Footsteps in the Fog: Alfred Hitchcock's San Francisco

by Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal

Book Overview

Footsteps in the Fog is a celebration of the San Francisco films of Alfred Hitchcock. The master director's familiarity with Northern California greatly influenced his decision to use Bay Area locations in several of his landmark motion pictures, and more importantly was often the source of inspiration for many of these same cinema classics. Three of Hitchcock's masterpieces were set in the San Francisco area: Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, and The Birds...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891661272
• ISBN13: 9781891661273
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Santa Monica Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 10.2" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Great book for Hitchcock lovers!

I have been a fan of Hitchcock since I was little as one of my dad's favorite films is "The Birds" and he and I watched it many times while I was growing up. After I got older I discovered some of Hitch's other films and have loved his work for quite a while. I was able to visit San Francisco and northern California in 2004 and one of the places I wanted to visit while there was Bodega Bay where they filmed The Birds. We rented a car and drove up the coast to Bodega Bay and it was in the Bodega Bay restaurant/gift shop where I bought this book and spent most of the flight back home reading it and once home I couldn't put it down. It is wonderful and the authors couldn't have done a better job with their research. I had only seen Vertigo once before I bought the book, but have since bought it on DVD and really love it and love all the details in the book about the filming locations, etc. A few weeks ago Encore Mystery had a marathon of Hitch movies in honor of his birthday and I got out the book and re-read parts of it while watching Vertigo. It is amazing to me how detailed the authors are with their photos of the filming locations and how they looked then and now. Lots of great little tidbits about the locations too! Great book and highly recommended!!!!

very satisfied

I am an Native born San Franciscan and have been a Alfred Hitchcock fan for years this book is great the pictures and info on how they did a scene I was in San Francisco and was watching as they filmed Vertigo in front of the flower shop I will read this book many times and will always glad I searched the web sight it is a great find for someone like me I am a nostalgia person and enjoy many books on San Francisco

A Must Have for any Hitchcock Fan

... and a must have for any Bay Area resident. So many directors, especially those of Hitchcock's generation, tried to get away with backlot substitutes for locations. Hitchcock, in contrast, lovingly and painstakingly shot his masterpieces on location whenever possible. The book shows, in great detail, which Bay Area locations were used in classics like Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho and Shadow of a Doubt, not only telling readers which locations were used but also how to find those that survive today, illustrated with current photos of those locations. Even though I've lived in the Bay Area most of my life, I plan to take a Hitchcock tour of the Bay Area very soon. Thank you, Mr. Kraft, for giving me a new appreciation of two of my favorite things: Alfred Hitchcock's films and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hitchcock & San Fransisco - a pairing made in heaven

This book is awesome! I purchased it for my mom who is a huge Hitchcock fan and loves San Francisco. She read it from cover to cover and enjoyed every minute of it...The book is written in a way that conveys the brilliance of Hitchcock and how he used the city to enhance his plots and characters...I recommend this to anyone who is a film buff or just loves a good read on a dark stormy night..

A must for any Hitchcock fan or Bay Area cognoscente

This book provides the intricate details of the filming of a number of Hitchcock classics in the SF Bay Area. The book covers the locations and filming of Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo, The Birds, Suspicion, Psycho, and Family Plot, and explores the ways in which the Bay Area provided an inspiration for the movies as well as a wide variety of settings. It served as a reminder to me of the wonderful diversity of the Bay Area and the keen eye Hitchcock had for what could make a movie.