Classic 40s Movie: “Rope”

September is Classic 40s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Lance Morgan.

Movie Title: Rope

Year: 1948

Writers: Arthur Laurents, based on play Patrick Hamilton

Lead Actors: James “Jimmy” Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

IMDb Plot Summary: Two young men strangle their “inferior” classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the “perfection” of their crime.

Why I Think This Is A Classic 40s Movie

First of all, this is a Hitchcock Movie. Need I say more?

Also, this film has various elements that are ahead it’s time. One example of this is the fact that he uses a lot of long takes in his film, something you might have seen in the recent Best Picture winner Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

Another example is his use of homosexual subtext in his film, which was a very controversial subtext in the 1940s. Some of the actors in the film identified as homosexual or bisexual and the screenwriter was homosexual as well. The film made it past the Production Code censors, but it was still banned independently in many towns across the country.

My Favorite Moment In The Film

One of my favorite moments in the film is when they are having a discussion about the “art of murder”. I think this point in the film was when the characters really revealed their true personalities. Brandon (Dall) starts off this conversation as cool and calm, but slowly becomes more excited and animated while Philip (Granger) is very upset and depressed.

My Favorite Dialogue In The Movie

This line of dialogue perfectly describes Brandon’s attitude towards the murder throughout the whole film.

Brandon Shaw: Mrs. Wilson, champagne!
Kenneth: Oh, it isn’t someone’s birthday is it?
Brandon Shaw: Don’t look so worried, Kenneth. It’s, uh, really almost the opposite.

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie

Look at the performances of each actor because there was some amazing writing in this film that was remarkably delivered by the actors.

Also look at how Hitchcock used a small space very successfully throughout film and how obviously fake the city outside the window looks.

Thanks, Lance! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

We already have a set of classic 5os movies, 60s Movies, 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 40s movies. And thanks to the GITS community, we’ve got 30 movies in the works, one for each day of the month!

Those who I put in bold have already sent me their posts. If you haven’t sent yours to me, please do so as soon as you can!!!

Act of Violence — Eric Rodriguez
Arsenic and Old Lace — Katha
Bicycle Thieves — Megaen Kelly
Brief Encounter — Emily Bonkoski
Casablanca — Paul Graunke
Double Indemnity — Susan Winchell
Five Graves to Cairo — Jeff Gibson
Foreign Correspondent — Doc Kane
His Girl Friday — John Henderson
It’s a Wonderful Life — David Laudenslager
Key Largo — Will King
Laura — Melinda Mahaffey Icden
Les enfants du paradis — Brendan Howley
Mrs. Miniver — Traci Nell Peterson
Notorious — Christine Henton
Now Voyager — Melissa Privette
Out of the Past — Brantley Aufill
Rope — Lance Morgan
The Bank Dick — Bob Saenz
The Best Years of Their Lives — Shaun Parker
The Big Sleep — Ipsita Barik
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir — Annie Wood
The Long Voyage Home — Vincent Martini
The Lost Weekend — Liz Warner
The Maltese Falcon — Roy Gordon
The Ox-Bow Incident — Clay Mitchell
The Philadelphia Story — Kristen Demaline
The Sin of Harold Diddlebock — David Joyner
The Third Man — Harry Cooke
To Have and Have Not — Felicity Flesher

Thanks to everyone who steps up for this ongoing project!

For the original post explaining the series, go here.

For all of the 40s movies featured in the series, go here.

Click REPLY and see you in comments about today’s classic 40s movie!