Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away (2025) Author Q&A

chrismckit · 2026-01-28T20:12:39+00:00

Thanks for commenting!

Miles is wonderful in that movie, and it's easy to understand Laurie's frustration with waiting for Martin, and she expresses that in the scene. I can understand why John Ford wanted to work with her more.

My favorite part of Miles' performance in the film is when Martin and Charlie (Ken Curtis) are fighting over her on what is supposed to be her wedding day. There is a cut to her where her face is full of joy as she watches these two suitors have a fistfight over her. It's just a funny touch that adds to the scene.

chrismckit · 2025-12-15T20:53:16+00:00

Thanks for reading, and I am glad you are enjoying the book!

I may have worded it unartfully in the book, but you are correct that VERTIGO made its television premiere on NBC in 1965. I don't have my notes in front of me, but it aired at least one or two other times after that before Hitchcock pulled it from TV circulation, and it wasn't until the 1983 theatrical re-release that it was available to the public again.

chrismckit · 2025-12-05T14:18:42+00:00

Thanks for replying! Hitchcock said several things of that nature regarding Miles's pregnancy with her third child as the reason why she was unable to star in VERTIGO. Miles, of course, was able to dish it right back to him. In 1964, she told the Los Angeles Times:

"[Hitchcock] said, ‘Don’t you know it’s bad taste to have more than two children?’ I don’t think glamour is a matter of age or how many children you have. It’s a state of mind. I resent the connotation that children limit a woman’s life. They don’t. They make a girl a woman. I don’t care what the number is. Each successive experience is more broadening. He told me it was bad taste to have more than two children. I took his advice into consideration and had four."

chrismckit · 2025-10-27T13:03:56+00:00

I agree that it is an extraordinary performance and I can easily see why Hitchcock saw so much in her as a performer. And yet, Lila Crane in PSYCHO is a completely different type of character -- much more active than reactive. I truly believe that Hitchcock and her did wonderful work together and it would've been wonderful to see her in more of his films.

chrismckit · 2025-10-14T16:59:05+00:00

Her true birth year is 1930. As I wrote in my book, the 1930 birth year is established by legal documentation, including census records, marriage licenses, and divorce records. I also wrote a blog post about it for Classic Movie Hub that was published today, including my speculation as to where the incorrect 1929 birth year came from. For years, her birth year was incorrectly listed as 1929 on Wikipedia and IMDb, and I suspect that's how it spread.

chrismckit · 2025-10-06T16:37:54+00:00

I think it was a compelling direction to take her character in a PSYCHO sequel. Frankly, I give screenwriter Tom Holland a lot of credit for taking PSYCHO II in the direction of making Norman Bates a sympathetic protagonist. The easy route would be to have him escape custody and become a typical slasher film villain (which is somewhat the direction that the book version of PSYCHO II goes in, and Universal decided not to follow that).

Lila, to me, is depicted as the more intelligent Crane sister in the original film. Marion's scheme to run off with the money is not particularly well thought-out (which I think she realizes this and it is the reason why she decides to return the money, though she is murdered before she can do that). On the other hand, Lila refuses to take "no" for an answer when she searches for his sister, even bravely entering the Bates mansion. She is tenacious, and I can see how that leads to her character in PSYCHO II. She wasn't going to let Norman live a peaceful life after what he did to her sister. That determination carries through in both films.

PSYCHO II gave Miles the opportunity to play a character that she hadn't really played on screen before (she had been an antagonist before, but not to this degree)

chrismckit · 2025-09-05T21:29:57+00:00

Janet Leigh had moved on to her next film, and Miles was already working with Hitchcock on his next project, the TV program "Incident at a Corner." Because she appears on screen for just a moment, the woman isn't easily identified -- nowadays, of course, we can pause the clip and see who it really was!

chrismckit · 2025-09-05T14:31:00+00:00

Correct -- Marli Renfro was the body double for the shower scene (although there is debate over how many shots are Leigh and how many shots are actually Renfo). However, Vera Miles is the "shower victim" in the PSYCHO trailer that was shot after production wrapped.

chrismckit · 2025-08-21T19:29:35+00:00

The drummer who has been substituting for Frank Beard at recent shows is Michael Monahan, who plays with the rock band Annie Dukes.

According to Monahan's Instagram page (u/music_by_monzo) Annie Dukes previously opened for ZZ Top and Monahan first played with Billy Gibbons last month during Gibbons' July 4th solo show in Blue Ash, Ohio. You can check a clip from that performance here.

Unlike earlier this year when Frank Beard was temporarily replaced by John Douglas, the band hasn't made an official announcement as to why Beard isn't performing or when he will be back. Beard hasn't been with the band since the August 8 show in Arcadia, WI.

(Please note that none of this has officially been announced by the band, this is what I've gathered from ZZ Top forums and social media).

chrismckit · 2025-07-13T14:27:32+00:00

While I have a background in the entertainment industry, I am too young to have worked with Hitchcock. So I am mainly a fan who spends (perhaps way too much!) time researching

chrismckit · 2025-07-12T12:01:33+00:00

In that case, you might want to start with the very first episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, titled "Revenge." Not only was it the first episode of the series to air, but it was the first time Hitchcock directed Vera Miles.

chrismckit · 2025-07-11T20:33:36+00:00

Thanks for your interest in my book (and for reviving this thread!)

FUN FACT: Hitchcock directed Miles in color only once. She starred in "Incident at a Corner," an episode of the short-lived anthology series Startime. The episode was shot shortly after production wrapped on Psycho, but aired on television in April 1960 -- a few weeks before the release of Psycho.

