Phantom Lady Hollywood Producer Joan Harrison, the Forgotten Woman Behind Hitchcock

Phantom Lady chronicles the untold story of Hollywood’s most powerful female writer-producer of the 1940s. In 1933, Joan Harrison was a twenty-six-year-old former salesgirl with a dream of escaping her stodgy London suburb and the dreadful prospect of settling down with one of the local boys. A few short years later, she was Alfred Hitchcock's confidante and the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of his first American film, Rebecca. Harrison had quickly grown from being the worst secretary Alfred Hitchcock ever had to one of his closest collaborators, critically shaping his brand as the “master of suspense.” Forging an image as “the female Hitchcock,” Harrison went on to produce numerous Hollywood features before becoming a television pioneer as the producer of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A respected powerhouse, she acquired a singular reputation for running amazingly smooth productions—and defying anyone who posed an obstacle. Author Christina Lane shows how this stylish, stunning woman, with an adventurous romantic life, became an unconventional but impressive auteur, one whom history has overlooked.

Christina Lane has written extensively on film history and aesthetics. Her books include Feminist Hollywood: From Born in Flames to Point Break and Magnolia. An associate professor of film studies and chair of the cinema department at the University of Miami, she makes frequent speaking appearances and has provided commentary to such media outlets as Air Mail, NPR, and the Daily Mail.

Prologue
Chapter 1: At Home
Chapter 2: Wartime
Chapter 3: Beyond the Village  
Chapter 4: Birth of a Master
Chapter 5: True Crime Pays  
Chapter 6: Bigger Steps ..
Chapter 7: A Team of Three
Chapter 8: Going Hollywood
Chapter 9: Oscar Calls
Chapter 10: Building Suspense
Chapter 11 Hitting Hurdles
Chapter 12 Phantom Lady .
Chapter 13: New Associations
Chapter 14: Bedeviling Endings .
Chapter 15: Crimes and Misdemeanors
Chapter 16: Let it Ride
Chapter 17: Full Circle, by Degrees
Chapter 18: A New Proposal ..
Epilogue ..
Acknowledgements
Bibliography ..
Filmography .
Notes
Index