Review of Rope (1948) by Courtney S — 12 Mar 2010

James Stewart is soooo good in this. He plays what is probably his most unliked role, yet I think it was so change of scene, so un-Stewart like that it worked. Stewart plays a party guest who becomes suspicious of two party hosts of committing murder on one of their classmates. The genius of the movie for me is the way it plays out in real time, there are no CUTS, and the entire film takes place in one scene, so you the viewer knows everything that happens, while the characters don't.

The movie's screenwriter describes the film/stageplay(based off of) with having strong homosexual messages within, which I personally didn't pick up on, but that's just me. I thought it was a tout thriller(the only variation was that YOU know who the murderer(s) are, and the suspense lies in who is going to discover and rat them out, as opposed to you figuring out the murderer yourself. I think it's one of my favorite Hitchcock films. Great movie.