![]() ![]() The first sequence, Marnie walking away from the camera onto a train platform carrying a distinctive yellow handbag, immediately hooks us. The opening act of 'Marnie' contains some classic moments of Hitchcock's visual storytelling. When he discovers his new bride has an extreme reaction to the color red, Mark sets about discovering the reason behind her affliction. ![]() After staying behind in the office one evening, Marnie relieves the safe of its contents but is later tracked down by Mark who uses the opportunity to blackmail her into marriage. ![]() Changing her hair color from black to auburn, she takes a new job at a company run by Mark (Connery) who, unbeknownst to her, is aware she is the culprit responsible for the earlier theft. As the movie came out during WWII, it seems to have a direct parallel to the evil leaders loose in the world, particularly in the film's final scene.As the film opens, it's revealed that Marnie (Hedren) has just emptied the safe of an office where she used her feminine charms to be hired without references. The second half, including the increasing revelation of Uncle Charlie's dark views of humanity and the lengths to which he will go to protect himself, is what make the film so sinister. On the other hand, there is a real small town feeling to this setting, helped in no doubt by Thornton Wilder being one of the screenwriters, and the characters of Charlie's father (Henry Travers) and his friend (Hume Cronyn) passing the time by talking about the perfect murder are absolutely priceless. ![]() Some of the tension is also missing because we're pretty darn sure Uncle Charlie is guilty. I considered a slightly higher rating, but thought the pace in the first half of the movie was a little slow. Trouble is just behind him though, and it gets worse when his niece (also 'Charlie', named after him, and played by Teresa Wright) begins to suspect him of being the "Merry Widow Murderer". Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) is on the run from the law on the East Coast, and he settles in with his sister and her family in Santa Rosa. Hitchcock said this was his favorite film, and there is a quiet evil about it that makes it truly horrifying. ![]()
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