Eva
Marie Saint already felt transformed by her handpicked wardrobe.
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She
recalled that all Hitchcock offered her were three simple instructions:
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"Lower
my voice; don't use my hands; and look directly at Cary Grant in my scenes with
him, look right into his eyes. From that, I conjured up in my mind the kind of
lady he saw this woman as." He must have been right:
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Saint's
performance - the epitome of playful chic - stands up for all time.
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Cary
Grant didn't require Hitchcock to pick out his wardrobe. Cary Grant gave
grooming tips, and Hitchcock usually told him just to "dress like Cary
Grant." And like Jimmy Stewart, Grant didn't need acting advice, either;
he picked his roles to fit him like his custom-made Saville Row.
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During
the location work in New York, Grant hid out in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, the
very place where Thornhill is spotted by the thugs who mistake him for a spy.
One day, the actor was summoned from his suite for the quick shot where
Thornhill strolls across the hotel lobby. After he came down and did his bit, a
visiting journalist, interviewing Hitchcock wondered aloud how Grant could play
the scene without conferring with the director. "Oh," Hitchcock
quipped, "he's been walking across the lobby by himself for years!"
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Patrick
McGilligan "Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light" (2003)
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