Marnie (1964) | Presenting Hitchcock Podcast

Gooooood evening. In this month’s episode of Presenting Hitchcock, Cory and Aaron get hysterical as they discuss Marnie.

Written by: Jay Presson Allen

Based on the novel by Winston Graham

Starring: Tippi Hedren, Martin Gabel, Sean Connery, Louise Latham, Diane Baker, Alan Napier

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

Trailer:

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Director Cameo: Coming out of a hotel room as Marnie walks along the corridor.

Alfred Hitchcock, following his usual practice, bid for the movie rights to Winston Graham’s novel anonymously, so as to keep the price down. However, in this instance, the scheme backfired; the anonymity of the purchaser made Graham suspicious, although he regarded the amount of money on offer as extremely generous. He instructed his agent to ask for twice as much. Hitchcock agreed, on condition that the deal be closed immediately. When Graham discovered who it was who had bought the rights, he said he would have given them away free for the honor of having one of his stories filmed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren had a major falling-out during filming, and there was a rumor that, by the end, he directed her through intermediaries. Although Hedren admits that their friendship ended during shooting, she denies the rumor that he didn’t finish directing the movie.  Hedren told Hitchcock she would not do any more movies with him, (even though there was another movie left in her contract with the studio). “You’ll never work in this town again,” he said. “That’s fine by me,” she replied. “I don’t care.” She’s said in countless interviews that she has never regretted that decision because it got her out of an abusive situation with Hitchcock. Despite the troubles, Tippi Hedren has stated that this is her favorite movie in which she has appeared.

Sir Sean Connery had been worried that being under contract to Eon Productions for James Bond and non-Bond movies would limit his career, and turned down every non-Bond movie Eon offered him. When asked what he wanted to do, Connery replied that he wanted to work with Alfred Hitchcock, which Eon arranged through their contacts. Connery also shocked many people at the time by asking to see a script, something Connery did because he was worried about being typecast as a spy, and he did not want to do a variation of North by Northwest (1959) or Notorious (1946). When told by Hitchcock’s agent that Cary Grant did not ask to see even one of Hitchcock’s scripts, Connery replied, “I’m not Cary Grant.” Hitchcock and Connery got along well during filming. Connery also said that he was happy with the movie, “with certain reservations.”

Alfred Hitchcock wanted Grace Kelly to make her screen comeback in the title role, but the people of Monaco were not happy with the idea of their Princess playing a frigid, compulsive thief.  In a further complication, since Kelly had not fulfilled her MGM contract when she married Prince Rainier III in 1956, she could not appear in any movie other than an MGM movie. After she dropped out of talks to be in the movie, Marilyn Monroe expressed interest in playing the part. When Alfred Hitchcock was asked about this possible casting, his reply was, “It’s an interesting idea.”

Marnie marked the end of Hitchcock’s long association with three collaborators: cinematographer Robert Burks, composer Bernard Hermann, and editor George Tomasini. This is often cited as the reason for the loss in quality of Hitchcock’s last four films.

Marnie arrives in Philadelphia on Saturday, November 30, 1963, which can be determined by the copy of the Philadelphia Inquirer she is carrying as she exits 30th Street Station. This issue of the Inquirer, which was published four days after filming began on November 26, has the headline “Crash Kills 118” which refers to Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) Flight 831 from Montreal to Toronto, a DC-8-54CF that crashed at 6:33 p.m. on November 29, 1963, about five minutes after take-off from Dorval Airport, killing all 111 passengers and seven crew. The other headline starting “President Picks” refers to the establishment of the Warren Commission by former President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 29 to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22.

Alfred Hitchcock first asked Evan Hunter, the screenwriter for The Birds (1963), to adapt the novel after Tippi Hedren had signed on. However, Hunter strongly objected to the scene in the novel where Mark rapes Marnie, as he felt it was “unheroic” and that it would make women in the audience hate Mark. When he pressed Hitchcock about changing the scene, Hitchcock fired him. Jay Presson Allen, who took over as screenwriter, stated that opposition to the rape scene doomed Hunter since that scene was the main reason Hitchcock wanted to do the movie. For her part, Allen said she never had any qualms about including the scene, and felt it was up to Sir Sean Connery and his charisma to make the audience “forgive” Mark’s actions.

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Next up, we’ll be discussing The Lady Vanishes (1938)

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