13 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked

Alfred Hitchcock was known as "the master of suspense" for his clever, intriguing films and meticulous storytelling. Throughout his long career, he gained international acclaim directing over 50 films. The titles here represent just some of his prodigious output. Several of his films have even joined the list of the best movies in history.

Despite all this, and despite being nominated five times, Hitchcock never won the Oscar for best director. Still, his storytelling has continued to be an influence, even today. Though he was known for directing thrillers, his films also contained notes of action, romance, and even comedy, especially because of Hitchcock's own brief cameos in many of them. And he was responsible for popularizing the term "MacGuffin" — a plot device that was important for motivating the characters but is utterly irrelevant in and of itself — to describe much of the driving action of his films.

This list collects 13 of his very best movies, which all film fans need to watch. It is based on the author's personal experience with each of these films, but rest assured they have been checked for their Rotten Tomatoes scores as well, and there is no movie here with a critics' rating below 93 percent, and every one of these movies is a gem. Here are the 13 best Alfred Hitchcock movies, ranked.

The most recent movie on this list, based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier, is also one of the most horrifying — or ridiculous, depending on your perspective. The action centers on Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedron), a San Francisco socialite who meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a pet store and quickly falls for him. She drives to Bodega Bay, where Mitch's family lives, to try to connect with him and ends up in the middle of a bird-driven nightmare. There are a series of bird attacks by all different kinds of birds over several days on the people of Bodega Bay. The birds kill Mitch's neighbor and Melanie's friend Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) and even cause a conflagration at a local gas station. In the end, Melanie leaves Bodega Bay injured and traumatized, but thankfully, alive.

It's easy to dismiss "The Birds" as, well, for the birds, but it taps into real fears of having our sense of security attacked. While some people have a fear of birds, no one is really worried that they're going to attack en masse. But what if they did? This tells a cautionary tale of nature rising up to take the power back. And that can indeed be a scary thought.

Starring: Tippi Hedron, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette, Veronica Cartwright

Runtime: 1h 59m

Year: 1963

Where to stream: Rent on major platforms

The oldest film on this list, "The 39 Steps" was filmed by Hitchcock back when he was still working in Britain. The movie, loosely based on the novel of the same name by John Buchan, sees an average Joe, Richard Hannay (Robert Donat), get caught up in a spy drama when he takes a woman back to his flat and she gets murdered. Hannay has little to go on but the fact that she told him someone was stealing British military information, her mention of "the 39 steps," and a map of the Scottish Highlands with a building circled. Hannay sneaks out of his apartment, boards a train to Scotland, and from there, spends the rest of the movie both pursuing answers and running from the police.

"The 39 Steps" is a prototype for all the wrongly accused people in movies that came after it, showcasing that even early on his career, Hitchock had mastered the art of building tension.

Starring: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim, Godfrey Tearle, Peggy Ashcroft, Wylie Watson

Runtime: 1h 26m

Year: 1935

Where to stream: Prime Video, Max, Hulu, The Roku Channel, YouTube TV, Tubi

"Supicion" is the only Hitchcock film to win an Oscar for acting. Joan Fontaine won the best actress statuette for playing Lina, an inexperienced woman who is initially suspicious of Cary Grant's handsome Johnnie Aysgarth, but, upon hearing her father tell her mother that she won't ever marry, impulsively kisses him. This leads to a torrid affair (for the time) that ends in them eloping. But once they get back from their honeymoon, Lina learns that Johnnie has no money despite a lavish honeymoon and lovely house. Eventually Lina discovers that Johnnie is an inveterate liar and starts suspecting everything he says. Despite this, she can't leave him, even though she suspects him of plotting her death for her insurance money.

The film, based on the novel "Before the Fact" by Francis Iles, altered the plot of the novel. Yet the ending still brings up doubts and pushes audience members to come to their own conclusions about what they believe, making the film even more interesting.

Starring: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty

Runtime: 1h 39m

Year: 1941

Where to stream: Hulu, YouTubeTV, SlingTV

"The Lady Vanishes" is one of Hitchcock's final British films before moving to Hollywood. Despite having some flops at the time, this one was successful and has endured long after its time. The movie, which was an adaptation of Ethel Lina White's novel "The Wheel Spins," centers on an English tourist, Iris (Margaret Lockwood), who hits her head and then loses her elderly travelling companion Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty). The other passengers on the train deny ever seeing the old woman she claims was there, and a doctor, Dr. Hartz (Paul Lukas), claims it could be hallucinations due to her head wound. However, Iris continues to look for the woman and ends up uncovering quite a conspiracy.

