I knew she was too good to be true. Always so eager to work overtime, never made a mistake. Always pulling her skirt down over her knees as though they were a – national treasure. She seemed so nice. So efficient.
It wouldn’t be Horrofest if we didn’t have our annual Alfred Hitchcock pick! Now as you may know from previous posts, I love Alfred Hitchcock movies. I like that he has a variety of characters from all kinds of backgrounds and motivations, but typically they are just an average person who is caught up in an abnormal circumstance.
The use of lighting and shots in every film are always amazing:
Hitchcock also always knew how to pick a story-choosing one that is well done, mysterious, suspenseful, and adding in his own special macabre tendencies.
Now I love almost every film of his, but there are two of his films that I absolutely hate: Vertigo and Marnie.
Last year I reviewed Vertigo, and thought that this year I would review the other, Marnie (1964).
Marnie (1964) stars Tippi Hedrun, someone who had an intense and complicated relationship with Alfred Hitchcock. In their previous film, The Birds, Alfred Hitchcock was obsessed with Tippi Hedren and controlled her, he wouldn’t let anyone talk to her-unless they were filming, and just was plan awful to her, abusing her. She tried to talk to the studio heads but he was such a money maker they refused to do anything.
Originally this film was supposed to be for Grace Kelly, but she turned it down as the content wasn’t seen as something that the Queen of Monaco should be involved with. Hedrun was given the part instead and her tumultuous relationship with Hitchcock continued. When she later refused Hitchcock, he blackballed her. (If you would like to know more I really recommend reading Spellbound by Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies by Donald Spoto) I do feel like this particular material appealed to Hitchcock as he acts similar to the main hero, Mark Rutland, especially with the lusting after a cool blonde (what Grace Kelly was often described as). Like Vertigo I really think Hitchcock was working through his own feelings of lust and loss for Grace Kelly as she left him and Hollywood for Monaco, forever being untouchable.
This was also the only Alfred Hitchcock film Sean Connery was in, although I think it was terrible decision. Apparently the story is that Connery had concerns that he would be typecasted as a spy after being in James Bond. When his company, Eon, asked what he wanted to do, Connery said that he wished to work with Alfred Hitchcock, which Eon arranged. Hitchcock and Connery got along well during filming and Connery was quoting saying that he was happy with the movie, “with certain reservations.” Uh, I have a ton of reservations. This movie is terrible.
The worst!
Mark Rutland, (Sean Connery) a wealthy widower who owns a publishing company, and meets with Sidney Strutt on tax business. While there he spots a beautiful brunette, Marion Holland/Marnie Edgar (Tippi Hedrun). Marion has no references, but she was gorgeous and charming and Strutt was hoping to take her out so he hired her. Not long after this event, she flees with nearly $10,000 from Stutt’s safe.
When Mark returns he discovers Strutt furious at the theft. Meanwhile, Marnie has fled to Baltimore where she takes care of her mother and boards her horse, Forio.
Some months later a blonde applies for a job at Mark’s company; even though her name is “Mary Taylor”, she is a dead ringer for the brunette at Strutt’s company. With no references and suspecting her of theft, Mark hires her. Now why would he do that? Well, Mark never wanted to take over the family business, he wanted to be a zoologist and studied accordingly. He sees Mary/Marnie as a challenge, an animal he can study and eventually capture. The imagery is really strong and annoying. I think because it was Sean Connery people didn’t think it was problematic, like how Rod Taylor’s character in The Glass Bottom Boat is truly terrible, but it’s all brushed over because it’s Rod Taylor.
The two end up dating, and Mark, plus us the viewer, discover that Mary/Marnie is afraid of thunderstorms, has bad dreams, and the color red freaks her out and causes her to have an “episode.”
Not long after they begun dating, Marnie steals money from Mark’s company and takes off; with Mark tracking her down and blackmailing her to marry him. All pretense is gone and she now goes by her birth name Marnie. Yep, this film is going from bad to worse!
