Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

After a decade of successful films that included Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock produced Marnie, an apparent artistic failure and an unquestionable commercial disappointment. Over the decades, however, the films reputation has undergone a reevaluation, and both critics and fans alike have come to appreciate Marnies many qualities. In Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie, Tony Lee Moral investigates the cultural and political factors governing the 1964 films production, the causes of its critical and commercial failure, and Marnies relevance for todays artists and filmmakers. Hitchcocks style, motivation, and fears regarding the film are well-documented in this examination of one of his most undervalued efforts. Moral uses extensive research, including personal interviews with Tippi Hedren and Psycho screenwriter Joseph Stefanoas well as unpublished excerpts from interviews with Hitchcock himselfto delve into the issues surrounding the films production and release. This revised edition features four new chapters that provide even more fascinating insights into the films production and Hitchcocks working methods. Biographies of Winston Grahamthe author of the novel on which the film is basedand screenwriter Jay Presson Allen provide clues into how they brought a feminist viewpoint to Marnie. Additional material addresses Hitchcocks unrealized project Mary Rose and his efforts to bring it to the screen, the directors visual style and subjective approach to Marnie, and an exploration of the real Alfred Hitchcock. The book also addresses criticisms of the director following the HBO television movie The Girl, which depicted the filming of Marnie. With newly obtained access to the Hitchcock Collection Production Archives at the Margaret Herrick Library, the files of Jay and Lewis Allen, and the memoirs of Winston Grahamas well as interviews in 2012 with the Hitchcock crewthis new edition of Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie provides an invaluable look behind the scenes of a film that has finally been recognized for its influence and vision. It contains more than thirty photos, including a storyboard sequence for the film.

Reviews

[A]n exemplar of revision; not only does Morals book correct and update an earlier work, but also expands and enhances with new content that shapes our previous understanding. And this is a timely re-release, given the recent surge of interest in Hitchcock, coalescing around the 90th anniversaryin 2012of him making his first film, as well as the appearance of contentious biopics The Girl (2012) and Hitchcock (2012). What results, in the hands of Moral, is a book that celebrates the uneasy position of Marnie as, depending upon your point of view, the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning of Hitchcocks directing career. * Film International *
Marnie is Hitchcocks most maligned film; some even insist that its a grandiose failure. But its also received some of filmdoms most lavish praise. Critic Robin Wood went so far as to declare it one of the four or five most beautiful films the cinema has yet given us. Well, which is it Disaster or masterpiece Tony Lee Moral makes a 267-page case for the latter. . .His research goes deep; every page is a revelation for film buffs and Hitchcock geeks alike. . . .Citing intensive research from the Hitchcock archives at the famed Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, [Moral] reconstructs a clear narrative of the use of special effects in this movie from pre-production and into post-production, including Hitchs own at times contradictory remarks after the fact. * Alfred Hitchcock Geek *
[T]here is virtually no element of the making of the film that is not treated by Moral in the most fascinating detail (including, of course, Bernard Herrmann's matchless score). Even for those Hitchcock admirers who may have the author's earlier edition of this book, the new one will still make an extremely tempting proposition. * Crime Time *
Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie is packed with the kind of inside information that film fans love. From the studios reservations about casting Sean Connery, who they were only familiar with from his appearances as James Bond to tidbits of Hitchcocks directing shorthand. It is inside info like this that gives the book life, so much so that you feel you are personally involved in the production. . .An entertaining read from start to finish, I highly recommend Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie to any film fan curious in the art of motion picture making. * Media Mikes *
An essential purchase for anyone interested in the wonderful films of its director, Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie does exactly what its title suggests. Incredibly detailed and with a range of storyboards and production stills to illustrate the narrative, it provides both a fascinating history and a valuable re-examination of a controversial film. * Kamera.co.uk *

Author Bio

Tony Lee Moral is an award-winning documentary film maker and writer. He is the author of three books on the master of suspense, including The Making of Hitchcocks The Birds (2012) and Alfred Hitchcock's Moviemaking Master Class (2013).