The story is a doozy. The suspense is kept high, but it also contains moments of comedy, like an elderly woman vaulting quickly into the woods, and the combination makes it that much more enjoyable. Plus, it was Hitchcock's first film almost entirely set on a train, leading it to inspire further work — such as the next film on our list.

Starring: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Dame May Whitty

Runtime: 1h 37m

Year: 1938

Where to stream: Max, Hulu, Prime Video, YouTube TV, The Roku Channel, Tubi

In "Strangers on a Train," an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name, two strangers meet on a train, as the title indicates. Guy Haines (Farley Granger) tolerates Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) when he suggests over the course of their conversation that they swap murders ("Criss-cross!"). If Guy murders Bruno's father, Bruno will murder Guy's adulterous wife Miriam (Kasey Rogers), who is refusing to give him a divorce so he can marry Anne Morton (Ruth Roman). Though Guy humors him, when he disembarks the train, he doesn't think about it again. That is, until Bruno shows up to tell him his wife is dead, and now he has to follow through with his half of the deal.

The movie has many great moments, especially the shot of Bruno killing Miriam in her discarded glasses. But the film also plays with sexuality in a subtle way. By making both Guy and Bruno sexually ambiguous, this film was ahead of its time.

Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Patricia Hitchcock, Leo G. Carroll, Kasey Rogers

Runtime: 1h 41m

Year: 1951

Where to stream: Tubi

"To Catch a Thief" is one of Hitchcock's most purely enjoyable films. There is no murder in it, just a retired cat burglar by the name of John Robie (Cary Grant). Robie is famously suspected of several high-profile robberies, so it's no surprise that when the burglaries start up again in the French Riviera, the police come to question him. Except he didn't do it. So he tries to catch the thief in the act with the help of American tourists Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis), her daughter Frances (Grace Kelly), and their insurance man H.H. Hughson (John Williams).

"To Catch a Thief" is lighter on suspense than a lot of Hitchcock's films, but it's hard to mind when the romance between Grant and Kelly is this hot and the script's amusing moments are this funny. This is the perfect picture if you want an expertly directed but less deadly piece of entertainment.

Starring: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis, John Williams, Charles Vanel, Brigitte Auber, Jean Martinelli

Runtime: 1h 46m

Year: 1955

Where to stream: YouTube TV

"Shadow of a Doubt" is one of Hitchcock's most accomplished films. Not only does it have a 100 percent critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes (the only one with that distinction), it was also reportedly Hitchcock's favorite of everything in his filmography. The story revolves around the Newton family, who are elated when their beloved uncle, Charlie (Joseph Cotten), comes to visit them in their small California town. His niece Charlotte, or "Charlie" (Teresa Wright), as everyone calls her, is especially ecstatic because she's bored with her family's routine. But she gets more than she bargained for when Uncle Charlie shows up and gives her a ring engraved with someone else's initials. It turns out Uncle Charlie is one of two people suspected of being the Merry Widow Murderer.

Like "Suspicion," this is about what happens when you suspect someone you're close to. Unlike "Suspicion," in this one Uncle Charlie most definitely did it. That's not the cause of tension — it's whether or not the family will figure it out. It's an expertly crafted movie, with Uncle Charlie and young Charlie locked in an anxiety-inducing tête-à-tête.

Starring: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, Wallace Ford

Runtime: 1h 48m

Year: 1943

Where to stream: Rent on major platforms

"Rear Window" is considered one of Hitchcock's most suspenseful films, at least partially because the photographer at the movie's center, Jeff (James Stewart), is in a wheelchair due to a broken leg. While recuperating, he spends his time watching his neighbors through his camera lens from his large back window, even though he doesn't know them. In the course of his spying, he becomes suspicious that one of the neighbors, Thorwald (Raymond Burr), has killed his wife.

"Rear Window," based on the short story "It Had to Be Murder" by Cornell Woolrich, is presented in a very limited space. The set is made up of the courtyard and apartments of all of Jeff's neighbors as Jeff proceeds to watch them through his rear window. It's an exercise in filming in a confined space. It's also the Hitchcock film that most represents the theme of voyeurism, as both Jeff and the audience are attracted to the act of looking and, perhaps especially, not being seen.

Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr

Runtime: 1h 50m

Year: 1954

Where to stream: Rent on major platforms

Like "The 39 Steps," "North by Northwest" is a story of mistaken identity, but in this film Hitchcock reached the apex of this theme. Manhattan advertising executive Roger Thornhill (the illustrious Cary Grant) is mistakenly believed to be an agent called George Kaplan. As a result, he's kidnapped and then set up to take the fall in a fake drunk driving accident. The ruse doesn't work, however, as Thornhill survives. But Thornhill continues to be pursued across the United States, eventually meeting Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), an agent who is involved with the men who kidnapped him.

