The Figures of the Musician in Hitchcock’s Universe: A Discordant Crescendo

Abstract

This article questions Hitchcock’s predilection for instrumentalists. The four musicians studied here are either a symbol of harmony or linked to dissonance. On the one hand, The Lady Vanishes (1938) portrays Gilbert in the role of an offbeat and humorous clarinettist while Saboteur (1942) features a blind pianist-composer as the embodiment of euphony. On the other hand, the double bassist in The Wrong Man (1956), Manny, is associated with discord. In a more extreme way, in Rope (1948), the concert pianist and recognised murderer is synonymous with violent dissonances. The analysis of the selected movies demonstrates the impact of both the characters and the instruments on their narrative structure.