More than just a film director and producer, Hitchcock was also an innovator, staying abreast of the latest technologies and pressing the boundaries of the narrative use of special effects.  In ROPE (1948), he attempted to create a film without cuts by combining ten-minute-long takes into a seamless flow of action.  Inspired by the real-life Leopold-Loeb murder case, ROPE is the story of two young men (Farley Granger and John Dall) who kill a prep-school friend for the thrill of it and invite friends and family to their apartment where the body is hidden.  Though interesting, in the final analysis, ROPE is more notable for its experimental approach to filmmaking than for its qualities as a taught thriller.  Co-starring Jimmy Stewart and made for Warner Bros., ROPE also marked Hitchcock's first color film.

In STAGE FRIGHT (1950), Hitchcock cheated his audience for the first time by beginning the film with a deceptive flashback which lures the audience into believing what it sees.  Despite that shortcoming however, this story of a seductive London actress (played by Marlene Dietrich) whose wealthy husband is murdered and whose young protégé (Richard Todd) is accused of the crime despite the protestations of his aspiring actress friend (Jane Wyman) is still entertaining.  Also featuring notable contributions from British character actors Alastair Sim and Joyce Grenfell, STAGE FRIGHT was not one of Hitchcock's most commercially or critically successful films, but it's almost worth watching just to see Marlene Dietrich perform Cole Porter's "The Laziest Girl in Town."

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) with Farley Granger, Robert Walker and Ruth Roman.

"Original Theatrical Trailer" from STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) with Farley Granger, Robert Walker and Ruth Roman (a .MOV file courtesy Warner Bros.).

(For help opening any of the multimedia files, visit the plug-ins page.)

THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY (1955) with Shirley MacLaine, John Forsythe, Edmund Gwenn, Mildred Natwick and Mildred Dunnock and a young Jerry Mathers (before "Leave It To Beaver").

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