While "North by Northwest" periodically has pacing problems, it also has now iconic scenes, which include Grant running from a crop duster and Grant and Saint attempting to flee over the top of Mount Rushmore, which is among the most well-known moments in entertainment history. It's a classic film that is quintessential escapist entertainment.

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis

Runtime: 2h 16m

Year: 1959

Where to stream: Hulu, YouTube TV, Tubi, Sling TV

"Psycho" is arguably Hitchcock's best-known film, and for good reason. It's singular in its depiction of a psychopath hiding in plain sight, and despite its twist being spoiled months before its release, it maintains its iconic status. The plot initially follows Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) as she crosses paths with Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), the shy proprietor of a motel where she is waylaid by a storm. But the film becomes something different when we learn that several people are investigating the disappearance of Marion, which none of them saw coming.

"Psycho," which is based on Robert Bloch's novel of the same name, is especially known for its iconic shower scene, one of the most famous, disturbing, and oddly beautiful scenes in cinema history. The scene exemplified the movie's themes of voyeurism and sexualized violence, and was the reason Janet Leigh was never the same after starring in this film. "Psycho" is about the horror of finding out that a seemingly harmless guy is actually a murderer with you in his sights, and there are few things more horrible than that.

Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam

Runtime: 1h 49m

Year: 1960

Where to stream: Rent on major platforms

"Rebecca" was Hitchcock's first Hollywood film, and his only to win the Oscar for best picture. It's a great example of early Hitchcock. The story, which is based on the novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, centers on the never-named second wife of Maxim de Winter (Joan Fontaine). The second Mrs. de Winter lives in the shadow of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca. While Rebecca, who died before the second Mrs. de Winter ever met Maxim, is never seen in the film, her reputation is a constant presence for everyone who lives in Maxim's iconic home, called Manderley, especially the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. 

This romantic thriller is a sumptuous spectacle. While it had to make concessions to the production code that was in place at the time, especially when it came to how Rebecca died, the film still manages to be an intriguing piece of cinema. In particular, its psychologically intense portrayal of its leading lady makes the audience hang on her every move. It was so successful that it was paid homage to in a remake on Netflix. "Rebecca" is a gorgeous, gothic piece of filmmaking.

Starring: Lawrence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders

Runtime: 2h 10m

Year: 1940

Where to stream: Filmzie, Classic FilmTime, Free Classic Movies

"Notorious" placed Cary Grant opposite Ingrid Bergman, two of the top stars of the era. Plus, it's considered a landmark of Hitchcock's filmmaking with the story of a love triangle that's directed with clear purpose and intent.

The tale starts when T.R. Devlin (Grant), a U.S. government agent, meets Alicia Huberman (Bergman), the daughter of a convicted Nazi who is living in America. Devlin enlists Alicia to infiltrate the Nazis living in Brazil after World War II. While Devlin and Alicia fall in love, he pretends he doesn't care when he's given instructions to have Alicia seduce Alex Sebastian, a leading member of the Nazis, who is in love with Alicia. The rest of the movie follows Alicia, Devlin, and Sebastian as Alicia and Devlin conspire to spy on Sebastian while Alicia, believing Devlin no longer loves her, marries Sebastian.

It epitomizes Hitchcock's blend of romance and suspense with dark humor laced throughout, while its story of government agents setting up Alicia as a sexual plaything for Sebastian is ahead of its time.

Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rainds, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin

Runtime: 1h 41m

Year: 1946

Where to stream: Tubi, or rent on Prime Video

"Vertigo," based on the novel "D'entre Les Morts" by Pierre Bioleau and Thomas Narcejac, stars talented Hollywood actor James Stewart as Scottie, a detective who is forced to retire when he develops a fear of heights that conveys itself through vertigo. He's then engaged by an acquaintance, Gavin (Tom Helmore), as a private detective to report on his wife Madeleine's (Kim Novak) odd behavior. This sets off a sequence of events that speak to Scottie's growing obsession with Madeleine — or at least the woman he thinks is Madeleine.

The movie is considered Hitchcock's masterpiece. It ranked number nine on the American Film Institute's list of best films in 2007 and number one in Sight & Sound's 2012 poll of greatest films of all time. It was also the first film to use the much-duplicated dolly-zoom shot to portray Scottie's vertigo. More than anything, though, it's an artfully done study of obsession and control, full of dream-like imagery that's all in service of a disturbing story.

Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore, Henry Jones

Runtime: 2h 9m

Year: 1958

Where to stream: Rent on major platforms