Marnie

If you haven't seen Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie", I advise you to rent or buy this movie.

It is an absolutely amazing psychological thriller starring Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery.

Tippi Hedren plays Margaret (Marnie) Edgar who has a few personality disorders. She seems to have this habit of changing her identity, then using her beauty and intelligence to win the trust of, then to rob her employers.

While working for Mr. Strutt (the employer she robs at the beginning of the movie), Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) observes her while he's doing business with Mr. Strutt. When she applies for a job at his Philadelphia publishing company, he encourages his partner to hire her so he can watch her and ascertain what she is up to.

He becomes fascinated with her and starts dating her. When she pulls off stealing $10,000, Mark is one up on her and pays back the money and forces her to marry him or he will turn her in to the authorities.

On their honeymoon, on a slow boat to the South Seas, Mark finds out his new bride is frigid to his romantic advances. He soon realizes just how deeply disturbed she is and he is determined to help her.

The photography in this movie is clever and the shots depicting Marnie's fear of the color red to show her internal turmoil are abstract and unique. This happens several times; when she sees some red flowers, when she spills red ink on her sleeve, during a thunderstorm and when she sees red dots on a jockey's silks. It's really a wonderful effect and reminds me somewhat of some of the effects in "Vertigo".

"Marnie" was taken from a book by Winston Graham and the screenplay was written by Jay Presson Allen.

Hitchcock makes his signature cameo appearance five minutes into the film when Marnie walks down a hotel corridor and he comes out a room on the left just after she passes by.

Hitch originally wanted Grace Kelly for the role of Marnie, but she was married to the Prince of Monaco at the time and the people of Monaco didn't like the idea of their princess playing a compulsive thief.

Tippi Hedren is the real life mother of Melanie Griffith.

There are a few other famous faces in this film. A very young Mariette Hartley, Bruce Dern is in a very brief scene and Melody Scott Thomas (Nicki on Young and the Restless) as a child.

I get weak in the knees for Sean Connery and this movie was made in 1964 and Sean is young and SO handsome! While making this film - after rehearsing just a few scenes with Sean, Tippi Hedren asked Hitchcock, "Marnie is supposed to be frigid - have you seen him?", referring to Connery. Hitchcock's reply was reportedly, "Yes, my dear, it's called acting."

Sigh...