Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop Rated MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop Rated ShowsMost Popular ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersGolden GlobesEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
    AllTitlesTV EpisodesCelebsCompaniesKeywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In

Rope

  • 19481948
  • AAAA
  • 1h 20min
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
135K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,008
48
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
James Stewart, Joan Chandler, and John Dall in Rope (1948)
Watch {VideoTitle}
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
8.0/10
135K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,008
48
  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Hume Cronyn(adapted by)
    • Patrick Hamilton(from the play by)
    • Arthur Laurents(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • John Dall
    • Farley Granger
Top credits
  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers
    • Hume Cronyn(adapted by)
    • Patrick Hamilton(from the play by)
    • Arthur Laurents(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • James Stewart
    • John Dall
    • Farley Granger
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 426User reviews
    • 130Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 4 nominations

    Videos2

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

    Photos99

    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
    James Stewart, Alfred Hitchcock, and Cast on the set of "Rope." 1948 Warner

    Top cast

    Edit
    James Stewart
    James Stewart
    • Rupert Cadellas Rupert Cadell
    John Dall
    John Dall
    • Brandonas Brandon
    Farley Granger
    Farley Granger
    • Phillipas Phillip
    Dick Hogan
    Dick Hogan
    • David Kentleyas David Kentley
    Edith Evanson
    Edith Evanson
    • Mrs. Wilsonas Mrs. Wilson
    Douglas Dick
    Douglas Dick
    • Kennethas Kenneth
    Joan Chandler
    Joan Chandler
    • Janetas Janet
    Cedric Hardwicke
    Cedric Hardwicke
    • Mr. Kentleyas Mr. Kentley
    • (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
    Constance Collier
    Constance Collier
    • Mrs. Atwateras Mrs. Atwater
    Alfred Hitchcock
    Alfred Hitchcock
    • Man Walking in Street After Opening Creditsas Man Walking in Street After Opening Credits
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writers
      • Hume Cronyn(adapted by)
      • Patrick Hamilton(from the play by)
      • Arthur Laurents(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

    Storyline

    Edit
    Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York City apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley, and as a consequence, decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet, and their old schoolteacher Rupert, from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect. —Col Needham <col@imdb.com>
    long takegay subtextropeleopold loeb casemurder147 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The guest who's dead on time
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
      • Mystery
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • AA
    • Parents guide

    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
      In the end credits, the first credit is for the character of David Kentley who is only seen for a couple of seconds and has no spoken lines. Most of the other characters are listed with a descriptive phrase showing their relationship to David Kentley, or relationship among each other, just above the credit line(s) listing the character name and actor. The description and character name pairings are as follows: His friends - Brandon, Phillip; Their housekeeper - Mrs. Wilson; David's rival - Kenneth; David's girl - Janet; His father - Mr. Kentley; His aunt - Mrs. Atwater. The last character listed, Rubert Cadell, is the only one besides David Kentley without such a descriptive phrase. Also, David Kentley and Rupert Cadell are the only characters listed with both first and last names.
    • 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 reviews426

    Review
    Top 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•73
    44
    • 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
      • October 1948 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La corde
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Warner Bros.
      • Transatlantic Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $10,590
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 20min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    The Daily Stream: ‘Rope’ is Alfred Hitchcock’s Experimental Masterpiece
    The Daily Stream: ‘Rope’ is Alfred Hitchcock’s Experimental Masterpiece
    Aug 4Slash Film
    Toronto Film Festival Sets Contemporary World Cinema & Discovery Lineups; More Galas Added
    Toronto Film Festival Sets Contemporary World Cinema & Discovery Lineups; More Galas Added
    Jul 28Deadline Film + TV

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    James Stewart, Joan Chandler, and John Dall in Rope (1948)
    Top Gap
    What is the Hindi language plot outline for Rope (1948)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    IMDb's Fall 2021 Movie Guide
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Upcoming Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies and TV
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    You have no recently viewed pages
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2021 by IMDb.com, Inc.