Review: Rope (1948)

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Rope

Rating

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Screenplay

Hume Cronyn, Arthur Laurents (Play: Patrick Hamilton)

Length

1h 20m

Starring

Dick Hogan, John Dall, Farley Granger, Edith Evanson, Douglas Dick, Joan Chandler, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, James Stewart

MPAA Rating

Approved

Basic Plot

Two young men decide to kill one of their classmates simply for the thrill of it.

Review

Alfred Hitchcock has long been considered one of the premiere auteurs in American cinema. Amazingly, he hails from England where he got his start and as with most major foreign directors, he wound up in America where he made some of history’s most memorable films. It’s hard to find anyone who hasn’t heard of these film classics: “Psycho,” “North by Northwest,” “Vertigo” and “The Birds.” However, few remember some of his lesser-known classics such as “Rope.”

“Rope” is one of many films that Hitchcock experimented in. This film features several very long takes with hidden cuts that are masked through close ups on various actors’ backs. It is also his first film in color. It is not the color experimentation that makes this film so intriguing, it’s the use of long takes.

“Rope” is set in a small apartment where the camera only physically enters two rooms. It is most unique because one of the rooms, a living room of sorts, has a very large set of windows overlooking a cityscape. Because the film takes place in real time and there is not much time for set adjustments, the city background was designed so that it went through various stages of daylight. It transforms from the crisp early evening sun to the red glow of dusk and finally the darkness of night.

The film opens on a small apartment where its two inhabitants have invited one of their classmates over and are strangling him in the first scene. When his body goes limp, they begin hiding their grizzly murder. Why did they do it? Simply to find out what it feels like to hold a man’s life in their hands and then take it from him.

The mastermind behind the deed is Brandon (John Dall) who feels that unintelligent human is a blight on civilization and should be removed from the equation. Philip (Farley Granger, also seen in Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train”) seems to be merely along for the ride. What makes the murder most shocking is that they decide to hide the body in a large chest in the living room and then decorate it for their party that evening. They want to have their artwork on display before their unsuspecting guests.

One of their guests is their classmate’s girlfriend Janet (Joan Chandler), who Brandon has a crush on. Another is their classmate’s father Mr. Kentley (Cedric Hardwicke). There are other guests, but the one that Brandon is so excited about is his teacher, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), who put the idea of some humans being a waste of space into his mind.

“Rope” is one of those films that doesn’t seem to age. Its psychological and philosophical themes are as relevant today as they were then. Hitchcock proves that he is a master of psychological thrillers and doesn’t let us down. Every performance is adequate with Granger as the only stand out and Stewart doesn’t let us down as the fatherly professor.

The film’s biggest strength is in its tantalizing plot. “Rope” is a very good movie that suffers only from its somewhat false sense of editing, but overall benefits from Hitchcock’s masterful direction.