(1899–1980)
an English film director best known for his thrillers (= exciting films with a complicated story) and horror films. Following success with films such as The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935) and The Lady Vanishes (1938) he moved in 1940 to the US, where his films included North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1963) and The Birds (1963). Hitchcock often appeared briefly in his own films. He was made a knight in 1980.