A Halloween Dialogue with Dostoevsky

While much can be said about the differences between film and literature, the fact remains that the quality of all but the most experimental of films is first and foremost dependent on its screenplay. Even a director like Alfred Hitchcock, who at times showed a brilliance unmatched, could not create a great film using a bad screenplay.

I take as evidence his films North by Northwest, The Birds and Vertigo, which all exhibit innovative camera work, directing that has since become textbook, and some decent acting by dependable names. These films are often cited as favorites by many. But I personally find them lower tier productions because, despite their great strengths in those artistic aspects unique to motion pictures, their stories are mediocre. Vertigo is outlandish, sensational, and just plain silly, The Birds is ridiculous and shallow, and North by Northwest is simply clichéd.

In contrast, those films I consider Hitchcock’s masterpieces, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Rebecca, Rope and perhaps even Psycho all embody not only the strengths that film can uniquely present, but are also founded on solid writing. Their plots are unpredictable, their characters real and interesting, their themes intriguing, and even their dialogue is more bearable than most movies’. This being Halloween I’ve decided to celebrate by recommending my favorite Hitchcock movie of all time, so let’s focus on Rope.

Rope, 1948
80 minutes, color
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Edited by William H. Ziegler
Cinematography by William V. Skall and Joseph A. Valentine
Produced by Sidney Bernstein
Adapted by Hume Cronyn from Patrick Hamilton’s play
Staring: James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger

Premise
Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger) have lived privileged lives among Manhattan’s elite. Stereotypical aristobrats—isn’t inventing words fun!—they need something to aspire to. A former teacher, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), and his flippancy regarding the privileges of the educated upper crust, has inadvertently planted the seeds of murder in the two young men.

The mark is another friend of theirs, one they consider their intellectual inferior. Having convinced themselves that it’s not murder for people like them to cull the herd by knocking off their inferiors, they decide to do just that—proving by the doing that they are, in fact, just the type of people that should be allowed to do such a thing. But the killing isn’t enough. To be perfect, they decide a murder must be flagrant in addition to being unsolvable. So they stuff their strangled friend in a table-like chest, invite some guests over, including Cadell, and proceed to socialize in the same room as the corpse, their arrogance not even balking at using the chest as a dining table.

Unable to resist, Shaw drops snide little jokes throughout the night, practically hinting at their secret. This is too much for Morgan, who starts getting nervous. This tips off Cadell, who becomes suspicious of—well he’s not sure at first. This isn’t your typical mystery. It’s not a question of who and how, but what and if. Cadell starts probing with ironic remarks of his own, and double-edged questions that frighten Morgan, though Shaw tries to maintain his bravado.

Direction, Editing, and Cinematography
This is one of the most remarkable films ever made. Not only is it entirely contained in one act, but in just one scene. There are no cuts! Well, that’s not technically true. At the time (I learned this from the E True Hollywood Story of Alfred Hitchcock—my confession for the day) cameras only carried eight minutes of film. In this case, when the film ran out, a close-up or a switch from one angle to another is conveniently worked in. But never does the scene change from the room where the corpse resides.

If you only enjoy action flicks, you might find this tedious. But if you don’t mind concentrating on story and character, you’ll revel in the narrow focus of this approach. Added to the fact that there are no scene changes is the fact that it’s filmed in real-time. This means that the movie lasts 80 minutes for us, and 80 minutes for the characters. Doesn’t sound impressive? Think about it for a moment. Think about other movies, and just how much time they cut out, how long they would be if filmed in real-time. And how boring they would be—which is why that time is cut out in the first place. What a challenge! To film a movie where every minute of time in the story’s world, from the beginning to the end, must be meaningful and interesting. Rope succeeds.

Acting
Stewart is wonderful, and only occasionally slips into melodrama. His rising suspicions are obvious, and his cunning plain as he questions the young men. You get a good feel of the rising horror he feels as he becomes more convinced that they’ve done something monstrous. The way he manipulates the conversations is remarkable, reminiscent of a well-done court-room interrogation by a lawyer.

Dall’s performance is slightly over the top at times, but he’s convincingly arrogant. The degree of his hubris astounds, and it’s a pleasure watching him realize he’s gone too far. Granger was a little less convincing, his nervousness slightly hammy. But the play between him and Dall, and their interactions with Stewart, and all well-performed.

The family and guests that attend diner are small characters. Adequate and not distracting, these performances are just what they need to be.

Writing
Again, much of the credit for this movie’s charm lies with the writing. The original story, partially inspired by the 1924 case where Leopold and Loeb are tried for murdering a neighborhood kid, made for a great play, and this is one of those movies that feels like a play—with emphasis on the acting and story. The dialogue is wonderful, and essential since the clues in this mystery come in the form of spoken words.

Reactions and Recommendation
I was only partly surprised to learn that this movie fared poorly at the box office. It’s certainly not an action flick, and the suspense and fear is generated not by physical danger, but by the tension created by Morgan and Shaw pushing the limits while Cadell explores his suspicions. Cerebral thrillers like this don’t often find much popular success.

But it’s artful, ambitious, and well-crafted. Every time Shaw drops a hint in his arrogance you lean a little closer, wondering if anyone will pick up on it. And when Cadell starts probing, you can’t help but be anxious in waiting to see if and how he uncovers the murder. Both of these sources of tension are heightened as Morgan reacts to them, seemingly more vulnerable to Cadell’s questions, and apprehensive about Shaw’s carelessness. This is not a screamer, but a nailbiter nonetheless.

Add to that the fact that this film is thought provoking. The entire idea that superior people may have the moral right to kill their inferiors with impunity reeks of Nietzscheanism gone wild. Even more, I felt the story was entering into a dialogue with Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, with Morgan and Shaw being two sides of Raskolnikov and Cadell filling the role of Porfiry Petrovich. Raskolnikov is inspired by philosophic musings on ‘great men’ like Napoleon and how their actions, whatever they might be, are justified by their greatness. Of course, he thinks of himself as a great man, and so kills when it can further his purposes. Like Morgan and Shaw, he’s both arrogant and fearful about his deed, and Porfiry uncovers it solely through paranoia-inducing interrogations.

Rope is a superb and untraditional mystery. The premise is resonant with things in the human soul that are truly frightening and the dramatic tension is nowhere surpassed. The ambitious approach in filming is delightfully successful. If you’re tired of blood and guts this Halloween, and you’re done feigning fear at the sound of a chainsaw, then let Rope scare you without your having to switch off your brain.


- Panguitch


For some short Hitchcock, try Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Volume 1: http://www.epinions.com/content_97352781444

For a Hitchcockian comedy (!) try Mr. and Mrs. Smith: http://www.epinions.com/content_197202644612

To see Hitchcock attempt an international spy thriller, try Topaz: http://www.epinions.com/content_244675481220