idea has gotten some media traction in Britian and India, less so on this side of the pond.

I've seen the film many, many times, and it crossed my mind years ago that she did look a bit like the Master of Suspense, but I thought she looked much smaller. Of course, Hitchcock's quirky, dark humor and fascination with homosexual subtext has been much discussed, and there's more than one story of his dressing in drag to amuse party guests. Still, I think we'd have heard about this by now if it were true. Maybe it's J. Edgar Hoover.

Most commenters seem to think it's Jesslyn Fax, a character actreess who had a long career in TV and movies, and a role Hitchcock's Rear Window. I'll leave it to smarter people with better eyes, facts and/or technical equipment to figure it out. Meanwhile, the actual movie always bears repeat viewings!

Comments

August 21, 2008 at 3:06 am
(1) Dave Pattern says:

Hey Laurie

Here’s the page the Telegraph lifted the picture from: Hitchcock’s Secret Cameo

I really would love it to be Hitch, but it’s almost certainly Jesslyn Fax.

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