Marnie 1964

(Alfred Hitchcock, 1899-1980)

Marnie's modus operandi is to gain the trust of her employees through her efficiency and then make off with considerable sums of money. But she does it once to often and lands in the arms of who but Sean Connery. And she cannot stand two things--storms and the color red, both of which trigger of hysteric reactions, for reasons to tortuously unfold. The mystery or whatever there is of it is very thin and the much anticipated moments of suspense are few and far between. At 130 minutes, it is a trial. The mixture of romance, psychodrama and lukewarm thrills meanders aimlessly and endlessly and one can only console oneself with some directorial flourishes and cinematography, not to speak of the satisfaction that for better or worse, one has done another Hitchcock. Among his last films, it would appear the connoisseur of horror was on the ebb.