Alfred Hitchcock wrote in 1982: "The Hitchcock touch had four hands, and two were Alma's." Hitchcock began work on his tenth film, "Blackmail" (1929), when its production company, British International Pictures (BIP), converted its Elstree studios to sound. The film was the first British ""; it followed the first American sound feature film, "The Jazz Singer" (1927). "Blackmail" began the Hitchcock tradition of using famous landmarks as a backdrop for suspense sequences, with the climax taking place on the dome of the British Museum. It also features one of his longest cameo appearances, which shows him being bothered by a small boy
Samuel Hitchcock 1787 to 1790, when he became the first Attorney General of Vermont, serving from 1790 to 1793. He served simultaneously, from 1789 to 1793, as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives. Hitchcock also served as a Justice of the Peace and heard cases in Burlington. In 1791, Hitchcock was a delegate to the Vermont convention which ratified the United States Constitution and enabled Vermont to join the Union as the 14th state. Hitchcock drafted the charter for the University of Vermont, was an original member of its board of trustees, and was the longtime secretary of the board.