Hitchcock's Appetites: The Corpulent Plots of Desire and Dread

In this review of Hitchcock's Appetites, Casey McKittrick presents the first sustained scholarly study tying Alfred Hitchcock's body size to his cinema, arguing that the director's fat embodiment shaped his films and creative collaborations. This open access book is aimed at readers who want a rigorous, archival, and theoretically informed look at how biography and embodiment intersect with film form. The single biggest reason to read it is McKittrick's archival work combined with close film readings that make a persuasive case for considering physicality as central to Hitchcock studies.

Key Features

• Open access: The full text is freely available online, making the research easy to access for students and scholars without cost barriers.
• Archival research: McKittrick uses publicity materials, scripts, and personal communications to ground claims in primary sources rather than anecdote.
• Film readings: Close textual readings of Hitchcock's films link themes of appetite and dread to formal choices in editing, staging, and narrative.
• Theoretical framing: Feminist critique and theories of embodiment are woven into the analysis, offering a vocabulary to discuss body, desire, and authorship.
• First book-length study: This volume fills a clear gap in Hitchcock scholarship by centering his lived experience as a fat man in relation to his work.

Who It's For

Scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates in film studies and gender studies will find this book particularly useful for research and seminar discussion, especially where questions of embodiment, auteurism, and publicity intersect. Its reliance on primary sources also makes it a solid reference for historians of film production.

Readers seeking a general biography of Hitchcock, a light popular read, or a comprehensive filmography should look elsewhere; this is a focused, academic study that assumes some familiarity with film analysis and theory rather than offering a broad life narrative.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Grounded archival evidence strengthens the book's central argument and provides useful primary material for researchers.
• The combination of feminist critique and embodiment theory opens new interpretive lines in Hitchcock scholarship.
• Open access availability removes cost barriers, increasing reach to students and independent researchers.

Cons

• The book's academic tone and theoretical density may be challenging for casual readers unfamiliar with scholarly film studies.

Specifications

Title	Hitchcock's Appetites: The Corpulent Plots of Desire and Dread
Author	Casey McKittrick
Access	Open access on bloomsburycollections.com
Funding	Knowledge Unlatched
Approach	Archival research, feminist critique, embodiment theory
Focus	Relationship between Hitchcock's body size and his cinema

Our Verdict

Hitchcock's Appetites is a valuable, well-documented academic study that reframes Hitchcock scholarship by centering embodiment. Students and researchers in film and gender studies will find it especially worthwhile for its archival evidence and theoretical clarity. Its open access format also makes it strong value for those seeking rigorous, source-based analysis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the book freely available?
Yes. The book is open access and available online at Bloomsbury Collections.

What is the main argument?
The author argues that Hitchcock's large body and appetite materially influenced his films, production, and public image, using archival sources and film readings to support this claim.

Who funded the publication?
The open access publication was funded by Knowledge Unlatched.