Marnie

Rating:
Summary: Seriously underrated gem.
Review: It's always interesting and go back for another look, as one does with all great works. Memory plays tricks. And we all bring something of ourselves to the work. Having been a thief in my time I was struck with this film the first time I saw it many moons ago. Let me assure you, Mr Hitchcock knows the mind of a thief. I've seen this film a number of times and it has continued to grow in affection and stature as an excellent instance of his very best work. The support material, on the making of the film, its casting, how Hitch directs his actors, its genesis, actor's comments, are very informative and in the case of Ms Baker and Ms Latham, quite rivetting. Mr Bernard Hermann of course has a field day, as does Mr Freud. To call this work "cheesie" is a serious misrepresentation of one of Hollywood's finest efforts. A gem.

Rating:
Summary: One of the "Master's" weaker efforts -- NOT a Classic!
Review: This is the 1964 Psychological Thriller that can't hold a candle to "Psycho", and even pales when compared to the previous year's box-office-smash "The Birds". Hitchcock gives his newly discovered Tippi Hedren another go as the sexually aluring lead with a deep secret (not quite as delicious as that harbored by Norman Bates). Incidently Hedren walked out immediately after filming, never to work with the director again. The James Bond Sensation Sean Connery is effective as the love-interest to "crack the case" of the mysterious Marnie. A stunningly beautiful Suzanne Plechette is cast in a small role. She should have been the lead in a live action version of Snow White.

As a huge fan of Hitchcock, I was somewhat disappointed by this lame premise with equally lackluster overall production values. No Oscars here, that's for sure. If this one completes a set of films you must watch for a class or some other desperate reason, then go for it. If it's a choice between this and an early night, I'd recommend the latter. Three stars is a generous rating for a barely so-so film.***

Rating:
Summary: It's A Very Good Movie!!!!
Review: Maybe it's because I've been a Sean Connery fan for twenty years, but I thought this movie was good. There's more to a movie than scenery and settings, which happens to be the movie's biggest shortcoming: the painted backgrounds really give the film a cheesy flavor. Unfortunately in this high tech day and age we judge movies by what is produced NOW rather than other movies produced at the same time.

Tippi Hedron and Sean Connery do a wonderful job of making you sympathetic with their characters. Hitch's first choice for the role was Grace Kelly, and she had agreed to do it, but then backed out of the project, which is a pity. I would like to have seen Grace, one of my favorite actresses, in this role...but Tippi was a wise second choice for the lead.

One reviewer recommended buying only if you're a fan of either Hitch or the stars, and I think I would agree. But definitey take a look at it. It's not miscast as "Rope" was. It's not the BEST Hitch movie (my vote goes for "Rebecca" and "Rear Window") but it certainly is a good one.

Rating:
Summary: Did anyone else know that Sean Connery is HOT?!
Review: "Marnie" is a really great movie. Maybe I haven't seen enough movies from the sixties to know for sure, but this movie seemed quite ahead of it's time. In the video I saw, before the movie starts, they have a little thing where Hitchcock talks about the movie. He comes right out and says it's a "sex mystery." Hello!
While this movie doesn't go as far as movies today do, it has some racy plotlines, like prostitution, and it also deals with things like molestation.
Okay, all that stuff aside, let's talk about Sean Connery. He is hot! I'm seventeen, and until now, I've only seen more recent Sean Connery movies, like Entrapment, First Knight, and Finding Forrester. He isn't a bad looking old guy, but he is still an old guy. But he was a definite heart throb when he was younger! After seeing this movie, I'm a hard core Sean Connery fan!

Rating:
Summary: Marnie is one of the top 20 greatest movies ever made
Review: Marnie is on my top 20 because of it's realistic femenin side of the protagonist/enemy. Marnie is a bank robber and also a very nice, double sided split personality. There is alot of suspense and tension. The movie runs a touch long to some, at 2 hours and 10 minutes. However, the horse chase scene, the robbery scene with the deaf janitor and the scenes with Marnie and her mom make the movie a classic which proves Hitchcock is the most brilliant director of all time. Very entertaining, the only downfall for today's audiences in this movie is the long run time. There are quite a few dramatic "chit chat" scenes but the movie itself is an amazing film that any movie apreciator will love.

Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock does Freud...again
Review: I agree with the Spotlight Reviewer who said this movie reminded them of Spellbound. Again, the plot centers on a tortured person, his/her mysterious hidden past, and the unlucky person who falls in love with him/her and tries to find out what caused their psychosis.

