September 11th: Rope
Rope
Released: 1948
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Cedric Hardwicke
What happens when two guys too wealthy and educated for their own good lose all empathy and morality? What happens when they take the philosophical expounding on the stratification of society by a dilettante they knew in school to its logical yet horrifying end? That’s what Rope explores. And in doing so, it develops tropes used by movie and TV detectives ever since.
Brandon and Philip have killed David. Why? For shits ‘n giggs. Seriously. That’s basically the reason. To prove that they could. For the thrill and excitement that their lives need for some reason. But especially to show off in front of their former teacher, who gave them the philosophy of superior vs. inferior to test out. Their teacher, Rupert, had the thought that people of superior intellect have the ability to get away with something like murder, with the implication being that they are able to hide things better because they are…well…better. So after killing David, our couple — I will get to this in a moment — has a party that includes David’s parents, his girlfriend, his rival and Rupert all there in the room with David’s corpse. Because of pure villainous hubris.
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This film is interesting for a couple of reasons beyond the story. First, there are literally only 11 cuts in the film. That means long shots. One lasts over ten minutes and another two are longer than nine. Even better, Hitchcock hides the breaks by zooming in on the backs of dark suit jackets so that the shots feel even longer. It is an experiment on how to give a stage play experience in a movie. Beyond being interesting filmmaking, it adds to the tension experienced by the main characters. The other reason the film is interesting is the relationship(s) of the main characters. Brandon and Philip are clearly a couple. Philip emotionally relies on Brandon. There is an implication that there is only one bedroom. Brandon does his best to protect Philip. But because of — my arch-nemesis — the Hays Code still being enforced, Hitchcock couldn’t be more explicit about their relationship. So he and screenwriter Arthur Laurents use subtlety to code their relationship. Two queer actors, John Dall and Farley Granger, play the characters. In the subtext it is clear that Brandon and Philip have no interest in Janet. In fact, Brandon only has interest in stirring up relationship trouble between his murder victim and his victim’s girlfriend — which is a cultural code of homosexuality. In an era of censorship and hiding of these kinds of realities, it is interesting how Hitchcock goes around it while still making it clear.
Small Observations:
- At a running time of around 81 minutes, the pacing of this feels like an extra special episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In fact, it could have been used as a test case when proposing the idea of an anthology show. Before you say James Stewart was too big a star to be in something like that, let me list for you some guest stars of the show: Bette Davis, Joan Fontaine, Teresa Wright, and Joseph Cotten among up-and-coming actors like Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Clint Eastwood, and Burt Reynolds.
- Watching this movie feels like watching an ancestor of TV murder mystery shows. Especially ones like Columbo where we know who the murderer is from the outset. Watching Rupert see or hear things that he starts to add together is fun because you know the puzzle, just not the pieces.
- The acting by the three principal actors is quite good, particularly Stewart and Dall. Granger gives a good if a little whiny performance as the guilt-ridden — or perhaps fearing being caught — Philip.
- MCU actors: 0
Overall Rank: A
A tightly written and acted story. There isn’t a whole lot to it, but the hour and twenty minutes is full of interesting film techniques and subtextual relationships between characters. Recommended.
