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Marnie (1964)

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135 comments in total

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64 out of 78 people found the following comment useful :-
Yet another underrated Hitchcock, 13 julio 2001

Author: TexMetal4JC de Conn.

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

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57 out of 73 people found the following comment useful :-
Freud, Hitchcock, Sex and Suspense, 19 junio 2004
Author: jay_thompson680 (jay_thompson680@hotmail.com) de Clifton Hill, Melbourne, Australia

Hitchcock's Marnie was a critical and financial failure when released in 1964. Some decades afterwards, the film was 'rediscovered' by film theorists fascinated by its engagement with issues such as Freudian psychoanalysis, sexual abuse, gender roles, trauma, sexual deviance.

The central plot revolves around Marnie, a habitual thief who goes to work for large corporations, steals from her (always male) boss, then flees - dying her hair, changing her name and then starting over again.

One employer, Mark Rutland, recognises her from one of her previous companies. When she robs him, he pursues and marries her. Playing Freud to her Jane, he alternates between trying to get her into bed and determining the link between her thefts and her fear of sex, thunder storms, the colour red and men.

Tippi Hedren is ideally suited for the role of Marnie; her trembling-but-firm voice and impassive, doll-like face give her the look and feel of a tough-yet-vulnerable child-woman, lost in a nightmare world. Sean Connery is terrific as

Rutland, and the interaction between his character and Marnie suggests (at times) a slight subversion of gender roles. She may be troubled, but she won't easily fall under his net (he likens her to a wild animal) - and will tell him!

Throughout the film, there is a brilliant use of colour, and some memorably dreamlike shots: the opening of Marnie (her face unseen) with black hair, walking as if in a daze along a railway platform and through a hotel; the hand banging against a window, alarming the sleeping Marnie; the flashback to the woman's troubled past.

Unfortunately - and other reviewers on IMDb have argued this - the film's editing is often lazy. Some scenes go on for far too long, and are way too chatty. More show and less tell, I say! There are those fake backdrops. They can be seen to suggest Marnie's detachment from the world (as Hitch once argued), but why couldn't he include them with every shot of her? Laziness, again?

Then there's Lil, the sister of Mark's dead wife. Diane Baker gives a terrific performance, and there is the suggestion that Lil's attraction to her former brother-in-law might be deceptive... it could be Marnie she's after. Just check out the look she gives Marnie when they first meet and her remark ('Who's that Dish'?) But the lesbian subtext is never explored. Lil's character is never developed beyond a woman who alternates between smiling and scowling at Marnie, and then disappearing before the dramatic 'final confession'.

Otherwise, a brave film, elegant to look at, and rich with issues for the film theorist AND the 'casual' viewer to explore.

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49 out of 60 people found the following comment useful :-
An underrated masterpiece!, 5 julio 2000
Author: movie_lover_gurl

When Marnie was first released it was (quite unfairly) dismissed by critics. It has since been come to be known as one of Hitchcock's great films though. Tippi Hedren stars as Marnie. She is a liar and a thief. She has stolen large amounts of money from her employers on various occasions. Things start to change as she begins to work for the dashing Mark Rutland though. He becomes romantically interested in her but not wanting to get close to anybody she decides to steal the money and escape as quickly as she can. However, Mark catches her red handed and he gives her the choice of marrying him or being held accountable for her crimes. She chooses to marry him but he comes to find out that she can't stand to be touched by any man. He realizes that she has a deep seated problem from her past and that he must now help her to confront this. Marnie is a wonderful film and it is very underrated. A lot of people have watched it and it has gone over their heads therefore leading to the underrated status. It is much the same with Tippi Hedren's performance. Even though it is brilliant alot of people cannot see how wonderful it really is. Sean Connery is also very good.

It is really too bad that some people can't see Marnie for the masterpiece that it is. It's really quite pointless to call Marnie a "flawed" film as well. If Marnie is truly watched intelligently you will see that this is not the case. Marnie deserves far more credit than it gets. If you watch it I hope that you enjoy it as much as I have.

5 stars / 5 stars

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48 out of 65 people found the following comment useful :-
MARNIE is the most freudian of Hitchcock's thrillers,, 17 septiembre 2001
Author: Dr. Michael J. McColley-Parmer (mccolley2@mediaone.net) de Los Angeles, California

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Much more so than VERTIGO, which,even though it deals with one man's neurosis, is a classic "whodunit". Jimmy Stewart's coming to grips with his fear of heights at the end of VERTIGO is merely an icing of suspense on an otherwise well baked murder mystery. In MARNIE, on the other hand, Hitchcock deals with the deeper, darker side of Marnie's psycho-sexual illness. Mark Rutland's (Sean Connery)constant probing into Marnie's (Tippi Hedren) persona takes on the role of psychotherapy complete with word association games and sound cues that shake Marnie's subconscious. In one scene Rutland is even seen reading "Psycho-sexual Behavior in the Criminal Mind." Strange night-time reading material for a handsome, newly married businessman of a certain wealth. In the end, there is a complete pyscho-catharsis as Marnie remembers the traumatic night when as a child she killed the sailor (Bruce Dern), thus unleashing a lifetime of criminal psychosis.

