Chapter Three
Tippi’s Takes Presents:
What Hitch Taught Me About Life
An exploration of life and cinema from the viral sensation
by Tippi Rathbone
Chapter Three
Rope (1948): With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
Some of Hitchcock’s most memorable films were adapted from the stage, Rope being one of the best. The entire film appears comprised of only a few expertly designed shots, showing the characters, and viewers, how quickly life can change over the course of one dinner party.
Two friends decide to murder a third for the simplest of reasons: because they can.
The rest of the night is a careful dance between concealing their crime and gloating about their actions.
Viewers witness the psychological torture inflicted on all the characters, one of the best scenes showcasing one murderer rapidly playing a piano, a crutch for his rising paranoia.
A wise and thoughtful Jimmy Stewart is the only character able to piece together their crime, a realization that forever changes his own outlook on life and death.
Perhaps the most frightening element of this film is the malevolent intent of the friends-turned-murderers. No one wants to predict they’re capable of being harmed by someone close to them. So if you’re agreeing to have dinner with friends, make sure they aren’t the type to kill you in cold blood.