ANALYSIS OF “THE ROPE”(1948)
Final Analysis for CINE 275.
As we all know, Alfred Hitchcock is a beloved and critically acclaimed director who has affected cinema as we know it. Many of his films are widely loved and praised, but the film that I will be focusing on today is The Rope from 1948. This film is a pinnacle point of Hitchcock’s career for not only is it his first colored film (Coffin, 62), but it was the start of his obsession with one-shot takes. In fact, in the 79 minute film, only 11 shots exist (Poague, 63). The film, adapted from the English play by Patrick Hamilton, provoked much discussion over its Machiavellian and Nietzchean view of morality, creating the discussion of “art or murder”, as Poague describes it in A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock (Poague, 63).
The subject and history behind the film influences my choice of this film. The idea of murdering a man to prove that one can be the intellectual superman and commit the “perfect crime” is a taboo subject enough, not even including the homosexual relationship between the two murders and the relationship between the professor and his male students that is present in Hamilton’s play (Coffin, 62). Unfortunately, Hollywood vetoed the homosexuality present in the play, but could not ban actual homosexuality. The homosexuality of actors caused tension and harmed chemistry between characters on set (Coffin, 62). To help solve the problem of the promiscuous professor, Hollywood chose Jimmy Stewart as the professor. Sadly, this detracts from the original play’s purpose, for Stewart is a character actor and unable to play a sinister or sexual character. Stewart’s stardom also pulls him to the forefront, making him the main focus instead of the murderers and the moral question (Coffin, 64-65). It turns the movie into a murder mystery instead of a discussion of morality, like the play does. In addition, Hitchcock was so focused on the one shots and making everything so perfect and aligned that he didn’t direct the actors like he usually does, allowing more free will and faults to seep in and taint the play’s original message (Coffin, 64-66).
Hitchcock is known for pushing the limits and this adaptation was a complete experiment for him, from the subject matter down to the technical side (Coffin, 62). It is a movie that has stayed with me, years after first watching it. While I am a huge true crime nerd and naturally enjoy the subject of these kind of suspenseful thrillers, the complex relationship between characters and the moral question that is posed is most intriguing. I actually listened to a podcast only two days ago that told the story of Loeb and Leopold, two college students who murdered a friend to prove their intellectual superiority in 1924, which were the main inspirations for The Rope’s two main characters. It’s fascinating to see how a situation that seems so black and white to us could be so skewered. The idea that people would and have killed just to see if they could “pull it off” is utterly fascinating to me. The film’s history, technical progressiveness, and success as a suspenseful thriller is why I think this film is important to film history.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coffin, Lesley L. Hitchcock's stars : Alfred Hitchcock and the Hollywood studio
system.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 11 Sep 2014. Pg 62-66.
Poague, Leland. A Companion to Alfred Hitchcock, edited by Thomas Leitch. John Wiley & Sons,
Incorporated, 2011. Pg 57-63.
FILMOGRAPHY
Hitchcock, Alfred, director. Rope. Warner Bros., 1948.