Hitchcock's direction is masterful in its depth of portrayal of Freud's "Interpretation of Dreams." The scene in which Marnie experiences a nightmare at the Rutland manse is a perfect example. As the dream begins, the set is that of her mother's house during a stormy night when her mother's clients came rapping on the door. Marnie awakens, however, in the plush bedroom of the Rutland residence. Hitchcock's camera takes us into the criminal unconscious and then exits into an opulent, satin covered reality gone psychotic. This insight helps us to see the troubled Marnie in a sympathetic light. Hedren's awesome acting talent underscores this as at times she emotes a little lost child persona. This is very true to character since emotionally, Marnie's development stopped that night when as a child attempted to save her mother.

From the beginning of the film, Hedren's portrayal of Marnie is pregnant with a little girl's search for maternal love and approval. At the end of the film, Rutland's explanation of Marnie's life of theft as the compensatory behavior of an unloved child is simplistic and amateurish from a psychiatric viewpoint. However, it works for the audience Hitchcock is trying to touch, and it is reminiscent of the doctor's pedantic and sophomoric review of Norman's psychosis in PSYCHO, a horror film rife with simplistic freudian interpretation. On a deeper level, Hitchcock takes us on a journey through one woman's Electra Complex as Marnie's euthanasia of a horse with a broken leg symbolically foreshadows the final scene in which Marnie's new-found memory of the horrible night serves to "kill" her psychotic ties to her mother's past. Now in the paternal yet comforting arms of her husband, Mark, Marnie's life as a grown woman is sure to take a turn for the better. Her fears of going to prison are the only vestige to a child's traumatic past.

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38 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
Great psychological drama, 26 junio 2000

Author: kel_har de VA

From Alfred Hitchcock, comes a gripping romantic thriller about a female thief/liar(Tippi Hedren) and the wealthy man who loves her (Sean Connery). The duo have great chemistry in their scenes together. As Marnie, Hedren acts convincingly with her complex character. Hitchcock's use of color to symbolize terror are spellbinding! Highly recommend for any Hitchcockian fans!

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34 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
What can I say? You shall watch this!, 6 marzo 2000
Author: (6334@stmartins.essex.sch.uk) de Brentwood, England

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.

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30 out of 37 people found the following comment useful :-
'Marnie' might be called a sex mystery, if one used such terms. (Hitchcock), 22 julio 2005
Author: TxMike de Houston, Tx, USA, Earth

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This is part of the Hitchcock series released by Universal on DVD. While the picture and sound are fine, they are by no means "reference quality" for re-release of 1960s vintage color movies. The picture has quite a bit of grain, and at times doesn't appear very sharp, as if made via a second or third generation copy of the original film. Still, a very nice Hitchcock sex mystery (by his own description in the trailer.) In fact, the almost 5 minute trailer included in the DVD extras is very interesting, for those who may not be old enough to have witnessed Hitchcock's humor.

The movie opens with a lady walking away from the camera, clutching a yellow purse, and heading for the train platform. At the same time, her employer Mr. Strutt was lamenting the missing money (almost $10,000) from the company safe. Tippi Hedren stars as Marnie Edgar/Margaret Edgar/Peggy Nicholson/Mary Taylor, a 30-something single lady who seems to have made a career of ripping off her employer then disappearing under a new name and, in most cases, a new look.

Quite accidentally, she next applies for a job with the Rutland company in Philadelphia. Sean Connery is the boss, Mark Rutland, and thinks he recognizes her from his visits with his client, Mr. Strutt. Educated as a Zoologist before he took over the family business, his area of interest was 'animal behavior', which included the human animal, and took an interest in this lady mainly out of curiosity. Diane Baker is Mark's sister Lil, who is suspicious of Marnie from the beginning, and does a bit of sleuthing on her own.

It is clear that Marnie has some big issues from childhood. She tells everyone that she has no family, but sends money back to her mother in Baltimore. When she visits mom will not show any affection, Marnie doesn't understand. Nor does she understand why she is afraid of storms, and especially the color red. Mark falls in love with her very quickly, intent on protecting her and helping her.

MAJOR SPOILERS. As soon as Marnie gets her first opportunity, she steals the code for the Rutland safe, and steals the money. Mark was already suspicious, finds and confronts her, but offers to make restitution himself. When he finds out about the Strutt theft, he covers that one also. He offers to either marry Marnie, or turn her into the police, because he can't just turn a criminal out on the street. With unimaginable patience, he sticks with Marnie, has an investigator look up the mother and her story. Turns out mom was a hooker, catering to sailors on leave in Virginia, one of them (a young Bruce Dern) begins to molest young Marnie by kissing her neck, mom gets angry, the sailor falls on her, little Marnie beats and kills him with a fireplace poker. The red blood scarred her for life, now that she knew her back story, she and Mark have a chance to live happily ever after.

