Alfred Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, east London, on 13 August 1899. Long before his name became associated with Hollywood, he had established himself as one of Britain’s leading film directors.

Hitchcock entered the British film industry in the early 1920s and worked in several production roles before directing. His first film as director, The Pleasure Garden, was made in 1925, with much of the production taking place in Germany and Italy.

His early films allowed him to develop subjects and methods that remained part of his work for decades. The Lodger, made in 1926, concerned a mysterious man suspected of being a serial killer. Hitchcock later regarded it as an important point in his development. It contained themes that repeatedly returned in his films, including suspicion, mistaken guilt and the threat of violence.

Hitchcock continued working in Britain as cinema moved from silent films to sound. Blackmail, released in 1929, was begun as a silent production before being made with sound.

By the mid-1930s, Hitchcock had become one of Britain’s best-known directors. The 39 Steps, released in 1935, combined suspense, comedy and the story of an innocent man pursued across Britain. The Lady Vanishes followed in 1938 and strengthened his international reputation.

Hitchcock moved to Hollywood at the end of the decade. The films that followed made him one of the world’s best-known directors. He developed many of his established subjects and methods during his work in British cinema.