The Hitchcock Gays
In this limited series, Spencer Robelen investigates queer themes and gay characters in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. But in doing so, he also rediscovers the origins of his own queerness, including his hilarious obsession with Hitchcock movies as a kid. Part memoir, part film club, this podcast is the gay movie scavenger hunt you never knew you needed.
Episodes
This episode contains spoilers for the films Murder! and Psycho.
The "mama's boy" and "domineering mother" tropes reach a terrifying zenith in Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock's game-changing masterpiece from 1960. In this episode, we examine the gay iconography of actor Anthony Perkins, Hitchcock's surprising relationship with drag, and that time my childhood friends gifted me a homemade Hitchcock movie. Murder!, Hitchcock's British whodu...
As we prepare for the "second act" of The Hitchcock Gays, Spencer takes you behind the scenes to share some books that were integral to the research of this series. Also, a big shout-out to our Patreon subscribers!
Book Recommendations
The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light
Shoshana Greenberg returns the favor and hosts me on her podcast, Scene to Song! We discuss musicals, Episode 5 of The Hitchcock Gays (plus all the topics I neglected to include in it), and things we're looking forward to in the theatre world.
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Scene to Song Episode 116: Musical Theater in the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
Originally aired December 9, 2024
In this episode, composer, lyricist, and playwright Spencer Robelen discusses m...
Like Dial "M" for Murder, we're going to take a short intermission. You may not hear from me for a few weeks, but know that I am working on the last few episodes of the series.
I also want to share a warning with all of you as we head into 2025.
Credits
Written, produced, and hosted by Spencer Robelen.
Artwork by Skye Stoyer.
Follow The Hitchcock Gays on Instagram and X.
Support the show on Spencer Robelen's Patreon!
Contact us at ...
Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (1945) is a movie that everyone enjoys but can't seem to remember—which is ironic considering that it's about amnesia. Musical threatre writer and podcaster Shoshana Greenberg shows us how this convoluted psychological-thriller is actually a touching, feminist romance with an inspiring, demisexual heroine.
Check out Shoshana's website and subscribe to her podcast, Scene to Song!
Credits
Written, produc...
As we continue to explore the gay villains in Hitchcock's mid-career films, we find that both Rear Window (1954) and North by Northwest (1959) have a lot to say about getting married and getting murdered. Also, do I look "heavyish" to you?
Credits
Written, produced, and hosted by Spencer Robelen.
Artwork by Skye Stoyer.
Episode transcript available here.
My dear friend and former film teacher, Carl Boehm, joins me to celebrate "Hitchcocktober" and discuss my rankings of the 50+ Alfred Hitchcock films still in print. (There will be spoilers.)
The full interview is available here to Benefactors on Patreon.
The Display by Carl Boehm is available here in hardcover, softcover, and audiobook.
Read Spencer's ranking of every Hitchcock film here on Letterboxd.
Credits
Produced and hosted b...
At the very start of the Lavender Scare—a period of intense homophobia within the U.S. government—Hitchcock released a film noir thriller that perfectly encapsulated the paranoia of the time: Strangers on a Train. We explore its blatant queer coding, and how its undeniable subtext makes it one of Hitchcock's gayest films. We also discuss Shadow of Doubt, Hitchcock's unassuming family drama that suggests none of us are safe from the...
One wouldn't normally associate musical theatre with Alfred Hitchcock, but it wasn't a foreign genre to him. Musical numbers take center stage in many of his films (The Pleasure Garden, Elstree Calling, Stage Fright) and singing can play an integral role in others (The Man Who Knew Too Much from 1956). And of course, who could forget Waltzes from Vienna, Hitchcock's first — and only — musical comedy film?
...
Vertigo (1958) is either the greatest film ever made or the campy manifestation of Hitchcock's sexism/misogyny. Regardless, it is very much a straight man's film. But special guest Grey—writer, sass monster, and proud Brooklynite—shows us the solace that queer people can find in the film's examination of trauma, suicide, and destroying the things we love.
Follow Grey on Instagram!
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoug...
What are the odds that actress Joan Fontaine would be menaced by queers in two back-to-back Hitchcock films? In this episode, we shine a light on Alfred Hitchcock's most prominent lesbian characters in Rebecca (1940) and Suspicion (1941). We also find butch and sapphic themes in his lesser-known silent films Champagne (1928) and Easy Virtue (1927).
Credits
Written, produced, and hosted by Spencer Robelen.
Artwork by Skye Stoyer.
Alfred Hitchcock's espionage films of the 1930s contain a surprising amount of queer themes, from secret identities to cottageing. We take a look at Secret Agent (1936), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), and The Lady Vanishes (1938) for "othered" characters hiding in plain sight.
Credits
Written, produced, and hosted by Spencer Robelen.
Artwork by Skye Stoyer.
Episode transcript available here.
Follow The Hitchcock Gays on Instagra...
Alfred Hitchcock's career took off in 1927 when he directed The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog. We discuss this silent film and its queer imagery, as well as its star, Ivor Novello, who was one of the hottest (and gayest) performers of the British stage and screen. Downhill, Hitchcock's subsequent film with Ivor Novello, is also discussed.
References
1) "Keep the Home Fires Burning," music and lyrics by Ivor Novello, 1917 record...
The Hitchcock Gays is a podcast about queer themes and gay characters in the films of Alfred Hitchcock. But before we get to that, you should probably learn a little bit about your host—a bisexual composer-lyricist-playwright who was weirdly obsessed with Hitchcock in elementary school.
Special thanks to Dorie Spangler, Tyler Chatham, and Michele O'Brien. Artwork by Skye Stoyer.
Episode transcript available here.
Follow The Hitchco...
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