When watching Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie", one gets the sense that there is much more that went on in the novel it was based on, almost as if Hitch made a lot of excises or additions to the original script (I'm not positive on this...only a guess). As a result, the overall narrative is a bit disjointed in places and sparse in others. Luckily, the acting and themes in the movie are solid enough to make it a very interesting picture to watch.For a basic plot summary, "Marnie" focuses on Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedron), a compulsive liar/thief who eventually gets caught by Mark Rutland (Sean Connery). In trying to help Marnie discover why she is so psychologically disturbed, Mark uncovers a secret about Marnie's mother (played by Louise Latham) that must be revealed before any true progress can be made.In terms of overall execution, this film is a little lacking, especially considering the usual Hitchcock standard. Not until the last 20 minutes or so do you really get 100% sucked into what is transpiring. Before that, it is a collection of "fits and starts".Fortunately, the themes (obsession, childhood trauma, sexual tension, etc.) of "Marnie" are fascinating enough to keep you watching without getting bored. Just when you think that Marnie can't do anything crazier or be any stranger, she usually does just that.Thus, I consider "Marnie" a Hitchcock success largely in part due to the source material (i.e. it would be tough to really screw this one up). For roughly an hour and 45 minutes of the movie, I was set on a three-star rating. The final scenes, however, easily are the most compelling and bump it up a full star.

Good, but atypical, Alfred Hitchcock drama. Starts off looking like your usual Hitchcock thriller - tight, though complex, plot, with criminal undertones. After a while it evolves into a psychological and emotional drama, and a great one at that. Hitchcock shows his sensitive side in the closing act.Plot is a bit too complex in the beginning, and then drifts a bit in the middle. Other than that, perfect. Hitchcock's direction is spot- on, as usual.Tippi Hendren is superb, and gorgeous, in the lead role. Sean Connery is solid as the male lead.Another Hitchcock classic.

Mark (Sean Connery) blackmails a kleptomaniac into marrying him, and then not only forces himself on her, but also forces her to confront her past, and learn why she is so terrified of the colour red.Marnie, the character, is damaged goods.Marnie, the film, is damaged goods also.It's a character-driven story, but every character is either unlikeable, or uninvolving. Marnie is a good, but not *great* Hitchcock flick, and, especially at that time, coming right after things like Psycho, and The Birds, and North By Northwest, and Vertigo, good wasn't good enough. A lot of fans probably were not expecting a more low key, subtle, psychological romance thriller, which is what we got with Marnie. No elaborate chases on My. Rushmore, no killer with split personalities. It was too much of a departure for some. While it is a beautiful looking, well filmed effort (excluding some atrocious backdrops, which occasionally look like a painting one might see in a dentist's office) its pacing also lags, and Sean Connery (in a hideous looking hairpiece) is just simply there. He's not bad here, but he seems to be miscast to me, like he was given the role in hopes plot a James Bond/ Hitchcock crossover success.Marnie is still worthwhile, but not a film I am in any hurry to rewatch, and not a good starting point for someone not already a fan of Hitchcock.

Wealthy businessman Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) falls for beautiful, frigid compulsive liar and habitual thief Marnie (Tippi Hedren), and convinces her that marrying him is a better option than going to jail. After a few days of not being able to get into her pants, Mark practically forces himself upon the woman, which drives her to attempt suicide. Not one to give up, he endeavours to get to the bottom of the childhood trauma that has made his new wife such a screw-up.Even the greatest of directors can have the occasional mis-step; Marnie is one of Alfred Hitchcock's 'stumbles', the director putting his foot wrong on more than one occasion during the telling of this rather unremarkable psychological mystery.Technically, the film is undeniably sub-standard in places, with some awful rear-projection and painted backdrops that serve to pull the viewer out of the story. Performance wise, Tippi Hedren isn't quite up to the task, her role as the disturbed titular character requiring more subtlety than the actress can muster. In terms of basic storytelling, Hitchcock's film is both painfully slow and extremely talkative, and when all is said and done (with more being said than done), the pay-off simply isn't worth all of the tedious Freudian psycho-babble and overwrought drama.The only scene that even comes close to prime Hitchcock is when Marnie breaks into Rutland's safe: as she tiptoes barefoot out of the building, past the cleaner and guard, the shoes in her pockets gradually begin to fall out, providing some nail-biting tension. It's a shame there wasn't a lot more like this to liven up proceedings throughout.