Marnie (1964)

Blistering performances.

The acting in this movie is really good.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I have to point out that since the age of 12 (when my passion for old and great movies began) I always loved Alfred Hitchcock's movies. They are so thrilling and so perfectly made that you can't leave the movie until it ends! And ''Marnie'' is one of the first Hitchcock movies I saw, and liked it.Marnie (Tippi Hedren) is a charming woman that has the habit of stealing for forget. She gets employed as a secretary at Rutland's, and she soon catches the attention of the owner, Mark (Sean Connery in one of his best non-007 movies). She eventually marries him, but the honeymoon is a disaster, and they soon return home. Eventually Connery tries to understand Marnie's temper, and it helps her to face her childhood traumas and it works. Sean Connery was perfect as the suave Mark, and Tippi Hedren in another great performance along with THE BIRDS. However, although not a masterpiece, it's still great and worth a look!

Attractive accountant Marnie (Tippie Hedrin) moves from post to post, gaining enough of the confidence of her employers to rob them of the cash in the office safes. She assumes new identities with fake social security cards and hair dye. The heart of the film is an exploration into why she does this. "Marnie" is a bit of a masterpiece in style and the way it uncovers why she steals from her employers. Set in a set made out to be Baltimore, the film may look fake, which could be intentional just for the purposes of distinctive styling, because at this point in Alfred Hitchcock's career (1964) it would be safe to assume that what you see on the screen must have been what he intended, and, nevertheless, the photography by Robert Burks is some of the best, as is Bernard Hermann's score. This basically turns out to be the master's sleeper classic, mixing a story of sex and criminality, not too unlike what Hitchcock did with Psycho. Attractive women rob their employers in both films, and both masterfully explore the lingering and smouldering sexual hang-ups.

MARNIE is a psychological thriller as a kind of imbalance in relations of human nature, the past and the future. The two characters, one is provocative and other is seductive, are engaged in a dangerous game woven of love, passion and madness. It is based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Winston Graham.Marnie is a a compulsive thief who cannot stand to be touched by any man. Her new boss, Mark, is, in a strange way, fascinated by her behavior, to such an extent that he blackmails her into marriage when he stumbles onto her breaking into his safe. A dangerous and passionate game, based on a dark past and an uncertain future, can begin...Hitchcock's psycho-physical game, which is full of symbolism, is again very shocking. A lack of love and the impossibility of expressing the same, with constant disguise and deception, bring enough amount of intrigue. A strong sexual desire and frigid wife are kind of bonuses in this story.What's the problem with this film?I think, a serious dose of obsession, with the two main characters, which fully corresponds to their mysterious psyche is too sweet, and sticky for a psychological thriller. This is especially felt in acting. Simply, Hitchcock's thematic compactness is lost and psychological game becomes a bit tiresome to watch.There is of course, "Spellbound", as a kind of warning.Tippi Hedren as Margaret "Marnie" Edgar is a young woman who constantly suffers from nightmares, afraid of thunder and one color. A kleptomaniac is not aware of causes of her behavior and her fears. So the best. However, a thief becomes prey. Sean Connery as Mark Rutland is a widower, a zoologist and hunter at the same time. He is not a perfect man, regardless of his appearance and "mission". He is a man, who likes challenges in a form of attractive woman with serious psychological problems, who somewhere in her depths cries out for his help. Diane Baker as Lil Mainwaring is Mark's former sister-in-law, who will try to bring a discomfort into a romance, which practically not exist. Louise Latham as Bernice Edgar is a distant cold and mysterious mother. She is a wound that needs to be cleaned.I will repeat one of my sentence. I have a feeling that I watched pretty good movie where something's wrong.

When watching Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie", one gets the sense that there is much more that went on in the novel it was based on, almost as if Hitch made a lot of excises or additions to the original script (I'm not positive on this...only a guess). As a result, the overall narrative is a bit disjointed in places and sparse in others. Luckily, the acting and themes in the movie are solid enough to make it a very interesting picture to watch.For a basic plot summary, "Marnie" focuses on Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedron), a compulsive liar/thief who eventually gets caught by Mark Rutland (Sean Connery). In trying to help Marnie discover why she is so psychologically disturbed, Mark uncovers a secret about Marnie's mother (played by Louise Latham) that must be revealed before any true progress can be made.In terms of overall execution, this film is a little lacking, especially considering the usual Hitchcock standard. Not until the last 20 minutes or so do you really get 100% sucked into what is transpiring. Before that, it is a collection of "fits and starts".Fortunately, the themes (obsession, childhood trauma, sexual tension, etc.) of "Marnie" are fascinating enough to keep you watching without getting bored. Just when you think that Marnie can't do anything crazier or be any stranger, she usually does just that.Thus, I consider "Marnie" a Hitchcock success largely in part due to the source material (i.e. it would be tough to really screw this one up). For roughly an hour and 45 minutes of the movie, I was set on a three-star rating. The final scenes, however, easily are the most compelling and bump it up a full star.