Macabre Hitchcock thriller about two friends who murder a classmate to see what it feels like. The whole action takes place in one room and the view from the windows, which gradually darkens as the day progresses until the city's lights come on, is a striking feature. Arguments rage to this day about whether it was a good idea for Hitch to let the audience know, for sure, where the body is right from the start. The casting of James Stewart - instead of, for example, James Mason - as the suspicious visitor is not particularly telling but the two killers are most convincing. The homosexual undertones of the story are not even hinted at. Disturbingly, Rope was based on a real-life murder case.
I think this might have been Hitchcock's first major film. Certainly it was one of his early ones. It has a very unusual theme, not the usual 'who done it', as we know early on who did it. It is played out as a moral debate about murder. James Stewart is fabulous in his role of detective to the murder and as a facilitator to the debate. I'm never sure why this film doesn't seem to be counted as a Hitchcock classic. But anyone who is into Hitchcock should include this film in their collection. And I wish horror directors of today would watch more Hitchcock films (definitely including this one) and see how 'less is more' when it comes to horror. Like most of his films, Hitchcock keeps the dial low on the violence and gore and up to the highest level on suggestion, intrigue and macabre. He demonstrates how far a good director can go by leaving most of the violence and gore to our own imaginations.Read full review
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