How They Became Famous You might have that thought Hitchcock was covered earlier, but he deserves another entry on our list, and comes out at number 1 no less. In 1960 Hitchcock was among the most acclaimed directors in world cinema. An extremely talented technician who, importantly, could deliver his studio a profit. North By Northwest, Dial M for Murder and Rear Window had all come in under-budget, on time and delivered big profits. What's more they also included instantly recognizable Hollywood talent, such as James Stewart, Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Hitchcock himself was a bankable star, and placing him in charge as director effectively guaranteed its success. What They Did Next Directing a horror movie was an extremely bold choice for all sorts of reasons. This was no by-the-numbers horror. It was dark, perverse and extremely violent. Unusually budget was a problem. Not because it was too big, but rather because it was too small. The studio refused to believe something created so cheaply could attract an audience. The film would have no major stars, save Janet Leigh. The director self-funded the project and placed his money and reputation on the line. In making the film he tore up the rule book. He killed off the main protagonist halfway through the film, included the sort of material reserved for B movies in a mainstream picture for the first time and created a new type of horror - the slasher. After all of this he was rewarded with one of the biggest film successes of all time - the movie earned more than fifty times its original expenditure. Film-making was changed forever, but it had been a risky undertaking.
