You can smell films that are based on plays a mile off. It must be difficult to take a story made for the stage and perform it in front of a camera without theatre’s static nature and wordiness making itself obvious. It’s certainly a clear part of Rope, Hitchcock’s 1948 flick about Nietzschean Ivy League gays attempting to commit the perfect murder. The film is great fun, mixing high tension with a sharp sense of humour, and as such comes highly recommended.
Rope was heavily adapted from its original, a play by Patrick Hamilton based on the Leopold and Loeb murder, in order to transplant the story from its roots in the British upper classes to the flatter class system of the US. But despite all the work, Hitchcock decided to film it in single takes of around 10 minutes, with the cast navigating a set that had to be at least as cleverly designed as any for the stage and the camera sporting an unflinching gaze like that of a theatre audience.
It’s ironic that the film that’s been called Hitchcock’s most experimental has the air of something as ancient as theatre. But Hitchcock brings in one or two little tricks that only film can achieve. In a couple of places, he has conversation go on as the camera remains fixed on a certain element for dramatic effect – for instance, the box in which the victim’s body lies, which is being fussed around by the housekeeper even as the dinner party guests discuss where the victim could be.
As with many Hitchcock films, Rope wears its cinematic technique heavily, with takes spliced awkwardly into each other by zooming into a character’s back, fading to black and then brightening out again into the next, but, heck, we’re talking about 1948. And its staginess feels quite exotic now, a relief from today’s unrelenting action and movement.
Theatre’s need to concentrate on character, dialogue and plot can remind film of some of basic tenets that many recent releases seem to have forgotten. Yes, films should always be built using technique and artistry specific to film, but Rope reminds that other narrative arts, such as theatre, still have a lot to teach them, too.
I watched this last week. I’m working through all of his films, sort of, via a couple of incomplete boxsets I picked up from Amazon. Coincidence!
God, I love Rope. If I had to list my favourite films by any director, I wouldn’t have a clue which of Hitch’s films to ditch, from Vertigo to North By Northwest to Strangers On A Train, Rear Window and Psycho… but Rope is fab. It’s one of those rare times that theatre looks good on screen – the BBC could learn something from that with its lack of faith in a modern Play For Today.
Jimmy Stewart is fab… the attempt at one take for the whole film is admirable… there’s the suggestion of a homosexual relationship between the two murderers… It’s genius. Where would Columbo be without Rope (sorry, Hannah!)?
Did you catch the Psychoville episode that was a pastiche of Rope? It’s not a bad series but this particular episode was very poor and didn’t do Rope any favours. At one point I think it was trying to shoehorn in Psycho too. Ye Gods!
Ha! Yeah, Rope invented Columbo’s ‘Just one more thing…’! And, yeah, we were prompted to watch Rope after seeing that crappy Psychoville episode and hearing it was meant to be a pastiche, but remember so little of it that I can’t see the comparisons. Psychoville’s been pretty disappointing, eh?
There’s no such thing as coincidence any more, Ste. Amazon dictates the viewing habits of the nation every time it puts a boxset on offer.
As an aside, if anyone is interested in Leopold and Loeb, there is a very good retelling in Daniel Clowes’ Ice Haven (Jonathan Cape).
Psychoville started well. I liked Mr Jelly at first, but he’s not Papalazarou enough… and Dawn French is just Dawn French – ie completely over the top. And just when I was relieved that it wasn’t all the League OG folk, the missing one turned up in the “Rope” episode. I’ll watch the remaining but it doesn’t make my sides split like Flight O’ The Conchords.
La Cakes – I’ll check out the Ice Haven, been meaning to (and great C3PO, too!)
I don’t like Psychoville! True that it invites unflattering comparison with LoG (just as Peepshow trounces That Mitchell & Webb shite) but even so…
Yes — get Ice Haven!