Two men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.Two men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.Two men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSince the filming times were so long, everybody on the set tried their best to avoid any mistakes. At one point in the movie, during the first take scene, the camera dolly accidentally ran over and broke a cameraman's foot, but to keep filming, he was gagged and dragged off the soundstage. Another time, a woman puts her glass down but misses the table. A stagehand had to rush up and catch it before the glass hit the ground. Both parts are used in the final cut.
- GoofsWhen Phillip and Brandon put David in the chest, the rope is clearly around David's neck and completely inside the box. But in a few minutes Phillip finds the rope hanging, very far, outside the box.
- Quotes
Mrs. Atwater: Do you know, when I was a girl I used to read quite a bit.
Brandon: We all do strange things in our childhood.
- Crazy creditsThe closing credits list the victim David Kentley first, and the rest of the cast as credited with a phrase describing their relation to him ("His friends - Brandon, Phillip", "David's girl - Janet", etc) and use only a first/last name.
Rupert Cadell is listed last, and with his full name and without any phrase of relation.
Featured review
Hitch On A Limb
No need to recap the plot.
Leave it to Hitch to venture into uncharted Hollywood territory. First, the movie's a "real time" screenplay that blends 80-mintes of character time into 80-minutes of screen time without a noticeable cut-away. It's the first time, I believe, this was tried. Practically speaking, the movie's almost a filmed stage play. The pitfalls here are many and obvious. Fortunately, the script is generally involving and avoids a chief pitfall by developing the storyline without much drag. At the same time, the characters are a generally colorful lot, especially caterer Wilson (Evanson) and dowager Collier (Atwater). Then too, Hitch's camera heightens developments in unobtrusive fashion, so that we get listener reactions at the same time the speaker is speaking. That way our interest is spread over a number of characters. Second is his use of gay actors (Dall & Granger) to portray scarcely veiled gay characters Brandon & Phillip, respectively. I guess the movie was banned in many locales because of that taboo, (IMDB). Nonetheless, the aspect makes for an interesting subtext, one that Hitch was later to use in Strangers On A Train (1951).
Acting-wise, Dall does well as the intellectual snob, while Granger plays a nervous second fiddle. The Nietzschean theme seems a little shopworn so soon after WWII, but works well enough here as dark motivation. However, I could have done without Rupert's (Stewart) reproofing lecture at movie's end. There should have been a subtler alternative. Plus, his character comes across as something of a stretch. But then convention required someone to put things right, even if Rupert has rather confusingly inspired the Nietzschean-type murder, in the first place
All in all, I can see why many balk at Hitch's experimental result. It is a noticeable departure from the norm. Still, I think the aspects come together well enough to remain an engaging hour-plus, even if not among his best suspense features. At the same time, I can see why the real-time single-set approach never caught on. In lesser hands, it's a time bomb.
Leave it to Hitch to venture into uncharted Hollywood territory. First, the movie's a "real time" screenplay that blends 80-mintes of character time into 80-minutes of screen time without a noticeable cut-away. It's the first time, I believe, this was tried. Practically speaking, the movie's almost a filmed stage play. The pitfalls here are many and obvious. Fortunately, the script is generally involving and avoids a chief pitfall by developing the storyline without much drag. At the same time, the characters are a generally colorful lot, especially caterer Wilson (Evanson) and dowager Collier (Atwater). Then too, Hitch's camera heightens developments in unobtrusive fashion, so that we get listener reactions at the same time the speaker is speaking. That way our interest is spread over a number of characters. Second is his use of gay actors (Dall & Granger) to portray scarcely veiled gay characters Brandon & Phillip, respectively. I guess the movie was banned in many locales because of that taboo, (IMDB). Nonetheless, the aspect makes for an interesting subtext, one that Hitch was later to use in Strangers On A Train (1951).
Acting-wise, Dall does well as the intellectual snob, while Granger plays a nervous second fiddle. The Nietzschean theme seems a little shopworn so soon after WWII, but works well enough here as dark motivation. However, I could have done without Rupert's (Stewart) reproofing lecture at movie's end. There should have been a subtler alternative. Plus, his character comes across as something of a stretch. But then convention required someone to put things right, even if Rupert has rather confusingly inspired the Nietzschean-type murder, in the first place
All in all, I can see why many balk at Hitch's experimental result. It is a noticeable departure from the norm. Still, I think the aspects come together well enough to remain an engaging hour-plus, even if not among his best suspense features. At the same time, I can see why the real-time single-set approach never caught on. In lesser hands, it's a time bomb.
Helpful•171
- dougdoepke
- Nov 6, 2016
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Alfred Hitchcock's Rope
- Filming locations
- Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Brandon´s penthouse)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $10,883
- Runtime1 hour 20 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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