Marnie

"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.

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 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.

Marnie is not perfect, the horse riding scenes are artificially edited and some of the sets seemed somewhat plastic-theatre-backdrop standard. However, while Marnie is not one of Hitchcock's very finest films, it is one of his most underrated. And I don't think it is close to his worst, his weakest overall for me is Jamaica Inn and Topaz the worst of his late-period films. Hitchcock directs splendidly with a lot of memorable touches in the final thirty minutes that are his style all over, while the photography is suave, atmospheric and above all striking. Bernard Hermann's score, while not quite as good as his ones for Vertigo and Psycho, fits perfectly and has a very haunting edge. The dialogue has wit and intensity, which makes the many talky scenes in Marnie interesting. The story is slow in pace but didn't bore me, here there are themes that are not easy to talk about that are explored compellingly and tastefully. The final thirty minutes is edge-of-your-seat stuff, to me the best final act of any Hitchcock film pro-Psycho. The characters are not easy to engage with and very complex, especially Hedren's, but all the actors give their all to making them interesting to the viewer. Grace Kelly may be more people's idea of icy aloofness needed for the woman who steals to forget, but Tippi Hedren particularly in the final act does a very good job(though I preferred her in The Birds). Sean Connery has a very atypical role, his character is somewhat boorish and calculating but he brings those qualities across as well as his trademark suavity and charm. Diane Baker is terrific, and Louise Latham is genuinely frightening as the mother figure. Bruce Dern and Martin Gabel don't have as much to do, but they are good too. To conclude, a fascinating film. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The rumors surrounding Marnie - the last in an amazing run of truly great Hitchcock movies that lasted from 1950-1964 - are plentiful. All of them consist of director Alfred Hitchcock's growing obsession for Tippi Hedrin (who starred in The Birds one year earlier). By the end of the movie, Hitchcock would not talk to Hedrin or even refer to her by name (this following a supposed failed pass at Hedrin), and his friends say Marnie was the last movie Hitchcock truly cared about.

Regardless of the rumors, Marnie was a box-office failure and went unnoticed until recently when DVD brought back Hitchcock's unremarkable films, along with his classics. And behold, from the ashes ariseth... Marnie.

Starring Hedrin as Marnie and Sean Connery as the man who falls in love with her, this movie tells of a compulsive thief and pathalogical liar who is caught by Connery and blackmailed into marrying him. Connery finds that Hedrin has incredible fears of red and thunderstorms, refuses to let men touch her and has disturbing dreams brought on by knocks at her door. Connery must play the dual role of keeping Marnie away from the police while trying to find out why she does what she does.

This is indeed an excellent Hitchcock film. He reminds the audience that he did start out directing silent movies, and uses this silence very well in the robbery/cleaning lady scene. The moments leading up to Marnie's revealing flashback are incredible, and the movie reeks of typical Hitchcock: slow, methodic pacing to a brilliant and stunning climax.

Marnie is not a patented "Hitchcock classic": The fades-to-red have not aged well (if they ever did look good), the horse-riding scenes just don't work, and the backgrounds are obviously fake (although it has been speculated that Hitchcock did this on purpose -- whatever the case he later regretted it). But the basic premise, the acting, the directing are all top notch and have turned Marnie into another of the "Underrated Hitchcock"s.

8/10