Two Hitchcocks in Two Days

Last night and this afternoon Baker and I watched both Rope and Suspicion, two Hitchcock films I hadn't seen before. Rope stars Jimmy Stewart and takes place over the course of one evening in essentially only two rooms in an apartment. The movie is filmed to look like one long take, which, according to the Turner Classic Movies guy, wasn't technically possible in those days because the camera could only hold reels of 10 minutes worth of film. Hitchcock had someone walk in front of the camera every time the reel ran out so that the blackout between reels appeared "seamless." In fact, it's a pretty obvious ploy.

Suspicion stars Cary Grant and was nowhere near as suspenseful. Rope had me chewing my fingernails at several points but I never really believed Cary was going to kill his wife, which is what we were supposed to suspect him of plotting to do in Suspicion. So while I enjoyed both, I'd say they pale in comparison to Vertigo. There's nothing like a movie about falling from great heights to send chills down my spine.