Rope is another Hitchcock movie that I had my sights on this year. When I heard that the film appears to be one continuous take, I was even more intrigued. The process being done at that time was a huge challenge due to the film and the size of the cameras. Thus, I was curious how effective the technique would be and it was worth the watch. I give Rope the Not Quite Golden, Ponyboy rating.
Rope is a an interesting story with an impressive cinematic technique
Brandon (John Dall) and Phillip (Farley Granger) have just strangled their classmate who they deemed inferior. They hide is body in a chest and then get ready for their dinner party. They opt to use the chest as the serving table for their guests, the friends and family of the deceased, as a means to challenge the perfection of their crime.
The plot of the film is definitely an odd one. The entire film takes place primarily in the room where the murder occurred. They camera moves into two adjacent rooms at times, but stays mainly in the first room. In many ways, the ideas being discussed in this film set the stage for the Purge franchise. Their professor, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), had taught them the idea of superior individuals being justified in killing the inferior ones. This conversation comes up at dinner and he basically suggest that a hunting season or day, like Purge night, be established for such killings. It’s hard to tell exactly how much Rupert buys into his own words, but Brandon has clearly taken them to heart.
Rupert picks up on Brandon’s enthusiasm of the topic and grows concerned. The guests are all wondering what happened to David, the man they killed, since he hasn’t arrived at the party. Rupert picks up on some clues and starts to unravel what may have happened. When Brandon asks him to explain how they could have done it, the visual storytelling really wins me over. Rather than flashing back, Stewart narrates what could have a occurred and the camera moves to the various locations. However, it’s just the empty closet, empty chair, drinks, etc, all in one fluid camera movement. No people moving to show us how things may have played out, but plenty of visuals for us to imagine them. I really liked that sequence a lot.
Final thoughts on Rope
The film demonstrates again how great Hitchcock is with blocking. His characters move in ways that flow so much for the story. Then the camera being one take, even though the few zooms used to hide the edits are essentially unnecessary for the story. Even so, the film was entertaining and definitely innovative. It’s not the best story of his films, but it’s still intriguing. It is more of a philosophical discussion than a mystery. Stewart is solid as always though. If you have the ability to see it, I’d say watch it.
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