History of the Thriller Genre

Early Thrillers
1920's + 1930's

• In 1926 Alfred Hitchcock (a British director, who directed many famous thriller films) released his first thriller 'The Lodger', a silent thriller that followed a Jack The Ripper plot.
• The thriller movies released in this time period, could be said to be the most key thriller films produced.
• They used techniques that are widely recognised as the codes and conventions of the thriller genre.
• Through the repetition of the codes and conventions, it is now clear to any audience if a film fits into the thriller genre.

Thrillers in the 

1940's

In the 1940's Hitchcock continued to:

• Release suspense-thrillers:
• Foreign Correspondent (1940)
• Rebecca (1940)
• Saboteur (1942)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Thrillers Films

1950's

In the 1950's Alfred Hitchcock made a massive change to the thriller genre. He added technicolor to his thrillers, they were no longer in black and white. He also added a touch of glamour to his films, by casting 'icey blondes' to play the leading ladies.

Hitchcock films in the 50's:

• Strangers on a Train (1951) 
• Dial M For Murder (1954) 
• Rear Window (1954)  
• To Catch a Thief (1955)
• Vertigo (1958)