Marnie is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The screenplay by Jay Presson Allen was based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Winston Graham. The film stars Tippi Hedren and Sean Connery.
The music was composed by Bernard Herrmann, his last of seven critically acclaimed film scores for Hitchcock. Marnie also marked the end of Hitchcock's collaborations with cinematographer Robert Burks (his 12th film for Hitchcock) and editor George Tomasini (who died later in the year).
Plot[]
Margaret "Marnie" Edgar, posing under the identity Marion Holland, flees with nearly $10,000 that she stole from the company safe of her employer, Sidney Strutt. Strutt is the head of a tax consulting company, where she had been working after charming him into hiring her without references. Mark Rutland, a wealthy widower who owns a publishing company in Philadelphia, meets with Strutt on business; he learns about the theft and recalls Marnie from a previous visit.
Marnie travels to Virginia, where she stables a horse named Forio. She then visits her invalid mother, Bernice, whom she supports financially, in Baltimore. Marnie suffers from recurring nightmares and has an intense aversion to the color red, which triggers her hysteria.
Some months later, Marnie, posing as Mary Taylor, applies for a job at Mark's company. Mark hires her after recognizing her, cryptically telling his co-worker why he is accepting an applicant without references that he is an "interested spectator." While working weekend overtime with Mark, Marnie has a panic attack during a thunderstorm. Mark comforts, then kisses her. They begin dating.
Soon afterwards, Marnie steals money from Mark's company and flees again. Mark tracks her to the stable where she keeps Forio. He blackmails her into marrying him, much to the chagrin of Lil, the sister of Mark's late wife Estelle, who is in love with him. Lil grows suspicious when she discovers Mark has spent a considerable sum since marrying Marnie.
On their honeymoon cruise, Marnie resists Mark's desire for physical intimacy, revealing that she finds sex repellent. Mark initially respects her wishes, and tries to woo her, but after a few nights, they quarrel over Marnie's aloofness, and it is implied that he rapes her offscreen when he persists and she freezes without consent. The next morning, she attempts to drown herself in the ship's swimming pool, but Mark saves her.
After overhearing Marnie on a phone call, Lil tips off Mark that Marnie's mother is not dead, as Marnie claimed. Mark hires a private detective to investigate. Meanwhile, Lil overhears Mark telling Marnie he has "paid off Strutt" on her behalf. Lil mischievously invites Strutt and his wife to a party at the Rutland mansion. Strutt recognizes Marnie, but Mark pressures him into doing nothing. When Marnie later admits to additional robberies, Mark works to reimburse her victims to drop charges.
Mark brings Forio to their estate, pleasing Marnie. During a fox hunt, the red riding coat worn by one of the hunters triggers another of Marnie's fits and Forio bolts, misses a jump, injures its legs, and is left lying on the ground screaming in pain. Marnie frantically runs to a nearby house, obtains a gun, and shoots her horse in an act of animal euthanasia. Overcome with grief, Marnie goes home, where she finds the key to Mark's office. She goes to the office and opens the safe, but finds herself unable to take the money, even after Mark arrives and "urges" her to take it to test her new reluctance to theft.
Mark takes Marnie to Baltimore to confront her mother and uncover the truth about Marnie's past. They arrive in a thunderstorm. As it is revealed that Bernice was a prostitute, Marnie's long-suppressed memories resurface: when she was a small child, one of Bernice's clients tried to calm a frightened Marnie during a thunderstorm. Seeing him touch Marnie and believing he was trying to molest her, Bernice attacked him. As the man fended her off, she fell and injured her leg, leaving her disabled. Marnie, frightened and attempting to protect her mother, fatally struck the man in the head with a fireplace poker. The sight of his blood caused her aversion to the color red, the thunderstorm that night caused her fear of them, and the connection of the deadly night to sex caused her revulsion at physical intimacy. In the aftermath, Bernice told police that she killed the man and prayed Marnie would forget the event. Understanding the reason behind her behavior, Marnie asks for Mark's help. They leave holding each other closely.
Cast[]
- Tippi Hedren as Margaret "Marnie" Edgar
- Sean Connery as Mark Rutland
- Diane Baker as Lil Mainwaring, Mark's former sister-in-law
- Martin Gabel as Sidney Strutt, Marnie's ex-boss
- Louise Latham as Bernice Edgar, Marnie's mother
- Bob Sweeney as Mark's Cousin Bob
- Milton Selzer as man at track
- Mariette Hartley as Susan Clabon, Marnie's co-worker
- Alan Napier as Mr. Rutland, Mark's father
- Bruce Dern as the sailor from Marnie's childhood
- Henry Beckman as the first detective
- S. John Launer as Sam Ward
- Edith Evanson as Rita
- Meg Wyllie as Mrs. Turpin
- Kimberly Beck as Jessica "Jessie" Cotton, whom Bernice babysits (uncredited)
- Melody Thomas Scott as young Marnie (uncredited)