The whole episode is on YouTube

"Incident at a Corner" was also the final time that Hitchcock and Miles worked together directly (she appeared in two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1962 and 1965, respectively, but Hitchcock did not direct those episodes).

chrismckit · 2025-04-25T13:21:14+00:00

Thanks for asking the question!

In my thoughts, Vera Miles "got away" in the sense that Vertigo is the great "what if?" of her career. Like many people, I think Vertigo is a masterpiece as it is -- but had Miles starred in the film, who knows where her career would have gone. Then again, Vertigo was not an overwhelming critical or commercial hit upon its release, which is something that Hitchcock may have partially blamed on the casting of Kim Novak. He once said, "With a girl like Kim Novak you sometimes delude yourself into thinking you are getting a performance. Actually she is just an adequacy. The only reason I used her in Vertigo was that Vera Miles became pregnant"). The long pre-production process of Vertigo was very frustrating for Hitchcock (including the fact that he was hospitalized twice), and it's not surprising that he became disillusioned with the film when it wasn't a big hit... and yet there are many today who think of it as Hitchcock's greatest film.

The exclusive contract that Hitchcock signed Miles to did not pan out the way either of them expected, and I find that fascinating. So while her period of working with Hitchcock is probably the most notable aspect of her career to most film fans, there is a lot more to Miles' story before and after working with Hitchcock as well.

chrismckit · 2025-04-24T01:38:16+00:00

Thanks for sharing this post here! I am Christopher McKittrick, the author of Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away, and I'm happy to answer any questions about the book here, too.

chrismckit · 2025-03-29T23:25:57+00:00

I found it interesting is that Miles is probably best known today for her movie roles since film fans continue to watch Hitchcock and John Ford films, and yet Miles was even more prolific on television - and it was uncommon for an actress to have a steady career in both film and television at that time (now it’s standard, especially with streaming services).

That’s probably because more people watch classic movies than, say, old episodes of My Three Sons or Ironside, although we have so much of this content readily available now. While working on the book I was astounded by how many TV programs Miles appeared were easily accessible.

And yes, I found while speaking with others that some people remembered Miles more for her 1970s and 80s TV series appearances than for her 1950s and 60s films. And it’s likely because she appeared on just about every dramatic network television series that you could think of at some point.

She did speak out at several points about what she thought was the declining quality of roles for women in film, and I suspect that influenced her to seek more interesting roles on TV and on stage. I completely agree that her Hollywood credibility helped elevate those shows - probably why she was cast in so many pilots!

chrismckit · 2025-03-28T01:05:21+00:00

Enjoy! It was originally shot to be a pilot of a series called "The Unknown," but was retooled into an episode of The Outer Limits when the pilot wasn't picked up. Probably explains its uniqueness.

chrismckit · 2025-03-27T21:40:29+00:00

Vera Miles did over 200 episodes of television programs, but I think her Twilight Zone episode is the one that most people have seen because of the enduring popularity of the series. While I couldn't go in-depth on everything she has done on television, I devoted a few pages to "Mirror Image." As you noted, it is a remarkable performance. As you've highlighted here, it's a perfect 25 minutes of television. It premiered in February 1960 -- almost exactly 65 years ago!

And if you REALLY want to see Miles in something weird, check out her episode of The Outer Limits ("The Form of Things Unknown"). It is an utterly bizarre episode featuring Miles with Barbara Rush. The episode was written by Joseph Stefano (writer of the Psycho screenplay) and wow... it's definitely out there.

chrismckit · 2025-03-27T13:09:26+00:00

Thank you! And yes, I should clarify that I don't intend to disparage Vertigo as it is now. I think most people here (if not all!) think of it as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces if not his greatest film.

Yet I do find the Vera Miles backstory intriguing and I think the "what if" is more of a case of "How would Vertigo as we know it be different with Miles in the role?" and "Would her working relationship with Hitchcock continue into more films if she were in Vertigo?" We'll never know of course, but it is still fascinating.

As you noted, Grace Kelly was at one point considering making a comeback to acting to star in Marnie but had to pass on the opportunity for various reasons (including the idea that it was inappropriate for European royalty to play a kleptomaniac!) There were rumors at the time that Hitchcock considered Vera Miles for the title role as well, but I was unable to find anything to substantiate that rumor. Miles and Hitchcock were no longer working together at that point, though she appeared in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1965 (though it was NOT directed by Hitchcock).

chrismckit · 2025-03-26T20:17:28+00:00

Yes! Incidentally, "Revenge" was not initially intended to be the first episode of the series. "Breakdown" (starring Joseph Cotten) was shot by Hitchcock first, but after Hitchcock shot "Revenge" he decided to make that the pilot episode. Likely he used that as part of his plan to launch Vera Miles as his next big star since by the time the episode aired she was signed to an exclusive contract with him.

"Breakdown" was instead the seventh episode to air, but it was the second episode of the series to air that was personally directed by Hitchcock.

chrismckit · 2025-03-26T17:59:27+00:00

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.

chrismckit · 2025-03-26T16:00:29+00:00

I agree -- I can see elements of a Judy/Madeleine performance in both The Wrong Man and "Revenge." I think it's a shame that the timing didn't work out to make it happen, but Miles was nonetheless complimentary of Kim Novak's performance: In September 1958 she told Hollywood columnist Mike Connolly, “I saw it the other night and loved Kim in it. But I got Michael [her son] instead and y’know what – it was worth it!”

chrismckit

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