Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger

Rope (1948) is an American crime thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring James Stewart, John Dall, and Farley Granger. Other members of the cast include Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Douglas Dick, and Joan Chandler.

To young men, Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Philip Morgan (Granger) strangle a former classmate from prep school in what they think was the perfect murder. The Manhattan bachelors’ murder was inspired by conversations with their prep-school housemaster Rupert Cadell (Stewart) who taught them some concepts from Nietzsche’s writings about the superiority of certain individuals.

Brandon and Phillip are so brazen in their feelings of superiority that they have hidden the body of David Kentley (Dick Hogan) in a trunk in their dining room. Not only that, but the trunk is being used as a buffet during a party Brandon and Phillip are hosting.

Did Brandon and Phillip commit the “perfect crime?”

 

Farley Granger, James Stewart, and John Dall

Rope trivia

• This was Hitchcock’s first color movie.
• James Stewart was unhappy with the film and thought he was miscast.
• The movie was shot in ten takes, making it look like one continuous take.
• The film was loosely based on the Leopold and Loeb case, a real-life murder committed by University of Chicago students Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb.
• Cary Grant was Hitchcock’s first choice to play Rupert Cadell.
• James Stewart earned $300,000. The total budget for the film was $1.5 million dollars.

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on YouTube.

 

Click HERE to join the online discussion on July 15, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email invitation with a link to join the meeting on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. Some critics felt the “continuous take” filming was a distraction. Did it think it was a distraction? Did you even notice it?
2. James Stewart thought he was miscast; did you agree with him?
3. Did you have any sympathy for Brandon and Phillip?
4. What did you think of John Dall and Farley Granger as Brandon and Phillip? What did you think of their on-screen relationship.
5. Did anything about the film surprise you?