Marnie

This is not the stuff that director Hitchcock is usually attracted to. Hitchcock was scared of jails. In this film, the lead female character prefers to be bridled by marriage rather than jail. It is an intriguing choice for a character who had earlier stated to her husband "You don't love me. I am something you have caught. Some kind of wild animal you have trapped." Aware of this, the young lady who has so far fooled a lot of rich men and escaped the law, prefers marriage to jail. She is smart, a woman who embezzles her employers to buy rich gifts for her mother, aware of modesty in dress (keeps pulling her skirt over her knees) and a convincing liar. Like "Notorious," the marriage is one of convenience, or so it appears—the end of the film is open-ended.

For those who are not aware of it, Hitchcock fired the initial scriptwriter (a male), who honestly felt the rape of the wife by the husband was out character with male lead played by Sean Connery. The replaced scriptwriter (a lady) wrote the sequence which was used, in a suggestive way rather than a graphic way. Hitchcock loved to slip in sex even if it was out of character. Lesbianism is suggested by the husband's sister-in-law's remark "What a dish!" a remark one would associate from the opposite sex. (Hitchcock similarly played with homosexuality in "Rope"). A critical scene that could be mistaken for child molestation was probably an innocent gesture mistaken by the mother.

Hitchcock usually was attentive to visuals and sound. This is an unusual film where the director swings from one extreme of high sophistication to absolute stupidity. The opening shots of the woman walking away with the yellow handbag are stunning. The silent "cleaning" of the office safe, while a deaf woman cleans the office is simply outstanding. Yet the crass painting of a dock near Marnie's mother's house would make a school kid laugh out loud. Why would a woman who is scared of red wear red lipstick or not react when her husband's sister-in-law wears red at a party? Similarly, the shot of Marnie's hand not being able to pick up the money in the safe is an unconvincing shot, if ever there was one.

The film can be appreciated and be equally dismissed. The acting by all the main characters was good but Louise Latham performance (and make up!) needs to be singled out for praise. Kubrick seems to have copied Hitchcock's Marie's voice differentiation in the young child's voice in "The Shining." I am not surprised if people swing from liking the film to dismissing it and back again. It has great elements and bad elements as well—yet the bottom line is, it entertains!

Marnie operates as a confidence trickster, taking her cash from her employers, and changing her identity along the way, she's spotted one day by a wealthy businessman named Mark, who tries to help her see the error of her ways.

This seems to be one of the more underrated Hitchcock movies, it doesn't seem to be as worshipped as the likes of Vertigo and The Birds, but I think it deserves more acclaim. Hitchcock definitely pushed the boundaries with Marnie, in many ways it was ahead of its time, tackling subjects that are this time weren't often talked about.

What's so interesting about this film, is learning what makes Marnie tick, the history with her mum, and her terror of blood, you have to wait to learn everything, but its worth the wait.

The filming and camera work are terrific, so many scenes are memorable, that moment where Marnie is raiding the safe, with the cleaner at work the other side of the door, that was great, that moment where Mark leans over her on the ship, that was also a great piece of filming.

Two incredible performances, Tippi Hedren is perfect as Marnie, she's conniving, smart, broken, but glamorous and determined. Connery is the perfect counter balance, he's tough, forthright, confident and fiendishly handsome, the pair combine incredibly well.

It deserves more acclaim.

9/10.

When Marnie was first released it was (quite unfairly) dismissed by critics. It has since been come to be known as one of Hitchcock's great films though. Tippi Hedren stars as Marnie. She is a liar and a thief. She has stolen large amounts of money from her employers on various occasions. Things start to change as she begins to work for the dashing Mark Rutland though. He becomes romantically interested in her but not wanting to get close to anybody she decides to steal the money and escape as quickly as she can. However, Mark catches her red handed and he gives her the choice of marrying him or being held accountable for her crimes. She chooses to marry him but he comes to find out that she can't stand to be touched by any man. He realizes that she has a deep seated problem from her past and that he must now help her to confront this. Marnie is a wonderful film and it is very underrated. A lot of people have watched it and it has gone over their heads therefore leading to the underrated status. It is much the same with Tippi Hedren's performance. Even though it is brilliant alot of people cannot see how wonderful it really is. Sean Connery is also very good.

It is really too bad that some people can't see Marnie for the masterpiece that it is. It's really quite pointless to call Marnie a "flawed" film as well. If Marnie is truly watched intelligently you will see that this is not the case. Marnie deserves far more credit than it gets. If you watch it I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

5 stars / 5 stars

I think this just about proves that Sean Connery is an excellent actor outside Bond. At the time when Marnie was released, it recieved bad reviews. Why is a mystery to me. This film has everything you want in a film, and it also possesses that remarkable interest and captivating nature that you associate with a Hitchcock film. Again, the performance of Tippi Hedren was excellent, despite her ongoing row with Mr Hitchcock. The story is both believable and suspending. Alfred Hitchcock is "The Master of Suspense".

If you are a Hitchcock fan or not, you must watch this. This proves to be one of the best of the Hitchcock Collection.

I award this film 10/10. I love it and so will you.

"Marnie" is one of the least essential-to-watch Hitchcock films: he plays one ingenious trick on the audience (the robbery and the cleaning lady), but apart from that one sequence, there are hardly any memorable set-pieces or flourishes (the screen going red a few times does not count). Like "Suddenly, Last Summer", the entire film hinges on what-happened-that-fateful-day. But unlike SLS, where the ultimate revelation is genuinely shocking, the ending of "Marnie" leaves us with an "is that all?" feeling. Very good performances by both Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery, full-blown score by Berrnard Hermann. **1/2 out of 4.