Marnie (1960)
Because of its subject matter and themes, Marnie was a different kind of Hitchcock film and for that reason it was a commercial and critical flop. Before Marnie 's release in 1964, Hitchcock was enjoying his most successful period of filmmaking. North by Northwest , Psycho and The Birds were all incredibly successful because of their impressive photography, suspenseful plotting and cutting edge special effects. Marnie, which relied less on these elements, is considered Hitchcock's last personal work.
Cast | Synopsis | Discussion | Backstage
Cast:
Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedren), Mark Rutland (Sean Connery), Lil Mainwaring (Diane Baker), Sidney Strutt (Martin Gabel), Bernice Edgar (Louise Latham)
Synopsis:
Marnie is a habitual thief who targets wealthy businessmen and then robs them. Mark, Marnie's latest target, discovers her scheme and blackmails her into marrying him. After the marriage, he tries to understand Marnie's kleptomania and her hatred toward men.
Discussion:
In Marnie, Hitchcock uses colors not only to evoke emotions in the characters but in the audience as well. Yellow foreshadows destruction to the audience while red foreshadows Marnie's repressed childhood memories.
The film opens with a close-up of a yellow purse. Marnie is clutching the purse, so its color then symbolizes a self-destructive woman holding on to her destructive past. A yellow cab drives Marnie to her interview with Mark, a job that will end her career as a thief and introduce her to the man who will unleash the demons from her past. Marnie finds a safe combination next to a pile of yellow pencils. The color warns the audience that Marnie will be caught, which she eventually is. Lil, Mark's sister-in-law, is dressed in a yellow dress when she first meets Marnie. As the film progresses, the audience learns that Lil loves Mark, putting her and Marnie in constant conflict.
The color red speaks to Marnie. The red gladiolus in front of her mother's house represents Marnie's psychological trauma and repressed memories. In several scenes, Hitchcock tints the screen red, hinting that Marnie's memories can be triggered by colors, specifically red. Red becomes the key to unlocking Marnie's childhood when she realizes that the color symbolizes the blood from a sailor--a man who she murdered when he attempted to rape her and her mother.
Marnie is also the last film in Hitchcock's Mother Trilogy. Two previous films, Psycho and The Birds , both presented a mother who was key to explaining the past. Marnie's mother Bernice grew up with people buying her affection, and she bartered with them. She lost her virginity and conceived Marnie all for a basketball sweater. Bernice also barters for a little neighbor girl's affection with a pecan pie. Though in different forms, theft is a family trait carried on from mother to daughter.
The techniques Hitchcock used to express these themes were very different from his other films. Marnie displayed a range of emotions that initially disappointed audiences. The gut-wrenching final scene where Marnie confronts her past and her mother leaves audiences in a state of depression instead of a state of suspense. But for these very reasons, Marnie has been rediscovered and hailed Hitchcock's final masterpiece.
Backstage:
Marniewas supposed to mark the return of Grace Kelly to the silver screen, but the people of Monaco did not approve of their princess playing a habitual thief. Hitchcock cast Tippi Hedren instead whom he was grooming as his next Grace Kelly
It was during the production of Marnie that Hedren and Hitchcock's working relationship ended. Tired of his controlling manner, Hedren made a comment about Hitchcock's obesity. From then on, Hitchcock directed Hedren only through intermediaries. After filming wrapped, Hitchcock refused to dissolve Hedren's four-year contract with him. She did not work in film again until 1967 when she costarred in the Countess of Hong Kong.