Marnie [1964]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Alfred Hitchcock thriller Marnie was savaged by critics on its original release in 1964, but has since established a cult reputation. It should be pointed out, however, that its current fans are mostly university teachers who spin convoluted theories (often derived from Freudian psychoanalysis) in order to lend authority to a rather simple tale. Watch the movie and judge for yourself whether it's a profound experience or just Hitchcock scraping the bottom of the barrel. Tippi Hedren stars as the title character, a compulsive thief whose modus operandi is to land a secretarial job, bilk her employer of thousands, then change identity (and hair tone) before proceeding to the next scam. Sean Connery plays Mark Rutland, a wealthy businessman who finds Marnie's larcenous habits strangely erotic. He marries her and gradually sniffs out a repressed childhood trauma or two.

Reviewers lambasted the film for its technical shoddiness--and indeed, it's hard to ignore the ugly painted backdrop in one street scene or the crudely obvious rear-projection when Marnie goes horseback riding. Latter-day apologists have argued these effects are deliberately phoney and unrealistic, meant to portray the heroine's subconscious fantasies. While you might have a tough time swallowing that one, there is no denying that Marnie supplies plenty of ammunition for armchair shrinks. Go and figure why our light-fingered lassie flips out each time she spies the colour red or what lies behind her sexual frigidity. It is also well known that Hitchcock developed a morbid crush on the leading lady and showered her with unwelcome attentions during the course of filming. Despite her ordeal (or perhaps because of it), Hedren matches the blankly unemotional performance she gave for Hitchcock in The Birds (1963) Yet somehow her cold, mask-like beauty adds a cryptic note which is utterly appropriate to the story. Similarly, the film itself is perhaps more enjoyable to think about afterwards than when you are actually seeing it. But its very sluggishness and lack of coherence lend it a surreal, dream-like quality that's hard to forget. --Peter Matthews

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-08-28 rating:
I've tracked you and caught you and by God I'm going to keep you
One of the more unusual entries into the Hitchcock cannon, which admittedly covers a lot of ground, Marnie is ultimately an unconvincing and, at times, dull movie which, simply, doesn't work. Tippi Hedren, in her second and final starring role for Hitchcock, is miscast (to be kind) as the titular character Marnie Edgar and Sean Connery, who at the time was one of the biggest stars in the movie world thanks to his on-going success in the Bond series, is equally ill at ease as Mark Rutland (walking around saying "old bean" all the time), the man who not only forces Marnie into marriage when he recognises her as a thief, but compounds that by raping her on their honeymoon.

It's certainly an interesting scenario and I dare say that a better cast may have made better work of it, but as it stands whilst Hitchcock aficionado's will find it interesting, more casual observers may well find themselves asking what the point of it all is. There's little chemistry between the two leads, and none of the supporting cast are around enough to help save it. By the time the reasons for Marnie's behaviour are revealed, few will care enough to have stuck around for the answers. Whilst even the worst of Hitchcock's films have their interesting moments, make no doubt about it, this is one of the worst of his latter period.

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review by: date: 2008-08-13 rating:
Great suspense!

'Marnie' is one of Hitchcock's best thrillers. A complex character and a complex plot, and a scenario and story that would be more commonly expressed today, but not so back in the 1960s.

'Tippi' Hedren gives an award-winning performance as the girl in the title role, but this has a great cast, with some 'meaty' roles for most of its players. Also stars one of America's finest actresses who gave some outstanding performances back in the 60s in Diane Baker.

Great suspense!

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review by: mikethescottish date: 2008-05-27 rating:
Misogynistic Pop-Psychology at its Most Entertaining
'Marnie' is perhaps most significant for its very averageness, amidst the gems that Hitchcock produced around the same time. It's main flaws are, oddly, perhaps its biggest charms- the awkward 'My Fair Lady'-style misogynistic psychology of the gentleman-hero Rutland (Connery) towards the hysterical kleptomaniac he aims to save (Hedren). Add a touch of overacting, a heavy dose of melodrama and 'Marnie' can seem like a very awkward package indeed.

And yet the film does have its charms. Hitchcock seems more than aware of the psychological framework he's riffing on, and during one memorable scene in the couple's bedroom, the wryly cynical banter that results is evocative of Hitch's best. Connery is solid if unremarkable, and the rest of the cast generally pitch in with performances of an unspectacularly dependable nature.

'Marnie' suffers from 'Vertigo'- or Vertigo-envy, to follow the film's crassly Freudian logic. Put simply, it's all a little too neat- and like Freud himself, the simple explanations are easily undercut.

It's not hard to spot issues, from a modern perspective. The over-simplified, misogynistic plot is dominated by wily women- who are generally 'found out' to be morally questionable. The men, on the other hand, are dominant, both problematising and resolving the central plot. No wonder Marnie can't bear to be touched by them...

But for all that, it has its moments. The romance is stilted and awkward enough to rank alongside some of Hitch's more interesting love-matches (see: Topaz, Shadow of a Doubt), and there are flashes of brilliance. Not a film for a casual night in, perhaps, but intriguing nonetheless.

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review by: date: 2007-12-30 rating:
A SLIGHT HITCH
Hitchcock has always been called the master of suspense, mainly, in my opinion, because he specialised in the genre. Certainly this film is no masterpiece. At over two hours in length, it quickly becomes tedious and there is little suspense in Hitchcock's direction.
Tippi Hedren plays Marnie, a young woman who, by devious means, lies her way into a number of jobs so that she can steal large sums of money from her employers.
Her latest employer, played by Connery, immediately takes an interest in her and proceeds to make enquiries into her backgound. He begins to fall in love with her and, instead of turning her over to the police when he finds out about her past, presses her into marriage and attempts to unravel the mystery of why she has a fear of the colour red and what makes her so frightened when a man tries to get close to her.
It does not take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out that the colour red relates to blood and Marnie's fear of men can be traced back to some form of abuse she might have suffered as a child.
Hedren is good in the role, but Connery lacks warmth ( he might just as well have been playing James Bond ) and acts more like Marnie's psychiatrist than the man who loves her. Joseph Cotten would have been ideal for the role, but unfortunately actors of his calibre were by then getting too old for romantic parts.
When the sordid truth is at last revealed, it is all rather an anticlimax.
A pity, because whereas this is one of Hitchcock's less interesting films, the music score is one of Bernard Herrmann's finest.


review by: date: 2007-10-07 rating:
A Facinating Hitchcock film
Tippi Hedrin plays Marnie, a compulsive thief who cannot stand to be touched by any man. She also goes bonkers over the sight of the color red. Psychiatrist Mark Rutland played by Sean Connery is intrigued by Marnie so much that he marries her. Rutland is in his own way has problems his desire to marry a thief. After many plot twists and turns, Marnie is "cured" by a flashback sequence involving her ex-hooker mother.

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Similar products

The Birds [1963]
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Vertigo [1958]
The Man Who Knew Too Much [1955]
North By Northwest [1959]

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Similar categories

Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Crime, Thrillers & Mystery . All Crime, Thrillers & Mystery
Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Crime, Thrillers & Mystery . Alfred Hitchcock
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . VHS
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . BBFC Rating (intended_use_browse-bin) . 15
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Editions (feature_two_browse-bin) . Standard Edition
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Release Date (feature_three_browse-bin) . 1960 - 1969
Video . DVD & VHS . Refinements . Language (theme_browse-bin) . English
Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Directors . Hitchcock, Alfred
Video . Video . Categories . Horror & Suspense . Thrillers
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