Alfred Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English director, and filmmaker. Dubbed the "Master of Suspense", for his use of innovative film techniques in thrillers, Hitchcock started his career in the British film industry as a title designer, and art director for a number of silent films during the early 1920s. His directorial debut was the 1925 release The Pleasure Garden. Hitchcock followed this with The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, his first commercial and critical success. It featured many of the thematic elements his films would be known for such as an innocent man on the run, and also featured the first of his famous cameo appearances. Two years later, he directed the thriller Blackmail (1929) which was his first sound film. In 1935, Hitchcock directed spy thriller The 39 Steps. Three years later, he directed the comic thriller The Lady Vanishes starring Margaret Lockwood, and Michael Redgrave.