Marnie (1964)

Compelling and charming Hitchcock film in which there is intrigue , luxurious scenarios , suspense , twists and turns . Marnie (Tippie Hedren) is a lovely blonde with a mysterious past ; she is a habitual thief and has serious psychological problems . Marnie isn't at all what she appears , has amnesia and having panic to red color ; then her employer falls in love for her and determined to understand her illness he uncovers his previous life . Later on , Mark (Sean Connery) marries Marnie and attempts to find out what makes her tick . As Mark tries to help her to confront and resolve troubles .

This unsung and really criticized movie at the time of its release contains thrills , tension , suspense , psychoanalysis , romance, unlimited excitement and plenty of plot twists , as usual in Hitchock films . An exceptional Hitchcock film dealing with an exciting intrigue blended with sexual and Freudian theories . Besides , it has a literately witty dialog with distinctive Hitch's touches and writing credits by Jay Presson Allen . Nice acting by the great Sean Connery as current boss who catches Marnie in the theft act and forces her to marry him , though he soon learns the puzzling aspects of Marnie's background . Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Jay Presson Allen were allowed to see scenes from Agent 007 and doctor No (1962) when considering Sean Connery for the role of Mark . They liked his charismatic performance so much that they decided to offer him the role even though the obviously Scottish actor did not really fit with their conception of Mark as an "American aristocrat." Tippi Hedren is pretty well as confuse amnesic thief who robs her employers and then changes her identity . Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren had a major falling-out during the filming and there was a rumor that by the end he directed her through intermediaries . Although Hedren admits the she and Hitchcock's friendship ended during shooting, she denies the rumor that he didn't finish directing the film . Despite the troubles which reportedly took place on set , Tippi Hedren has stated that this is her favorite movie which she has appeared in . Alfred Hitchcock wanted Grace Kelly to make her screen comeback in the title role, but the people of Monaco were not happy with the idea of their princess playing a compulsive thief . Good secondary cast such as Diane Baker as his scheming sister-in-law , Martin Gabel , the tall Alan Napier and Louise Latham, who played Tippi Hedren's mother is in reality only 8 years older. Look for in small characters , almost cameos , to Bruce Dern , Kimberly Beck , Meredith Scott Thomas , Linden Chiles and Mariette Hartley . And , of course , Alfred Hitchcock cameo : Five minutes into the film, in the hotel corridor as Marnie walks by . Colorful as well as glamorous cinematography by Robert Burks , Hitch's habitual . Rousing and intriguing original music by the great Bernard Herrmann , though it was Bernard Herrmann's last score for a Hitchcock film .

Rating : Better than average . Panned at the time of its release and was deemed a misfire ; despite the poor reviews, Marnie turned out to be a moderate box office success for Universal , it grossed $7 million in theatres on a budget of $3 million . The film has since been accepted as an Alfred Hitchcock classic , though resulting to be overlong and confusing as well . Essential and indispensable seeing for Hitch buffs .

Fmovies: The childhood roots of Marnie's problem were certainly the fulcrum of the plot; but they were also a vital strand in her character, the main force of her motivationÂ…

Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedren) is a psychologically scarred gray-suited serial thief who would take a job in an office, win liking and trust by her good looks, manners and work; then steal the safe and move to another part of the country, changing her look, her name, and her identityÂ…

This what she does when she went to work for Mark Rutland (Sean Connery), a wealthy sadist businessman; but he replaced the stolen money, tracked her down, and blackmailed her with two alternatives: to go to jail or to marry himÂ…

Only, besides Marnie's traumas and aftermaths, she was cool, desperately detached, and couldn't find in herself any affection for any living thing except fondness for horsesÂ… Sexually, she was extremely cold, and her marriage was not consummated... And she was continually afraid of thunderstorms and couldn't handle the red colorÂ…

I don't want to spoil some of other brilliant little touches, but Marnie had always said she was an orphan, and Mark tracked down her icy mother (Louise Latham), and brought the two face to faceÂ… There was a beautifully acted scene here when the two met up again and Bernice who even now could show no more affection to her daughter than Marnie could to her husbandÂ…

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 fmovies. Add me to the group of viewers who like this film. Yes, it is long and heavy on dialog, but visually stunning, and Bernard Herrmann's music is rich and vibrant. The best score he has ever composed.

