Rope (1948)

Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Hume Cronyn (adapted by), Patrick Hamilton (from the play by)

Stars:

James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger

3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dick Hogan	...	David Kentley
John Dall	...	Brandon
Farley Granger	...	Phillip
Edith Evanson	...	Mrs. Wilson
Douglas Dick	...	Kenneth
Joan Chandler	...	Janet
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Mr. Kentley (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Constance Collier	...	Mrs. Atwater
James Stewart	...	Rupert Cadell

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

gay subtext | rope | long take | murder | perfect murder | 

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Taglines:

Nothing ever held you like Alfred Hitchcock's Rope

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Rope

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,046

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Transatlantic Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length: 435.7 Seconds.

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Goofs

As Brandon and Philip walk back to the kitchen after finding the rope, the frame over the doorway into the hall can be seen separating. Since each reel was filmed in one continuous take, sets had to be moved out of the way during the shot, allowing the camera to follow the actors between rooms. (A similar mistake is visible in the tracking shot out of Bob Rusk's house in Frenzy.)

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Quotes

[first lines]
Brandon: [David screams, to Phillip] Open it.
[they put David in the trunk and close it]

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in Desperate Housewives: Come on Over for Dinner (2011)

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Soundtracks

Mouvement perpetuel no. 1
(1919) (uncredited)
Written by Francis Poulenc
Played on the piano

User Reviews

Fascinating Film; Hardly Gimmicky

Rope is one of the finer films that Hitchcock made. Philosophy, sociology and psychology are contained in equal parts. The plot is simple, the characters are complex and Hitchcock's treatment of the Leopold and Loeb parallel quite deft. The final soliloquy from Jimmy Stewart's character, Rupert, is not only one of the finest examples of Stewart's acting abilities but also of film-making.

On the subject of filmmaking - Hitchcock filmed this in as much of a single take as possible. I believe there are only five edits in the whole thing. I can wholeheartedly tell you that it was no gimmick on Hitchcock's part. The play's plot requires that a certain amount of tension be maintained. Tracking shots are used for this purpose and quite well in my opinion. Timing, position and prop movements alone are to force us to stand in awe of a logistical challenge. All the actors are played superbly. The dialogue is natural and flowing. The finest bit of timing involves a swinging kitchen door, the rope, and the fear of discovery.

In short, this is a fine film that cannot disappoint. Highly recommended and will be well worth your time.