The Searchers with special guest Christopher McKittrick, Author of "Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde That Got Away"

• Friday, November 7 @ 7:30 pm
• The Everett Theatre, Middletown, DE

The Searchers (1956): A revered Western, starring John Wayne, Natalie Wood, Jeffrey Hunter and Vera Miles. 

Film introduction, post Q&A, and book signing by Christopher McKittrick, author of "Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away." 

Captivating, talented, and beautiful, Vera Miles was destined for fame. Within a few years of making her way to Hollywood in 1949, she starred in such films as The Rose Bowl Story (1952), Tarzan's Hidden Jungle (1955), and Wichita (1955). Her frequent television performances so enthralled Alfred Hitchcock that he chose her to be Grace Kelly's successor for roles in The Wrong Man (1956) and the iconic film Psycho (1960). She also starred in John Ford's The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962). Miles's illustrious film and television career spanned nearly fifty years in Hollywood, and yet she is still considered one of the most unsung film actresses of her era.

Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away is the first full-length biography of the talented performer's life and extensive body of work. Integrating historical interviews and archival materials, author Christopher McKittrick reveals the struggles Miles faced as a working mother in the 1950s and 1960s and why she was compelled to step away from the lead role in Vertigo―a choice that irrevocably sundered her relationship with Hitchcock. Yet Miles would go on to appear in nearly two hundred television shows, including The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Ironside, and The Virginian, as well as numerous Disney films. She would work with some of the most talented actors in Hollywood―John Wayne, Bob Hope, and James Stewart among them―and would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. By highlighting Miles as the lead in her own story, McKittrick amplifies the voice of this remarkable and prolific actress who was far more than just a footnote in Hitchcock's film legacy.

Order now at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

A New Book About the Hollywood Star of PSYCHO, THE SEARCHERS, and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE

Vera Miles: The Hitchcock Blonde Who Got Away (Now Available)

Featured in the Observer's "2025 Best Memoirs and Biographies"

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.'

-Wall Street Journal

A cinephile's delight.

-Observer

Author Christopher McKittrick makes a persuasive case for celebrating the consummate professional Miles became rather than mourning the icon she never was

-Film International

The fullest account of (Vera Miles') varied career.

―Shepherd Express

The Author: Christopher McKittrick is the author of the books Howling to the Moonlight on a Hot Summer Night: The Tale of the Stray Cats (Backbeat, 2024), Gimme All Your Lovin': The Blues, Boogie, and Beard of ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons (Backbeat, 2024), Can’t Give It Away on Seventh Avenue: The Rolling Stones and New York City (Post Hill Press, 2019), and Somewhere You Feel Free: Tom Petty and Los Angeles (Post Hill Press, 2020). McKittrick is also a regular contributor on podcasts and radio programs concerning film, music, and pop culture.

Film Literature & Poetry Northern Delaware

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