I am incredibly grateful for the many people who helped make this Scalar book possible. First, my advisor Louisa Stein, whose guidance, encouragement, and patience fueled this book’s creation. In addition to her invaluable feedback, I am so thankful to have worked under the supervision of someone who shares my love and passion for Rebecca.

Thank you to my academic advisor Jason Mittell, who encouraged me to pursue a major in Film & Media Culture and has supported me in every aspect of my life at Middlebury, whether it be agreeing to serve as the faculty advisor of The Middlebury Campus, or offering life advice after I showed up unannounced at his office door, even while he was on sabbatical. His course “Videographic Film Studies” first introduced me to videographic criticism. Without it, this project’s videographic elements, and thus the book itself, would not exist.

I am proud that this work contains original archival research. The staff at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin were incredibly helpful and patient in helping an inexperienced undergraduate navigate the behemoth that is The David O. Selznick Collection. The same is true of the staff at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Margaret Herrick Library in Los Angeles, home to the papers of Alfred Hitchcock. Thank you to Middlebury College, which awarded me the Kellogg Fellowship in the Humanities to fund my travels to both libraries, and to Lisa Gates for her feedback and help in navigating the application process.

Thanks to Christian Keathley, who agreed to serve as my advisor for the Kellogg Fellowship, for offering feedback and advice on this book, and for co-developing the videographic methods I learned in “Videographic Film Studies.” I am also grateful for his agreeing to be the advisor for my project “Videographic Hitchcock,” which served as an important starting point for this book.

Leger Grindon offered feedback on my research proposal and, as a former Ransom Center researcher himself, advice on how to make the most of my time there. His course “Methods of Film Criticism” introduced me to auteur theory and criticism, and his guidance and feedback on a final paper I wrote about Howard Hawks and Rio Bravo helped shape much of my thinking here.   

Meredith Robertson and Noah Levine tolerated my leaving Hitchcock books all over our apartment. Ruby Edlin watched Rebecca in full with me for the final time before I finished this book, and offered insight that helped shape my analysis of Hitchcock’s use of home movies in the film. Sydney Warren served as an invaluable co-pilot as we navigated the creation of our Scalar books. She and other classmates also provided excellent feedback and suggestions from this project’s early days.  

Finally, I wish to thank John Bertolini. It was he who first introduced me to Alfred Hitchcock in the fall of 2017. His course, “The Cinema of Alfred Hitchcock” quite literally changed my life. Watching Hitchcock's films is a wonderful thing, and doing so under the tutelage of a scholar with an infectious passion and love for Hitchcock is even greater. It is because of teachers like him that Hitchcock lives on.