Marnie (1964)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Louise Latham, Martin Gabel, Bob Sweeney, Mariette Hartley, Alan Napier, Bruce Dern. [PG]

Sometimes awkward, sometimes fascinating study of a compulsive thief’s (Hedren) psychological repressions, and the way that her newest boss (Connery) tries to peel back the layers so her traumatic memories can resurface and be confronted. Slackly-paced and periodically trashy, but with the director’s keen eye for emotional suggestion; full of Edgar Allen Poe references and the expressionist imagery that he initially developed during his silent picture period. Also one of Hitch’s darkest—in addition to the harrowing incident in her past that’s eventually dredged up, Connery is anything but a noble figure, resorting to blackmail, rape, and more as a “means to an end.” Hedren is markedly better here than she was in her prior effort with Hitch (The Birds), and Connery makes menace as luxuriant as velour. Final of seven collaborations between Hitchcock and composer Bernard Herrmann.

69/100