Rope Literary Elements

Alfred Hitchcock

James Stewart, Farley Granger, John Dall

Joan Chandler, Cedrick Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Douglas Dick, Edith Evanson

Suspense/Thriller/Crime

English

August 26. 1948

Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Bernstein (uncredited)

Brandon's apartment in New York City

There is no narrator, but the film mainly follows Brandon and Phillip's perspective. Later, the viewer is more aligned with Rupert Cadell's perspective. At times, the point of view shifts in unexpected ways, as when the camera pans away from the central conversation between the party guests and simply shows the housekeeper Mrs. Wilson cleaning up the dinner table (a chest in which the murder victim's body is being stowed).

The tone is suspenseful and unsettling throughout, which some moments of lightness and comic relief.

While it is complicated, the protagonists are Brandon and Phillip, and the antagonist is Mr. Cadell

The major conflict of the film is the suspense of whether or not any of the guests at the dinner party will discover that Brandon and Phillip have killed David Kentley.

The climax occurs when Rupert Cadell discovers David's body and realizes that Brandon and Phillip murdered him.

Cadell's discovery of the boys' plot is foreshadowed by their reverence for him, and Brandon's belief that he is the only person who could appreciate their murderous act.

Brandon's attitude towards and comments about their crime can be thought of as understatement. He does not comprehend the dire situation that they have put themselves in, and continually understates his guilt (indeed, he seems mostly guiltless) in relation to their deed.

The film is innovative in its long takes that give the illusion of it being filmed in one continuous shot. Actors had to shoot very long takes and learn intricate choreography for walking patterns in order to make the takes seamless.

Rupert Cadell and Brandon allude to Nietzsche's philosophy, particularly his idea of the "ubermensch." At the dinner serving table, Cadell, Mrs. Atwater, and Janet all discuss various film stars of the era, including Cary Grant, Erroll Flynn, James Mason, and Ingrid Bergman. Janet and Cadell both allude to Freud.

The final meeting between Rupert Cadell, Brandon, and Phillip is a kind of paradoxical interaction, in that Cadell knows enough to firmly believe that they killed David, but does not come out and accuse them. Additionally, Brandon tries to get through the interaction without addressing Cadell's suspicions directly. Only once Cadell takes out the piece of rope do the three men begin discussing Cadell's suspicions explicitly.

David Kentley and Kenneth are parallels for one another, interchangeable suitors for Janet, at least in Brandon's eyes.