From Treatment to Script

This chapter looks at Hitchcock's involvement in creating the plot and text of his scripts. It studies the various drafts of the films under consideration, revealing three distinct objectives as Hitchcock monitors them: the removal of what he called “no scene” scenes; the addition of some strongly visual shots or the elaboration of a scene to provide increased insight into a character, usually without new dialogue; and the removal of dialogue that did not add anything substantial to characterization or merely indicated some idea that the camera had already conveyed. Between the first draft and the shooting script, the screenplay would often be rewritten substantially at least three times, as the collaboration between the director and his writers continued. At the same time, Hitchcock would begin his preproduction work, which would often influence later drafts of the script.