The Dark Side of Genius cover art

The Dark Side of Genius

The Life of Alfred Hitchcock

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Dark Side of Genius

By: Donald Spoto
Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The story of the man who changed people’s relationships with their showers forever, thanks to Psycho, this is the classic, Edgar Award-winning biography of the enigmatic and intensely private Alfred Hitchcock. One of America’s greatest film directors, his suspenseful subject matter ranged from the dark drama of a man possibly trying to kill his wife, to the humorous problem of disposing of a body, to the ecological underpinnings of an attack by fowl fiends in a sleepy harbor town.

Acclaimed biographer Donald Spoto explores the roots of Hitchcock’s obsessions - with food, murder, and idealized love, among others - and traces the origins of his incomparable, bizarre genius, from his childhood and education to the golden years of his career. Based on interviews with his writers, actors, and longtime associates, and on exhaustive research, The Dark Side of Genius is the definitive biography of Alfred Hitchcock.

Donald Spoto is the author of more than 20 books, including best-selling biographies of Alfred Hitchcock, Tennessee Williams, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid Bergman, and Audrey Hepburn. He lives with his husband, Danish artist and school administrator Ole Flemming Larsen, near Copenhagen, Denmark.

©1983 Donald Spoto (P)1998 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV History & Criticism Celebrity Marriage Witty Biography Denmark

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock cover art
The Brothers Mankiewicz cover art
Phantom Lady cover art
American Prometheus cover art
Jane Fonda: The Actress in Her Time cover art
Cary Grant: The Making of a Hollywood Legend cover art
Sutton cover art
Shooting Columbo cover art
I Loved Her in the Movies cover art
Michael Curtiz cover art
The Girl cover art
The Winds of War cover art
Jessica Lange cover art
Killing England cover art
Wizard cover art
The Creation of Anne Boleyn cover art

Critic reviews

"The finest book about a filmmaker yet. Sensational in its revelations; at the same time, a biography of unassailable integrity. I could not put it down." (Gregory Peck)

"Absolutely compulsory reading." (New York Times Book Review)

"A vivid and perceptive portrait…. Knowledgeable and revealing." (Time)
All stars
Most relevant  
I am a fan of Alfred Hitchcock. I have watched many (most) of his films and I have read some other insights into his life. This book is the most detailed account of his life that I have read. As a consequence of its length, breadth and detail, it exposes many human flaws which may or may not be true. In hindsight, I would rather not have heard the assertions of his darker side, some of which may have reflected attitudes more prevalent in his era than they are now , or petty eccentricities given an uncharitable spin. So, if you are a film buff that would like lots more details of Hitchcock’s life and career then this is a good book for you. If you are a Hitchcock fan, then this might make you see him in a less favourable light because of some of his character flaws, so just keep watching his films and admire his genius.

A detailed biography of a flawed genius

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Quite a poorly produced audio book, the track skips every now and then and there are odd elongated pauses where there shouldn’t be. A few words and were mispronounced but otherwise was clearly read, the audible original series ‘the adventures of Alfred Hitchcock’ tells many of the same stories but is better read and produced.

Interesting but Not much new information

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is an amazing story, a look into the mind and films of one of the greatest directors ever. It is well written and researched, however, the presentation is awful!

The narrator had a good voice but, occasionally, he pauses in the middle sentences for over 3 seconds (I timed him). This is really annoying, leading you to believe a new paragraph is about to begin when the sentence hasn't been finished.

On a number occasions there seems to be sentences missing, the narrative jumping from the middle of one sentence into another and towards the end the narrator tells us it is 'cassette 7'

Really shoddy, which, given the content , is especially disappointing.

great story, terrible production values.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I agree completely with the other reviewer on the painfully long pauses between paragraphs, the audio errors - really, not acceptable Audible - and the unevenness of the narrative. I have read around 15 books on Hitchcock but this is one I can’t recommend. How many times were the references to Hitchcock’s view on icy blondes, in Hitchcock’s opinion cool and detached until aroused, repeated? Once was enough - it’s a well-known comment. And so on.

Quite unsatisfying

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I listened to the trial reading before buying this book, which I was really interested to have. The narrator sounded OK for that brief time but since then I have had to stop listening after enduring five chapters. I am obviously used to American pronunciations such as Birming-HAM and could cope with some of the mispronounced names but he is going to call AH's wife Awlmah for 23+ hours, whereas she is Alma. But there are hideous mispronunciations of ordinary words and ultimately one is just waiting for them to happen and this destroys any possible enjoyment. Very disappointing as it's obviously a most interesting book - shall have to read it in print!

Spoiled by narrator

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What disappointed you about The Dark Side of Genius?

Very disappointed in this audio book. The book itself, although it covers all of Hitchcock's life, and serves as a good introduction to his life and work, it is very pedestrian, mostly stating the matter of fact events in a straightforward time order.

What was most disappointing about Donald Spoto’s story?

It did not expand and explain Hitchcock's greatness - there was no excitement, no explanation of why he was a genius. Very pedestrian.

How could the performance have been better?

This is the main problem - the narration is dull, dull, dull. A dreadful, deep, mumbling, monotonous American drawl. Awful - no intonation, excitement, feeling.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment - was very excited to hear a good biography on Hitchcock.

Any additional comments?

Listen to the sample before you buy.

Deadly Dull Narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.