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Justin L. Murphy is a self-published author of fiction and non-fiction. He’s also written The Original Night Stalker: Portrait of A Killer, and Joseph James DeAngelo: His Reign of Terror Is Over. Learn more about Justin and his books on his Amazon author page and Facebook.
Combining Two Different Genres
On Amazon Kindle, I recently released my latest book entitled Beyond the Master of Suspense: How True Crime Influenced The Films of Alfred Hitchcock. Many books were written on the legendary filmmaker and his career and often lumped in with either Filmmaking or Classic Film. Yet, according to my research, no one has written a book about him from the perspective of the real-life murders and crimes that inspired many of his movies.
Some people know that Ed Gein possibly inspiring the character of Norman Bates in Psycho. But there are others only known to diehard moviegoers and Hitchcock enthusiasts. Such as how the murders committed by Earle Nelson provided the idea for what became Shadow of a Doubt and the Leopold and Loeb case was the impetus for Rope, a Patrick Hamilton stage play which Hitchcock adapted as his first color film 1948.
Exploring topics from lesser-known angles is a huge benefit. In this case, it opens the work up to an entirely different genre. Unexpected surprises happen like that when one looks hard enough. Other instances of real-life murders inspiring Hitchcock films include Jack the Ripper providing the basis for his third film and first legit suspense thriller, The Lodger: A Story of The London Fog and The Siege of Sidney Street helping form his original version of The Man Who Knew Much, released in 1934. Both happened on The East End of London where Alfred Hitchcock himself was raised. Jack The Ripper and The Whitechapel Murders took place before he was born while the Siege happened when he attended elementary school. He possibly heard about these events from family, relatives, or neighbors, impacting his adulthood and filmmaking career for years to come.
He was also interested in a couple of physicians who committed murder. English native Dr. William Palmer, a nineteenth century surgeon, inspiring the Johnny Aysgarth character in Anthony Berkeley Cox’s novel Before the Fact, which Hitchcock adapted into Suspicion, starring Cary Grant.
Cox also wrote Malice Aforethought, inspired by early twentieth century American Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who immigrated to Great Britain before being found guilty and hanged for his crime. Hitchcock couldn’t make a go of a film adaptation of that book, but the real-life account stuck with him and provided bits of inspiration for Rear Window, Vertigo, and Dial M For Murder, as well as an episode of his classic TV Series Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Much has been written about how many of Hitchcocks films were based more directly on short stories, novels, and stage plays. Yet, in turn, these same sources derived their inspiration from the real-life murders. Then there was his father, who sent him to a police station with a note at five years old. Hitchcock then found himself placed in a room for five minutes with the admonishment, “This is what we do to naughty boys.” Also, as a boy, he reported to his mother’s bedside each night to discuss how his day went. However, the true crime influences don’t get enough credit.
The Wrong Man, culled almost entirely from an actual account, starred Henry Fonda as real-life musician Manny Balestrero, wrongly accused of robbing an insurance company in the 1950s. Alfred Hitchcock chose to film this movie in many of the actual locations where the events happened. In addition, he filmed in a more realistic documentary style with a subdued musical score.
This is why I implore writers to explore well known topics from lesser-known angles. One never knows what they might find, or the genre(s) an author may branch out into. When a path gets tired or stale, the scribe shouldn’t give up. Look at alternate paths to draw from to find new ideas for new works. It may turn out to be one of the best writing decisions a writer makes. After all, you never know, if you don’t try.
Serial Killers/True Crime, Book 3
Many have seen and studied the classic films of Alfred Hitchcock, but how many people are aware that many of these movies were inspired by real life murders? These cases range from his native England in the 1800s to 1950s America. Influencing his work from The Lodger, his third directorial effort and first true suspense thriller, all the way down to Frenzy, his next-to-last film.
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