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IMDbPro

Rope

  • 19481948
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
146K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,815
684
James Stewart, Joan Chandler, and John Dall in Rope (1948)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:26
2 Videos
99+ Photos
CrimeDramaMystery
Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
146K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,815
684
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Hume Cronyn(adapted by)
    • Patrick Hamilton(from the play by)
    • Arthur Laurents(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • John Dall
    • Farley Granger
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Hume Cronyn(adapted by)
    • Patrick Hamilton(from the play by)
    • Arthur Laurents(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • John Dall
    • Farley Granger
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 447User reviews
    • 139Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:26
    Watch Official Trailer
    IMDbrief: 'Outlaw King' & Most Epic Tracking Shots in Film History
    Clip 3:59
    Watch IMDbrief: 'Outlaw King' & Most Epic Tracking Shots in Film History

    Photos101

    James Stewart and Farley Granger in Rope (1948)
    James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger in Rope (1948)
    James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger in Rope (1948)
    John Dall and Farley Granger in Rope (1948)
    James Stewart behind the scenes of "Rope," 1948.
    Alfred Hitchcock on the set of "Rope." 1948 Warner Bros.
    Alfred Hitchcock on the set of "Rope" with Joan Chandler, 1948.
    Alfred Hitchcock on teh set of "Rope" wit J. Stewart. 1948 Warner Bros.
    Alfred Hitchcock on the set of "Rope" 1948 Warner Bros.
    James Stewart on the set of "Rope." 1948 Warner
    James Stewart on the set of "Rope." 1948 Warner
    "Rope," Joan Chandler and Director Alfred Hitchcock. 1948 Warner

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Stewart
    James Stewart
    • Rupert Cadell
    John Dall
    John Dall
    • Brandon
    Farley Granger
    Farley Granger
    • Phillip
    Dick Hogan
    Dick Hogan
    • David Kentley
    Edith Evanson
    Edith Evanson
    • Mrs. Wilson
    Douglas Dick
    Douglas Dick
    • Kenneth
    Joan Chandler
    Joan Chandler
    • Janet
    Cedric Hardwicke
    Cedric Hardwicke
    • Mr. Kentley
    • (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
    Constance Collier
    Constance Collier
    • Mrs. Atwater
    Alfred Hitchcock
    Alfred Hitchcock
    • Man Walking in Street After Opening Credits
    • (uncredited)
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • Hume Cronyn(adapted by)
      • Patrick Hamilton(from the play by)
      • Arthur Laurents(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Since the filming times were so long, everybody on the set tried their best to avoid any mistakes. At one point in the movie, the camera dolly ran over and broke a cameraman's foot, but to keep filming, he was gagged and dragged off. Another time, a woman puts her glass down but misses the table. A stagehand had to rush up and catch it before the glass hit the ground. Both parts are used in the final cut.
    • Goofs
      When Phillip and Brandon put David in the chest, the rope is clearly around David's neck and completely inside the box. But in a few minutes Phillip finds the rope hanging, very far, outside the box.
    • Quotes

      Mrs. Atwater: Do you know, when I was a girl I used to read quite a bit.

      Brandon: We all do strange things in our childhood.

    • Crazy credits
      The closing credits list the victim David Kentley first, and the rest of the cast as credited with a phrase describing their relation to him ("His friends - Brandon, Phillip", "David's girl - Janet", etc) and use only a first/last name.

      Rupert Cadell is listed last, and with his full name and without any phrase of relation.
    • Connections
      Featured in James Stewart: A Wonderful Life - Hosted by Johnny Carson (1987)
    • Soundtracks
      Mouvement perpetuel no. 1
      (1919) (uncredited)

      Written by Francis Poulenc

      Played on the piano

    User reviews447

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Innovation can't quite make this a masterpiece - but it's still worth watching
    'Rope', as many reviews here point out, is shot in a "real time" format. The movie lasts 80 minutes and takes place over a period of 80 minutes - with 10 8 minute takes spliced together smartly (such as switching when focused on a back) to give the appearance of one long take. Even current "real time" dramas such as "Nick of Time" or "24" use cuts - and perhaps justifiably.

    "Rope" is about two college students - the slimy Brendon Shaw (John Dall) and his friend and sub-texted-gay-partner Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger) who murder an old college mate and then, minutes after, host a dinner party to prove their calm, intellectual superiority and their "right" to kill off the lower echelons of society - they believe they are exempt from common morality. Central to this is their smug desire to show off their theory to their old mentor, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), who is attending the party, and to get him to agree with their theories.

    As the movie is essentially confined to one room, and one take, there's a definite "play" feel to the movie. While this worked wonderful with "12 Angry Men", the script and character interaction isn't quite smart enough here to sustain it. There's a lot of pontificating by Shaw, and some fine retorts by Cadell but there's a sense of forcedness about it at the same time. Only 3 of the characters are drawn with enough conviction, and it is only Cadell who we can really admire (Granger's Morgan seems to be too much of a nervous twitching type to add much to the movie). The script does allow us to gape with incredulity at the Nietzsche-esque theories of the "superman" espoused by Shaw, and the gay subtext is amusingly, and cleverly, done but there's an inevitability about the whole story - we know what will happen, it does, and this creates an ultimate lack of tension (when compared to, for example, Hitchock's "Vertigo").

    The direction is, as would be expected, smart and - naturally - innovative here. The camera drifts about from character to character, as Hitchock tries his "one cut" approach, and there's some nice background detail (such as Hitchcock's flashing neon signs) to show the passage of time/current theme. Overall "Rope" is well worth seeing - it's not quite a failed experiment, nor a successful one. It's a "curio" which is worth appreciating for realizing why it was never really emulated since.
    helpful•78
    41
    • Aidan McGuinness
    • Apr 23, 2002

    FAQ9

    • What is 'Rope' about?
    • Is "Rope" based on a book?
    • Was Rope really filmed in a single take with no cuts?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 25, 1948 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Transatlantic Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 20 minutes

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