Hitchcockian

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Hitchcockian is a general term used to describe film styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock's films. Elements considered Hitchcockian include:

The cool blonde (often a central figure of Hitchcock's films).
An innocent man accused (again used in many of Hitchcock's films).
Characters who switch sides or who cannot be trusted.
Tension building through suspense to the point where the audience enjoys seeing the character in a life-threatening situation, such as the windmill scene from Foreign Correspondent or the crop-duster plane sequence from North by Northwest.
Characters generally get out of sticky situations by using their wits, rather than just shooting the place up.
Average people thrust into strange or dangerous situations, such as in North by Northwest or The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Bumbling or incompetent authority figures, particularly police officers.
Mistaken identity, such as in North by Northwest.