Marnie [DVD] [1964]

Marnie was the first great non-Bond film from Sir Sean Connery since he began playing his career-defining role as 007. This was also Hitchcock's followup to his classic The Birds, with the same leading lady, Tippi Hedren. Sadly, the film didn't gather much acclaim upon its original 1964 release. One reason being that it is not a suspense shocker like The Birds or Psycho. Another being that Sir Sean is quite far from the Bond role (the film was sandwiched between From Russia With Love & Goldfinger). Indeed his character, one Mark Rutland, is an upperclass businessman who becomes quite self-serving when he blackmails his employee (the title character, played by Hedren) into marrying him in the hopes of understanding the psychosis which drives her to steal. By 1964, Hitchcock's name had become synonymous with suspense and, while the moment Marnie steals from Rutland may put the viewer on edge, the picture itself is more of a character study involving the plotting between the two principals keeping the details of their marriage a secret from everyone including the sister of Rutland's late wife, who's smitten with him herself. Some scenes (mostly those in between Rutland & Marnie's confrontations) slow the pace of the movie somewhat. However, both Connery & Hedren do fine work, but the best part of the film is the music from frequent HItchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann, which is possibly the most romantic musical score for any movie. In recent years, though, this film has gained a more positive reputation. Although Hedren didn't obtain any high profile roles following this, it is seen as one of the first indications that Sir Sean's acting talent was not limited to playing James Bond.

Along with North by Northwest, this is my favorite Hitchcock film. The opening scene to this movie is just classic.