JUNE 2020
MASTER OF SUSPENSE
The first three books in the TRUE NATURE series are set in Scotts Valley, California. It’s such a unique and beautiful part of this world, I’m adding fun facts about it in our newsletter. Enjoy!
Photo from Wikipedia
Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense, called Scotts Valley, California his home for over 30 years.
In the autumn of 1940, the Hitchcocks purchased a 200-acre estate in Scotts Valley — known locally as “Heart o’ the Mountains” — from Bruce and Helen Cornwall and this became their occasional second home and a weekend retreat for entertaining close friends of the family. Located in a secluded redwood mountainous area, the property has views of Monterey Bay.
Guests at the house included Ingrid Bergman and Peter Lindstrom, Robert Cummings, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Arthur Laurents, and Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco. (from Wikipedia)
(If you don’t know who these actors are, look them up! Cary Grant is one of my favorites. I especially love his movie “Bringing Up Baby,” with his co-star Katharine Hepburn.)
Photo from Wikipedia
Art director Henry Bumstead later recalled spending a weekend in 1957 at the estate:
I went up to Santa Cruz for his birthday when we were making Vertigo , for instance. His daughter Pat was there, and we were on the veranda as the phone was ringing with well-wishers. Hitch was quite a guy. I couldn’t keep up with him. You know, he would even carry your bags up to your room. He had terrific energy. I couldn’t drink as much as he could, either. I would have to go to bed by midnight, and even then I would be dead the next morning. But not Hitch.
(quoted from Wikipedia)
Photo from Wikipedia
Alfred Hitchcock is the king of suspense movies. With all the advances in that industry, it’s pretty incredible that his films still have the ability to freak me out. I find it thrilling to know that he loved the Santa Cruz Mountains and wonder if they inspired any of his stories.
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