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Hitchcock on Hitchcock edited by sidney gottlieb..

"one thing i remind myself when selecting my heroine is that she must be fashioned to please women rather than men, for the reason that women form the quarters of the average cinema audience. therefore no actress can be a good commercial proposition as a film heroine unless she pleases her own sex.
people say that the sex appeal is the most important quality which can be possessed by any screen actress, but ignore the fact that the woman stars whose popularity has been long-lasting such as lillian gish, have no sexual appeal as the phrase is used in jargon today. the owe their success not only to their talent and charm, but to the fact that they invariably appear in roles which, in respect of suggestion and ultimate achievement appeal to the best in human nature.
the screen heroine must not only be a thoroughly nice girl but must posses vitality, both in the looks and quality of her voice .  choosing a heroine on screen is different to choosing one for the stage. as for the stage can be deceiving because of the distance between the audience and the player, ie a middle aged woman could look young and beautiful, where as on screen imitations of real beauty and youth would be detected straight away. in addition to these qualities, the actress must be above medium height, smallness is a definite asset. a little actress not only photographs better particular in close up scenes, then one who "rears her form to stately height" but is more pleasing to the audience, who like to see the heroines curly head nestling against the heros manly chest. if she is taller, she may make him look insignificant. And last but not least, i have to decide weather my heroine is sensitive to direction. ie if she is the kind of girl i can mould into my imagination of the heroine in my head.