Movies That Are Underrated: Marnie

Tippi Hedren and 007 star in Marnie

The opening scene of Marnie shows a close up of a yellow purse being held by a woman walking away. The last word we hear in the movie is "purse." As Mark and Marnie get into a cab we hear a school rhyme chanted by little girls jumping rope "... go call the lady with the alligator purse." Between these two visuals, we get Alfred Hitchcock's most misunderstood masterpieces. It's time to do another movie that is greatly under appreciated. The last one I did was The Stepford Wives. and that was ages ago, so I decided to do another one. This time I'll be talking about Alfred Hitchcock's Marnie, his most underrated works, though recently Hitchcock film experts have tried their hardest to bring attention to the great injustice that was given to Marnie when it was first released. Marnie followed two of Hitchcock's most praised works, Psycho and The Birds, so when you look at these two films and then see Marnie, it's like... "what?" In many ways I can see how it was a great shock to the film critics at the time, but nonetheless, Marnie is a powerful tale of human emotion and should be re-visited.

Marnie and Mark try to work out their marital issues... that what you get for marrying a compulsive thief.

Marnie tells the tale of a compulsive female thief, who goes from town to town robbing companies blind. She gains their trust as a secretary or assistant of some kind, then, when the moment is right, she goes to their safe and empties it. All goes well for Marnie until she begins working for Mark Rutland, who catches her and he plans to tame her like a wild animal by marrying her. It all leads to an inevitable and heartbreaking ending.

The heartbreaking ending.

Marnie was released in 1964, a year after he released The Birds. Film critics went to see it with images of fluttering wings and menacing talons still fresh in their minds. They left feeling unsatisfied. I, personally, don't think they gave it a fair chance and for some reason completely missed the mark with their reviews and failed to see the significance of this enthralling film.

"I've caught something wild haven't I?"

While I can see why the film itself did not have as much detail in it as his former works. Hitchcock grew obsessed with the main star, Tippi Hedren. His obsession was so intense that it dominated the entire set. His attempts to woo her left him distracted from his work, many Hitchcock researchers feel the movie suffered because of this. He would send flowers and champagne, little letters to her trailer and to her home. He began controlling every aspect of her life, right down to what she would wear. Diane Baker, who played Marnie's rival in the film, remembers feeling physically ill due to all the tension on the set. Hitchcock would watch intensely while Tippi and Sean Connery(her love interest in the film.) would do a scene. Every time he felt that Connery was acting a little too well he would yell "Cut! Get your hands off the girl." It was tiresome and Tippi and the rest of the cast and crew became greatly irritated by it.

Hitch gives Tippi some direction.

The problem was, Tippi was signed to an exclusive contract by Hitchcock and she felt trapped. She finally begged to be let out of it. "I'll ruin your career." he told Tippi, and she later said that he did. He blackballed her all around Hollywood after Marnie was complete.

Tippi preparing for a scene.

Despite the problems behind the scenes, Marnie is still a very strong work and shouldn't be looked at lightly. Tippi Hedren gives an outstanding performance as Marnie and Sean Connery's acting is up to par. But it's Tippi Hedren who shines in this film, though critics said she was far too expressive. It would take years for Tippi to get the respect she deserved from both The Birds and Marnie. For this to be Tippi's second movie, and for her to make us feel completely heartbroken for her and care for her character is a testament to her talent as an actress.

The party scene.

In many ways, Mark's obsession to 'tame' Marnie and trap her reflects Hitchcock's and Tippi's relationship in real life perfectly. Again we see several themes in this movie that are typical Hitchcock. We have the blond bombshell who is manipulative, we have the theme of motherhood and how dangerous it can be and of course we have the beautiful, powerful, strong, independent woman being completely crushed and obliterated at the end (Much like Kim Novak in Vertigo, Janet Lee in Psycho, Tippi Hedren in The Birds, etc...), but one of the dominant themes that runs rampant in this particular film is sex. Hitchcock is a little more upfront about sex in this film than he is in, lets say, Vertigo or North by Northwest. We actually have a rape scene that is powerful and bitter. The overall movie leaves you feeling like the characters... refreshed and renewed. The beginning of a brand new day and hope for redemption.

Hitch made Psycho, The Birds and Marnie in that order, but I don't think it was by accident. I think Psycho was the crime, The Birds was the punishment and Marnie was the forgiveness and hope for a new beginning.

A touching scene between James Bon... I mean Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren.

Marnie is a true classic and should be more respected, but alas, the film critics of it's day have spoken and their is no way to turn back time. I used to work at Hollywood Video, and I remember a man I worked with looking through the movies to see which one he wanted to rent that evening. He held up one movie to another employee and, to my surprise, didn't ask if it was good, or had he seen it, but asked "What the reviews were on this movie." When the other employee said they were poor, he threw the movie back into the pile and got another one. This is a perfect example of how movies like Marnie are overlooked. So next time you go to see or rent a movie, see what other people have to say about it. Try not to rely too much on what professional film critics say, you never know when you'll have another Marnie on your hands.

"She took my money... I ain't sayin she a gold digga"