Rope

Genre: crime thriller
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Release: 1948
Studio: Transatlantic Pictures, Warner Bros. - Warner Bros., Universal
Rating: PG
MBiS score: 8.0/10


Some People Can’t Get A Joke


In a New York City apartment where they will soon entertain guests, Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger) are keeping themselves busy by strangling a good friend of theirs, David Kentley (Dick Hogan), with a piece of rope. When David dies, Brandon is so ecstatic that he calls the act a masterpiece, an artistic triumph. Has the duo committed the perfect crime? Brandon believes so… and it’s a murder for connoisseurs, not for the common man! With Edith Evanson (Mrs. Wilson), Cedric Hardwicke (David’s father), Constance Collier (Mrs. Atwater), Douglas Dick (Kenneth Lawrence), Joan Chandler (Janet Walker) and James Stewart (Rupert Cadell).

If this film’s premise seems too grotesque, cruel or disgusting to you − for good reason, I might add − you should brace yourself for a few minutes of queasy viewing while Brandon basks in the glory of his crime (Phillip’s reaction, for reasons I won’t reveal, is far less enthusiastic). When the duo’s guests arrive and the party begins ‘in earnest’, the movie will take on a less threatening tone but you mustn’t expect tact or moderation from Alfred Hitchcock, given his reputation as a ‘master of the macabre’; there will be humour, yes, but only in shades of black. Most of ROPE, which is based on true events and a Patrick Hamilton play, hinges on a few pivotal words such as ‘concealment’, ‘cat and mouse’ and ‘impunity’. It should be enough to build a fine and chilling movie spectacle… which is exactly what Hitchcock and a writing team composed of Hume Cronyn, Arthur Laurents and Ben Hecht have accomplished here.

Aside from its shocking subject matter, ROPE is a cinematic curiosity for reasons of technology. According to Moviehead, a commentator here in Canada, Hitchcock wanted to shoot his story in one long take, as if in real time, but obviously couldn’t because his cameras didn’t allow it. He thus decided to film it in segments that were linked together to simulate continuous action; you will surely notice these links, which appear as odd close-ups, interrupting the narrative every eight minutes or so. This inconvenience aside, Hitchcock’s direction is flawless and the movie’s dramatic tension develops logically and very effectively. Acting is also irreproachable (especially by John Dall) but it’s James Stewart’s inspired performance that really fires things up. As for production values, they are satisfactory but by no means extravagant… since all of the action takes place in a single apartment. The movie’s strong payoff is also well worth your time and viewing effort.

In the same way that crime requires motive, you may need some incentive to see ROPE, considering its dark, unappealing side. If you can’t find one too readily, let me suggest mine: Hitchcock’s movie instructs us on the criminal mind and on human nature itself. As abhorrent as its content may seem at first, it does reflect some people’s thinking… and thus serves a useful purpose. Chicken strangling, anyone?


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