Today quietly marks the 50th anniversary of one of my favorite (albeit somewhat strange and twisted) films, Alfred Hitchcock's “Marnie.” Once it was done, Universal seemed to know that they had a box office turkey on their hands, and did their best to give it a broad appeal. This ad truly reeks of desperation.
The production got off to a bad start when its leading lady, Grace Kelly, decided to back out.
Her replacement, Tippi Hedren, required a lot of one-on-one coaching with Hitch himself to make sure she didn't flop in the very complex role that she was playing. Typically, Hitch allowed his actors to figure it out on their own.
Troubled or not, it still offers a lot to those who admire the work of one of the greatest auteurs of film, Alfred Hitchcock.
See more “Marnie” photos on my main website.
I haven't seen a Hitchcock film I didn't like and I've seen about 90% of them including the silent films (think there are four of his films I haven't seen yet). Even the least from Hitchcock was still better than the best from an average director.
ReplyDeleteEven though I never thought of Hedren as a good actress, I thought her awkwardness actually worked for the character in this film. As for Hitchcock's later work (Marnie forward), nothing beats "Frenzy" in my opinion. I'd put it right up there with his best.
Such a shame Tippi Hedren got Blacklisted by Hitchcock
ReplyDeleteCalling your Director "fat pig" on the set in front of the crew is never a good idea!
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