Rope (1948)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Patrick Hamilton (play)
Hume Cronyn (adaptation)

Release Date:

28 August 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The guest who's dead on time

Plot:

Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime.

Plot Keywords:

Party | Dinner Party | Murder | Intellectual | Chest

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 26

10:45 PM

TCM

Cast

James Stewart	...	Rupert Cadell
John Dall	...	Brandon Shaw
Farley Granger	...	Phillip Morgan
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Mr. Kentley (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Constance Collier	...	Mrs. Atwater
Douglas Dick	...	Kenneth Lawrence
Edith Evanson	...	Mrs. Wilson
Dick Hogan	...	David Kentley
Joan Chandler	...	Janet Walker

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #13027) | USA:PG (TV rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Iceland:L | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 (2003) | New Zealand:PG | Portugal:(Banned) (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:14A (video rating) | Canada:AA (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:11 (re-release) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Transatlantic Pictures

Trivia:

Eleven years after being mentioned in Rope (1948) as making an excellent villain, James Mason was finally cast by Alfred Hitchcock as such in North by Northwest (1959).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rupert describes how he would "get rid" of David, the camera pans from the easy chair to the piano. When it returns to the chair about ten seconds later, the chair is facing a different direction.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Brandon: Open it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Code Name: Diamond Head (#7.8)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover

Compromised mostly of dialog but always fascinating, a film experiment that never feels gimmicky. One of Hitchock's most unfortunately overlooked.

"Rope" is one of Hitchcock's most unfortunately overlooked films. It doesn't have the depth of some of his other works (such as "Vertigo" or "Psycho"), but its just as engrossing and entertaining. Hitchcock could take such a seemingly simple premise and effectively stretch it out to a feature length and have none of it seem like filler. "Rope" is one of the most innovative film experiments of the decade, and it never feels gimmicky. Hitchcock, the master of suspense, is at the top of his game here. The film may be mostly nothing but dialog, but its always fascinating.

The acting is very good, as usual when working with Hitchcock's skilled direction. John Dall is absolutely spellbinding as one of cinema's scariest villains, an intellectual whose disregard for human emotions and morals verges more on fascism than the sub-Nietschze philosophy he proclaims. James Stewart is also superb as the voice of reason throughout the tension. The rest of the cast is good if occasionally awkward in delivery, but both Dall and Stewart turn in phenomenal performances.

Another interesting aspect of the film is the homoerotic subtext. I'm surprised it made it past the censors of the day, but to modern viewers its obvious there's something more to Dall and Farley Granger's relationship than just roommates. "Rope" is an absolutely fascinating film from the master of suspense, and even if its not his masterpiece, this is probably my personal favorite of Hitchcock's next to "Vertigo". (9/10)