Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Marnie


Marnie
directed by Alfred Hitchcock

A young widower fails in love with a woman with a troubled past. Such is the premise of this 1964 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The young woman, Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedron), makes her living by embezzling from her employers, moving on and changing her identity. She is caught in the act by one of her employers, Mark Rutland (Sean Connery). Instead of turning her over to the police, Mark blackmails Marnie into marrying him. On their honeymoon he learns that besides being a compulsive thief, she cannot stand to have a man touch her and she won't discuss it or the nightmares that plague her. After their return to Philadelphia, Mark hires a private investigator to look into Marnie's past. Armed with this information, Mark confronts Marnie's mother and forces her to tell them the truth. The movie is based on the novel Marnie by English author Winston Graham. He set this book in England. Hitchcock changed the setting to the United States, changed some of the story details and made the ending more optimistic. Marnie became a milestone movie for Hitchcock. It was the last time that a "Hitchcock blonde" would have a central role in his films. It was also the last time that he would work with three of his key team members. Two died after the movie was completed and Hitchcock fired the third, composer Bernard Herrmann.

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ]

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