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24 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
A glorious romantic melodrama, 3 marzo 1999
Author: Mike Sutton (frmerrin@aol.com) de Harrogate, North Yorkshire

This romantic melodrama is one of Hitchcock's most sheerly enjoyable films. There are all sorts of ways in which it doesn't work, but it doesn't matter. It is one of my key guilty pleasures. So as soon as that wonderful Herrmann theme begins, one should lay aside one's critical faculties, sit back and enjoy.

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25 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
Great, Genius, 2 octubre 2003

Author: scream25281 de Bristol, UK

Marnie is a misunderstood masterpiece from the Hitchcock. Often cited as an example of a messy, flawed genius - it can be off putting to some since its quite talky. However stick with it and you will be intrigued and itching to discover all about Marnie (contrary to what most say, played with understated brilliance from Tippi Hedren).

The direction and cinematography is exceptional with Hitchcock and his usual crew i.e. Rob Burks etc on form. The atmosphere generated (apart from being 'Hitchcocky') is unique, dark, gloomy and at times akin to a horror film, yet it is utterly appealing and compelling. Theres an almost creepy, artificial humanless feel to proceedings as a result of the direction and how the actors have been directed to act as is briefly highlighted by a Hitchcock scholar in the documentary on the disk. Hitchcock knows the art of cinema, no flashy fast cuts or fast moving camera's as we see nowadays, but measured, inspired direction laced with flourishes of creative genius (thats Hithcock for you). Atmosphere, emotion is built up like poetry. Witness for example some moments of genius such as the final revelation, in what is one of Hitchcocks most underrated, powerful and shocking pieces of direction; the riding sequence which culminates in Marnies fantastic yet disturbing line of dialogue, " there there....", and also sinister momnets such as when Marnies mother wakes here from her nightmare- her voice disturbingly artificial in its lack of emotion and empathy for a clearly distraught Marnie.

Speaking of the mother, Louise Latham -the actress behind the role effortlessly steals the show from an already superb Hedren and Connery. Latham eleicits an absolutely breathtaking performance. Her character is frighteningly creepy, tragic, powerful and marvellously played to keep up the suspense and intrigue. You don't know what to make of the character except of the fact she knows or has played a part in Marnies psychological condition. In fact I would go as far as to say it is one of the greatest performances in a Hitchcock picture - an example of genius casting. Similarly her character is arguably the greatest 'mother' character in any Hitchcock film beating Pyscho and Notorious' madame Sebastion.

Marnie is a truly great picture and definetly Hitchcocks last great although Frenzy is a nice enough distraction. Not as good as Vertigo or Rear Window but certainly up there in the higher echelons of Hitchcocks work.

9/10

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15 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Unusual Hitchcock—where marriage is preferred over jail by a strong-willed woman, 1 abril 2006

Author: Jugu Abraham (jugu_abraham@yahoo.co.uk) de Trivandrum, Kerala, India

This is not the stuff that director Hitchcock is usually attracted to. Hitchcock was scared of jails. In this film, the lead female character prefers to be bridled by marriage rather than jail. It is an intriguing choice for a character who had earlier stated to her husband "You don't love me. I am something you have caught. Some kind of wild animal you have trapped." Aware of this, the young lady who has so far fooled a lot of rich men and escaped the law, prefers marriage to jail. She is smart, a woman who embezzles her employers to buy rich gifts for her mother, aware of modesty in dress (keeps pulling her skirt over her knees) and a convincing liar. Like "Notorious," the marriage is one of convenience, or so it appears—the end of the film is open-ended.

For those who are not aware of it, Hitchcock fired the initial scriptwriter (a male), who honestly felt the rape of the wife by the husband was out character with male lead played by Sean Connery. The replaced scriptwriter (a lady) wrote the sequence which was used, in a suggestive way rather than a graphic way. Hitchcock loved to slip in sex even if it was out of character. Lesbianism is suggested by the husband's sister-in-law's remark "What a dish!" a remark one would associate from the opposite sex. (Hitchcock similarly played with homosexuality in "Rope"). A critical scene that could be mistaken for child molestation was probably an innocent gesture mistaken by the mother.

Hitchcock usually was attentive to visuals and sound. This is an unusual film where the director swings from one extreme of high sophistication to absolute stupidity. The opening shots of the woman walking away with the yellow handbag are stunning. The silent "cleaning" of the office safe, while a deaf woman cleans the office is simply outstanding. Yet the crass painting of a dock near Marnie's mother's house would make a school kid laugh out loud. Why would a woman who is scared of red wear red lipstick or not react when her husband's sister-in-law wears red at a party? Similarly, the shot of Marnie's hand not being able to pick up the money in the safe is an unconvincing shot, if ever there was one.

The film can be appreciated and be equally dismissed. The acting by all the main characters was good but Louise Latham performance (and make up!) needs to be singled out for praise. Kubrick seems to have copied Hitchcock's Marie's voice differentiation in the young child's voice in "The Shining." I am not surprised if people swing from liking the film to dismissing it and back again. It has great elements and bad elements as well—yet the bottom line is, it entertains!

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