During a career spanning 50 years of film-making, from the silent era into the age of television, Alfred Hitchcock became as famous a public figure as any of his stars. Tonight's programme looks at the first 25 years of an extraordinary and prolific : career, with extracts from his early British films, behind- the-scenes shots of Hitchcock at work, and rare home movie material seen here for the first time on television. His complex personality is explored through interviews with those who knew him and worked most closely with him. Hitchcock himself, characteristically droll, appears in interviews filmed at different stages of his career. Featuring actors James Stewart, Joan Fontaine and Teresa Wright; screenwriters and collaborators Charles Bennett, Rodney Ackland, Albert Whitlock, John Michael Hayes and daughter Patricia Hitchcock.

"A lot of people think I'm a monster. They don't care to be associated with me because of the nature of the work one does...." By the late 50s, when he made North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock was the best-known film director in the world, celebrated equally for adventure thrillers and for the psychological suspense stories that he had been making since he started directing films in Britain in the 20s. Tonight's Omnibus looks behind the image of the droll clown, which he presented in his television series, and at the achievements, and the problems, of the later years. Drawing on television interviews with Hitchcock, the recollections of colleagues and friends, and scenes from his films; the programme explores his relations with his female stars, the brilliance of his film technique, the difficult role of his scriptwriters, and the ambiguous character of Hitchcock himself, showman, practical joker and film-maker of genius.

Alfred Hitchcock is probably the most famous director in film history, he made his name and his fortune from scaring millions out of their wits, but his films were more than just entertainment, he put his own deepest fears onto the silver screen. In this BBC special we get a glimpse into the life of Hitchcock. We see how as a child he grew up in the suburbs of London as somewhat of a loner, how he developed an imagination which would help open doors for him as he got an apprenticeship in the fledgling British movie business and ultimately broke through in America, becoming the legend he is today.

Paul Merton looks at the British films of Alfred Hitchcock, the silent films and the early sound films.

First episode of a two-part profile on the life and films of Alfred Hitchcock.

Second episode of a two-part profile on the life and films of Alfred Hitchcock.