I am the son of a London East End greengrocer William Hitchcock and his wife Emma. I was raised as a strict Catholic and attended Saint Ignatius College, a school run by Jesuits. My first job outside of the family business was as an estimator for the Henley Telegraph and Cable Company. My interest in movies began at around this time, when I began frequently visiting the cinema and reading US trade journals.

A few years later, I learned that Lasky was to open a studio in London and managed to secure a job as a title designer. I designed the titles for all the movies made at the studio for the next two years.

I got my first chance at directing when the director of Always Tell Your Wife fell ill and I was called in to complete the movie (and I must say, I still recommend this sage piece of advice: ALWAYS tell your wife).

Impressed by my work, studio chiefs handed me my first directing assignment on Number 13, however, before it could be finished, the studio closed its British operation.

I was then hired by Michael Balcon to work as an assistant director for the company later to be known as Gainsborough Pictures. But in reality I did more than this - I worked as a writer, title designer and art director. After several films for the company, I was given the chance to direct a British/German co-production called The Pleasure Garden.

The rest is history -- more or less.