Prepare yourself for some philosophy.  I did not mean to land on such a subject.  As my Fourth of July has unfolded, I figured I could get in two films before the fireworks begin.  This calls for shorter films, and I have saved on my phone the International Database’s (IMDb) list of 100 good movies that are ninety minutes or less in run time.  There are a good portion of these I have done already.  Many of the rest are either disgusting horror films I do not care to see or foreign films.  Scrolling through the list, I came to Rope (1948).  Does that sound familiar to you?  I did not to me.  Before I chose it, I did a little research, though it being an older film already had its appeal.  It turned out that it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  If nothing else, I felt that my afternoon viewing would at least be in competent hands.  As with anything else the famous auteur has done, I got much more than “nothing else.”

Given Hitchcock’s usual work, it should come as no surprise that Rope begins with a murder.  The victim is David Kentley (David Hogan).  His assailants are two of his friends: Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger).  The setting for this crime is the swanky New York apartment that Brandon apparently shares with Phillip.  They are chums from school, and they are about to leave town, incidental to what they do to David.  Since this is the 1940s, any excuse is good to throw a party, and they are to have one in a couple of hours.  Brandon is calm and collected as they put the body in a chest in the living room, where it will sit while guests arrive and mingle.  Phillip is quite nervous, convinced that they are going to be caught.  Brandon tries to assure his friend by reminding Phillip what their former headmaster, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart) once told them about the act of killing somebody.  According to Rupert, murder is a privilege to be enjoyed by the intellectually superior.  Brandon took this lesson to heart, and he decided that it was their friend David who must go.  In order to keep prying eyes out of the chest, Brandon and Phillip arrange for the party’s food to be served on the piece of furniture in which David is festering.  Brandon believes this to be the perfect crime, particularly considering the people who are about to come to their little soiree.  Among the invitees are Mr. Henry Kentley (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), David’s father, and Janet Walker (Joan Chandler).  This last person is David’s girlfriend.  In order to keep her occupied, they have also invited Kenneth Lawrence (David Dick), another of their classmates, who had once dated Janet.  Then there is Rupert.  As the evening starts in earnest, there is one question on everyone’s mind: where is David.  Not long into the proceedings, his absence is explained away by him simply being a few minutes late.  As this drags into hours, genuine concern is felt.  Janet makes a call to David’s last known location, and they have no idea as to his whereabouts.  Brandon’s coyness also becomes suspicious.  He feigns being as baffled about David as anyone else.  Yet, Janet uncovers lies in Brandon’s words for the night, such as him supposedly being unaware that she is in a relationship with David.  There is also the cavalier way Brandon gets Rupert to recount his thoughts on why so-called superior people should be allowed to do away with the inferior.  The real problem, though, is with Phillip. His jumpiness peaks and valleys throughout the evening, and the peaks become more frequent.  For example, it is noticed that he is not eating the chicken.  He responds by making the claim that he does not like it.  He is then called upon to give an accounting as to why, but Brandon interrupts with the story of how Phillip had an incident strangling chickens on the Shaw family farm in Connecticut.  Phillip tries to deny this, but the main take away for the guests is that he is spooked for some unknown reason.  His uneasiness becomes more heightened when Brandon uses the same bit of eponymous material used to snatch the life from David to tie up a stack of books to be given to Mr. Kentley.  Observing all these proceedings is Rupert.  In particular, he knows the truth behind Phillip’s denial of the chicken story.  Rupert presses his former pupil on the matter, only to be met with further nervousness.  The final piece of the puzzle comes together for Rupert as he is leaving.  He picks up a hat as he is leaving believing it to be his own, but it is actually David’s.  For the hosts, Brandon especially, he believes he has gotten away with murder, all the while gleefully dangling the evidence before everyone who came.  He tries to calm Phillip by reminding them of their trip in the morning, and then the phone rings.  It is Rupert requesting to return to retrieve his cigarette case.  Brandon allows it, confident that they are safe with the person who had first theorized the act for them.  Just in case, Brandon has a pistol in his pocket.  Rupert figures out everything, including the weapon in Brandon’s jacket.  Rupert manages to wrestle it away before stating that he is going to open the trunk.  Seeing his suspicions confirmed sickens him.  Opening a window, he fires a few shots into the air to summon the police.  It closes with Rupert sitting next to the chest while Brandon pours himself another drink and Phillip plays the piano.

If you have read many reviews here on The Legionnaire, you can probably guess where this review of Rope is next going to go.  Not to be too obvious, but Brandon is incorrect in his logic that there are superior and inferior people, and that the superior ones have the right to murder the inferior.  Again, he cites Rupert as his inspiration for this nonsense, and the former teacher elucidates his philosophy to those gathered.  Though he is clearly being flippant, Mr. Kentley cannot tell.  The consensus is that Rupert does not really mean it, though Brandon has taken it to heart.  This flies in the face of Faith.  God did not create one person better than another.  Among his complaints to Brandon, Rupert tells him that he is not God.  He then goes on to say that the shame he felt in seeing his prattling taken to its deadly conclusion showed him that there was something inside him that told him of the wrongness of Brandon and Phillip’s actions.  What a testament to the existence of God.  If was not real, then what reason would anyone have for not taking a cavalier attitude towards society like Brandon?  It is that admission on Rupert’s part to feeling something betrayed in his heart that is the biggest testament to God.  It is his conscience speaking, and this is what God gives everyone, regardless of your station in life, to know right from wrong.

If these philosophical babblings in my description of Rope do not interest you, then there are other movies to watch. Indeed, I am not sure why this is among his lesser-known works.  The camera work is great, for starters, and the set is incredible.  The New York skyline in the background is clearly a functioning prop, but it changes with the time of day.  It is an attention to deal that is worth the price of admission.