Rope Overview:

Rope (1948) was a Crime - Mystery Film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Alfred Hitchcock and Sidney Bernstein.

SYNOPSIS

This is one of the most famous technical achievements in movie history, a Hitchcock mystery that seems to unfold in a single, continuous shot (though there are two brief reverse-angle shots). The story of a thrill killing (based on the 1924 Leopold and Loeb murder) takes place as two pseudo-intellectuals (Granger and Dall) murder a friend and then host a dinner party. The guests include the victim's father (Hardwicke), his fiancee (Chandler), and Stewart, a professor whose lectures on Nietzsche inspired their deed. Dall toys with the guests, daring them to uncover the secret of the body that he's hidden in the chest from which they serve dinner. To his chagrin, Stewart begins to understand Dall's taunts. The technical challenge appealed to Hitchcock's formidable production-planning skills. The set consisted of wild walls that could move out of the camera's path, and the set-dressing had to move silently as well. As night falls, the light had to change both on the set and on the carefully rendered Manhattan skyline that serves as a backdrop. Hitchcock organized a massive army of technicians and crew, and the resulting film (which Hitchcock referred to as a "stunt") consists of eight apparently seamless 10-minute takes.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

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Rope: BlogHub Articles:

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger

By Stephen Reginald on Jul 11, 2024 From Classic Movie Man

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger Rope (1948) is an American crime thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger. Other members of the cast include Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Dougla... Read full article


Book Review: Perpetual Movement – Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’

By Devon Powell on Aug 7, 2021 From Hitchcock Master

Publisher: State University of New York Press Release Date: July 2021 ?I wondered while planning this book if I should divide Rope into hundreds of brief fragments for examination. I quickly realized, however, that Hitchcock?s film? has a textual form that suggests a convenient way in which to separ... Read full article


Noir Nook: Ripped from the Headlines ? Rope (1948)

By Karen Burroughs Hannsberry on Jul 10, 2019 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Noir Nook: Ripped from the Headlines ? Rope (1948) Rope is a 1948 feature directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger. It may not be necessarily categorized as film noir, but it is undeniably imbued with a feeling of trepidation and inevitable doom that ... Read full article


5 things I love about Rope (1948)

By Carol Martinheira on Mar 31, 2018 From The Old Hollywood Garden

5 things I love about Rope (1948) On March 31, 2018March 31, 2018 By CarolIn Uncategorized I adore Rope. I know that feels like a rather insipid statement, but it?s Hitchcock, so there?s not a whole lot left to say. I blame film students. So instead I?ll just randomly ... Read full article


Murder by Rope (1936)

By John Grant on Mar 3, 2018 From Noirish

UK / 63 minutes / bw / Ambassador Film Productions, British & Dominions Film Corporation Dir: George Pearson Scr: Ralph Neale Story: Ralph Neale Cine: Ernest Palmer Cast: D.A. Clarke-Smith, Sunday Wilshin, Wilfred Hyde-White (i.e., Wilfrid Hyde-White), Dorothy Hamilton, Constance Godridge, Guy B... Read full article


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Quotes from Rope:

Brandon: We killed for the sake of danger and for the sake of killing.


Brandon Shaw: Good and evil, right and wrong were invented for the ordinary average man, the inferior man, because he needs them.


Brandon: I've always wished for more artistic talent. Well, murder can be an art, too. The power to kill can be just as satisfying as the power to create.


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Facts about Rope:

Cary Grant was the first choice to play the role of the teacher, Rupert Cadell.
Dick Hogan's cameo as the murder victim, David Kentley, is his last appearance in a film.
Story was very loosely based on the real-life murder committed by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, which was also the (fictionalized) subject of Compulsion and Swoon.
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Also directed by Alfred Hitchcock




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Also produced by Alfred Hitchcock




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Also released in 1948




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