However, Marnie is a different sort of mystery. Spellbound was endearing in its "wholesome" quality, with Ingrid Bergman valiantly trying to psychoanalyze the man she falls in love with to try to disprove accusations of him being a murderer. Marnie's plot almost seems forced to be intentionally mysterious.

You immediately are aware that Marnie (actually played VERY well by Tippi Hedren, formerly of The Birds) has some serious mother issues. She is constantly trying to please her by buying her nice things but never seeming to make her happy. Unfortunately, her mother doesn't know she gets the money to buy these things by embezzling them from various companies under various aliases.

Sean Connery steps in as the one who is going to stop this behavior and get to the root of her neurosis. His role is gallant and all, but it is somewhat degrading how he treats Marnie. He finally gets her to admit to her problems by basically treating her like an untamed beast (a real hobby he mentions in the movie).

When you finally get to the ending, you end up saying to yourself "OK, saw THAT coming a MILE away". Maybe I am cynical because I have seen this movie a few times, and I am not saying the movie doesn't have its merits. I mean, hey, it's Hitchcock. But, it just doesn't have the same suspenseful draw as his other movies, and it seems like Marnie really signalled the end to Hitch's inventive plot lines.

Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock threw "caution to the wind"
Review: Let's see. The movie has frigidity, prostitution, Freudian implications, rape, kleptomania, theft, deception, dysfunction in the family, and a little hint of incest. And that's just the half of it.

Although the international hit called "Goldfinger" was released the same year, Sean Connery had yet to take the world by storm. Thus, his performance here is a showcase of his versatility showing audiences that he could handle a complex character like Mark. Tippi Hedren, late of Hitch's "The Birds" shows that, given another director like Sir Alfred, she may have become one of the greats of the cinema.

Diane Baker as Mark's in-law gives great support. Her "Lil" has more than a sisterly fondness for her brother-in-law. Louise Latham, made up quite slovenly, is memorably sympathetic as Marnie's mom.

Not enough words can be used to describe Bernard Herrmann's score. It, without a doubt, shares top billing as one of the film's "stars".

Rating:
Summary: Decent later Hitchcock
Review: Although I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I feel his later works are weaker than his movies before 1960. Psycho, to me, is his last true classic. The later ones - The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy, Family Plot - are good, but not great.

In Marnie, Hitchcock breaks from his normal suspense stories to present a psychological drama about Marnie, a woman who is incapable of love and steals to get what she needs. A lot of what ails her back traces back to her mother, who like most mothers in Hitchcock movies (never more so than in Psycho) is an unpleasant character. Sean Connery is a wealthy man who - despite being one of her theft victims - coerces her to marry him; he is intent on healing her, though his methods are a bit questionable.

Tippi Hedren does a great job as the disturbed Marnie. Connery, who made this movie while he was in the middle of his Bond films, has a certain Bond-like cockiness that is sometimes callous and sometimes romantic.

Although this is a good movie, it is not great. This is not so much because the movie has significant flaws, but just because it doesn't have anything really spectacular either. This would not be a good introduction to Hitchcock, but if you are already a fan, this would be worth your while.

Rating:
Summary: Accurate, enthralling, insightful
Review: Rendered topical once more with recent revelations of priests' abuse of children, 1964's Marnie revolves around a psychological condition only recently classified in psychiatric literature (complex PTSD) that affects shell-shocked soldiers and victims of repeated abuse.

Featuring disturbingly accurate portrayals of dissocative episodes, amnesia, and fragmented memories; Alfred Hitchcock either directed Tippi Hedren flawlessly, or she simply grasped the condition exceedingly well (how they achieved that in 1964 is the real mystery here). The climactic scene may be a tad compacted -- the threads of this condition don't come together quite so neatly -- but it nonetheless provides a stunning and plausible revelation to the questions Hitchcock's story revolves around.

Anyone who's experienced any of these symptoms can find at least some explanation -- and some degree of hope -- here, and any art that achieves that is worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: "MARNIE," The Most Romantic Of All Films
Review: Marnie is one of the most romantic films I've ever seen. Alfred Hitchcock's genius in the settings and the cinematography are unforgettable in this film. The way that he has the characters looking into each others eyes is impeccable. Even the angles used by the cameras while Tippi Hedren is kissed by Sean Connery make me want to see the movie again and again. This is one DVD that I'll probably wear out over the years.