For me, I have favorite scenes in the movie, for example the opening shot of a woman carrying a yellow purse. From there we go to her hotel room and watch as she transforms herself into another person. Old clothes get discarded in a train locker and the key gently kicked down a grate. All of this is done with no words, but wonderful camera angles, and accompanied by a great musical score.

The office scene where Marnie waits in the women's room before robbing the safe. You only hear the voices of her co-workers saying good night for the weekend. Again, this entire scene is done visually, only this time with a split screen showing Marnie and the cleaning lady simultaneously, as if we are watching a play. Only when the shoe falls from her coat pocket do we know that the cleaning woman is hard of hearing and the scene is now concluded.

There are several vignettes such as these that make the movie interesting. Yes, the riding scenes are fake looking, and I think it was just a case where Alfred just didn't quite keep up with technology. But when you think of Marnie, this is the last, true Alfred Hitchcock movie we will ever see. From then on, we never again see a grand production with high production values as we have here.

Yes it has flaws, and the acting may not be up to par at times, but there are worthwhile aspects that make this movie a classic in the Hitchcock canon.

Far and away my favourite Hitch and in my top five movies of all time (yes, I'm very biased but there you go), "Marnie" stands out as one of the most deliciously bitter, malevolent and sardonic "romance" stories ever made, and it doesn't surprise me in the least that it is either sworn by or passionately hated by general public. It is, however, no less influential than any of the acclaimed and widely loved films that Hitch made previously. Even the staunchest of Hitchcock's fans seem to be bitterly divided over this one though, some among them simply not being able to forgive him for being so direct and blatant in choice and treatment of his subject matter (let alone technical inadequacies) - and for delivering a slow, sombre, pain ridden and malignant psychosexual drama, whereas others, myself included, revel in those very aspects of the film. Hedren and Connery's singular coupling on screen and their performances have also been subject to much heated debate - in my opinion they're both excellent, in that they very successfully portray genuinely unlovable characters and play off one another almost instinctively and to great effect, helped by a phenomenally sarcastic dialogue and more than memorable quips ("The idea was to kill myself, not to feed the damned fish", as well as the entire "You Freud, me Jane" sequence). Delightful.

Hedren is adequately surly, bitter, spiteful, troubled and fragile all at the same time, her average acting talents and icy beauty working for the film rather than against it, whereas Connery is nothing short of a perverse yet suave male filthy pig dying to get in between her treasured legs and "take legal possession" for precisely those reasons. Unsurprisingly, the chapter in acclaimed Truffaut's book of interviews with Hitch that belongs to "Marnie" is subtitled "Un Amour Fetishiste" - read it. It's interesting that Hitchcock had troubles with his leading ladies in some of his best films - his disdain of Kim Novak and endless arguments he had with her on set are all well documented, in addition to his falling out with Hedren halfway through "Marnie". Both films are laced with moments of electrifying energy maybe just for that reason, and both women look spectacular on screen. In any case, it's perfect casting for both leads in this one, in addition to a brilliant support led by Latham and Baker, not to mention Herrmann's emotional score, which so assuredly bounces between hysterical, pleading, lustful, torturous, and tragic - and back again.

Aside from directorial touches of genius (who doesn't get goosebumps when Marnie first reveals her face after washing out the hair dye) - there are undoubtedly many, many flaws and technically weak places in the film - the zooming in and out on the money in the Rutland safe is a particular standout in that respect, totally over the top and downright silly. Obviously painted backdrops and horseriding sequences have all been slagged off to death as well (altough surprisingly these don't seem to bother people that much when systematically applied in "The Birds"), but they are more than compensated for by the greyish, autumnal and trance-like feel of the film, and are very likely deliberately calculated in to greatly enhance the overall atmosphere. Hitch doesn't even try to win the viewer's affection by injecting a bit of his trademark humour in this doleful story and rightly so - it would have suffered immeasurably

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