Alfred Hitchcock's Rope was his first film in color and the first film in color for James Stewart unless you count the last few minutes of Ice Follies of 1939. The part of Rupert Cadell, prep school teacher and house master and iconoclast was certainly the most unusual role Stewart had done up to that time.
The original play, Rope's End, was written by British author Patrick Hamilton and first presented on the West End in the twenties. It was americanized and updated by Hitchcock.
Because of the change in locale, I'm sure the film is not a true adaption of the original play. I'm wondering how much of a change was made for Stewart's character to fit the part.
Rope is one of the few films that actually begins in its first seconds with a murder. It opens with John Dall and Farley Granger murdering acquaintance Dick Hogan. We see the last gasp of breath coming out of Hogan as Dall strangles him with a piece of rope. They hide the body in a large cedar chest and then proceed with a small party for some friends of their's and the deceased.
Dall and Granger are based on Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold. This killing was done for no reason except for some twisted kicks. And they credit Stewart with being the real author of the murder. It seems as though Stewart has some interesting Nietzchean ideas about some folks just not being bound by ordinary laws and conventions. He's told them as much in class and has an influence on these two that he can't imagine.
Stewart of course is invited to the party and bit by bit as the other guests wonder what might have happened to Hogan, Stewart suspects something is afoot. Especially with all the sly hints Dall keeps dropping. Two of the guests are Hogan's father and aunt played by Cedric Hardwicke and Constance Collier. Hardwicke is a gentle man with a sick wife at home and his concern for his son turns to a quiet, understated anxiety. For myself I think Hardwicke has the best performance in the film. When he leaves the party, your concern for how he and his wife will take the eventual news goes right with him.
Of course when everything is discovered by Stewart, he's in shock. He cannot believe that his offhanded quips about murder being justified for some superior people has been taken to its logical conclusion by Dall and Granger. A lot is registered in Stewart's voice and facial expressions, he knows that morally if not legally he's got to bear some responsibility here.
Rope being done by Hitchcock after World War II with the discovery of the Nazi death camps and that superman philosophy being put into real practice in the running of a country served as a timely reminder and a warning to those who would countenance such views. It's in fact a photographed stage play with all the action taking place in the Dall/Granger apartment. But the direction is smooth and the players are as capable a group as you'll find.
The original play, Rope's End, was written by British author Patrick Hamilton and first presented on the West End in the twenties. It was americanized and updated by Hitchcock.
Because of the change in locale, I'm sure the film is not a true adaption of the original play. I'm wondering how much of a change was made for Stewart's character to fit the part.
Rope is one of the few films that actually begins in its first seconds with a murder. It opens with John Dall and Farley Granger murdering acquaintance Dick Hogan. We see the last gasp of breath coming out of Hogan as Dall strangles him with a piece of rope. They hide the body in a large cedar chest and then proceed with a small party for some friends of their's and the deceased.
Dall and Granger are based on Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold. This killing was done for no reason except for some twisted kicks. And they credit Stewart with being the real author of the murder. It seems as though Stewart has some interesting Nietzchean ideas about some folks just not being bound by ordinary laws and conventions. He's told them as much in class and has an influence on these two that he can't imagine.
Stewart of course is invited to the party and bit by bit as the other guests wonder what might have happened to Hogan, Stewart suspects something is afoot. Especially with all the sly hints Dall keeps dropping. Two of the guests are Hogan's father and aunt played by Cedric Hardwicke and Constance Collier. Hardwicke is a gentle man with a sick wife at home and his concern for his son turns to a quiet, understated anxiety. For myself I think Hardwicke has the best performance in the film. When he leaves the party, your concern for how he and his wife will take the eventual news goes right with him.
Of course when everything is discovered by Stewart, he's in shock. He cannot believe that his offhanded quips about murder being justified for some superior people has been taken to its logical conclusion by Dall and Granger. A lot is registered in Stewart's voice and facial expressions, he knows that morally if not legally he's got to bear some responsibility here.
Rope being done by Hitchcock after World War II with the discovery of the Nazi death camps and that superman philosophy being put into real practice in the running of a country served as a timely reminder and a warning to those who would countenance such views. It's in fact a photographed stage play with all the action taking place in the Dall/Granger apartment. But the direction is smooth and the players are as capable a group as you'll find.