Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away makes a persuasive case for celebrating the consummate professional Miles became rather than mourning the icon she never was, and—by all accounts—never really wanted to be.
Christopher McKittrick offers a deeply insightful exploration of Vera Miles's career, particularly her years working with Alfred Hitchcock. McKittrick expertly unpacks the complexities of Miles's professional and personal life, dispelling myths and providing fresh perspectives on her relationship with the legendary director. His balanced and thoughtful analysis, supported by archival research and interviews, presents Miles not as a mere footnote in Hitchcock's career but as a talented and independent actress who carved her own path. With its engaging narrative and nuanced critique, this biography is an essential read for cinephiles and anyone fascinated by the golden age of Hollywood.
Vera Miles is best known for three movies she made with celebrated directors John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock: The Searchers, Psycho, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. She also appeared in nearly 200 television shows during a busy 50-year career. Author and journalist McKittrick recounts her life and work in detail, from her "fairly typical" youth in Kansas in the 1940s to her retirement in 1992.... A respectful, well-informed biography.
Vera Miles is a terrific biography of a terrific actress — and long overdue.... McKittrick places her films in their proper (classic) context, while also conveying Miles's other credits — and her personal life — in absorbing, sympathetic fashion.
Among the many lead actresses who worked with Alfred Hitchcock, Vera Miles is often overlooked. Christopher McKittrick has written a sympathetic biography of "the Hitchcock blonde who got away."
An immensely readable, exhaustively researched biography. McKittrick delivers an insightful and nuanced account of Miles's relationship with Alfred Hitchcock and shows how popular misconceptions have obscured her remarkable career. A fascinating portrait of an actress who quietly excelled at her craft while staying true to her values.
Vera Miles is one of Hitchcock's most underrated actresses, and Christopher McKittrick has written the definitive book about her prolific career in Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away. This biography shows Miles is more than the singular role that she is most associated with and shares insight about the strong actress behind it.
As a Hitchcock scholar, I've long been fascinated by the figure of Vera Miles due to her roles in two of his films (The Wrong Man and Psycho), and I've been a fan of her other movie work in the 1950s. Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away deserves a proud place on the film studies bookshelf. It clears the smoke that has too long obfuscated the relationship of Hitchcock and Miles, and it allows fans of classic television to appreciate Miles's many noteworthy contributions. Bravo, Mr. McKittrick!
A cinephile's delight.
As the first biography of Vera Miles, this is an important contribution to Hollywood history and a fascinating examination of an actress who is often overlooked despite her amazing career.
In this brisk, deeply researched volume, McKittrick corrects the misperception of Vera Miles as a movie star defined by missed opportunities. Instead, readers will meet a strong, self-taught individual who balanced ambitions of acting and parenthood, and achieved those goals on her own terms.
Featured in the Observer Daily's "2025 Best Memoirs and Biographies"
2025-01-14
The prolific career of a hard-working actress.
Vera Miles is best known for three movies she made with celebrated directors John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock:The Searchers,Psycho, andThe Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. She also appeared in nearly 200 television shows during a busy 50-year career. Author and journalist McKittrick recounts her life and work in detail, from her “fairly typical” youth in Kansas in the 1940s to her retirement in 1992. In 1948, as third runner-up in the Miss America pageant, Vera Ralston was offered a contract from RKO at $500 a week (roughly $6,500 today). Her career start was rocky: After she quickly married Bob Miles, a driver for Howard Hughes, RKO’s volatile owner, an angry Hughes fired his driver, and soon her contract was sold to Fox. McKittrick documents the ups and downs of her career: directors who cast her, actors she performed with, critics’ assessments, and plot summaries. As Miles became increasingly famous, reports of her personal life filled gossip columns, including divorces, four marriages, and four pregnancies. Family life, McKittrick asserts, was central to her. She wanted “primarily to make a living for herself and her children. Professional respect and stardom would be welcome benefits to that end goal but not her motivating factors.” Still, stardom did come her way, particularly when Hitchcock put her under personal contract. With Grace Kelly giving up acting to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco, Hitchcock needed another sophisticated blonde, and Miles filled the bill. He was disgruntled when she had to withdraw from the starring role inVertigowhen she became pregnant. Although McKittrick’s sources don’t reveal much of Miles’ inner life, he nevertheless offers a comprehensive filmography.
A respectful, well-informed biography.