So awful
To complicate matters, Mark’s sister-in-law is in love with Mark (with Mark of course being completely oblivious) and is highly suspicious of Marnie keeping a very close eye on her.
They go on their honeymoon and Mark wants to sleep with her even though Marnie has zero interest. He rapes her, believing that he can change her from frigid to passionate. So yes, when I say this film is really awful and truly terrible I absolutely mean it. Why would anyone want to play this character? Why would the studio allow it?! I mean they don’t show the rape but you know what happened.
Seriously!
The next morning Marnie tries to kill herself and Mark is like “gee why you did you do that?” Hello, you raped her!
Mark ends up saving her. (But does he really save her?)
Lil spies on Mark believing that if she can discredit Marnie and then Mark will choose her, it’s like girl you are so delusional. He didn’t want you after his sister died, he will NEVER pick you.
Lil does overhear that Marnie’s mother is still alive (Marnie told Mark that she was dead) and overhears the couple talking about Strutt. Lil invites Strutt and his wife over to the house for dinner and it blows up in her face as Mark is still very much in “love” with his wife. (He calls it love, but it is definitely NOT love.)
Mark wants Marnie to love him and brings her horse to live with them. Things go okay as Mark tries to pay back all the people Marnie stole from, and doesn’t rape her again. One day they are doing a fox hunt when Marnie is first set off by a red outfit and then her horse is injured when she is making a jump. With her horse wounded she grabs a gun from a neighbor and puts the horse out of its misery.
She has an attack at seeing the blood and freaks out trying to steal from Mark but can’t. She’s in a slightly comatose state when Mark takes her to Baltimore to confront her mother and issues.
It turns out that Marnie’s mother was a prostitute and once when she was a little girl she was having a nightmare. One of Marnie’s mother’s clients tried to help and Marnie’s mother thought he was molesting Marnie. Bernice attacked him but was injured by the man. Marnie woke up and tried to help, killing the man she saw hurting her mother. The sight of his blood caused her hatred/fear of the color red, and the connection of sex and death caused her to have issues with intimacy.
Hmmm…
The film ends “happily” with Marnie ready for help and they going off together although I don’t think this relationship will last. Mark thinks blackmail and rape is okay, he’s a truly terrible person. Like I have no words to describe how vile he is.
I wish it ended with him dying.
I HATE this character!
With the content of this film, I will end on this:
I Am a Survivor of Domestic Violence and I Know Help is Out There:
Are you being abused?
It’s abuse when someone who should care about you does or says things that hurt you or make you feel afraid, helpless or worthless. Here are only a few examples:
Slapping, hitting, punching, choking, grabbing, shoving, kicking you or your kids, your pets
Threatening you, your kids, friends, family or pets
So this is something I started a while back. Sometimes you want more Austen books after you have read all her books. There are variations on her stories, but sometimes you don’t want to read the same story. You want Austen-like works, but what to read or watch?
That’s why I started this series. I will review books that have the things we love about the Austen novels, but in something fresher than a retelling.
The Glassblower (Glassblower Saga #1) by Petra Durst-Benning
The story is set in Lauscha, Germany-glassmaking capital of the world.
Joost Steinmann’s family has been the glassmaking business for years. When his wife passed he took it on himself to raise his three daughters: Johanna, Ruth, and Marie.
One day is a day like any other, but when the girls go to try and wake him for work-he’s dead.
After they bury their father and have a wake, they find themselves unsure what to do next. How will they survive in the turn of the century as three women? Especially, in a glassmaking village in a culture where women do not make glass.
So a family of three sisters who’s father dies and they find themselves at a crossroads and not quite sure what to do-especially as they have no money. So when I read that it instantly made me think of:
The eldest daughter, Johanna, is logical, sensible, business-orientated, and good at figures. As the eldest she budgets, shops, goes to the town nearby and bargains with wholesalers and shopkeepers. Her response to their dad’s death, other than heartbreak, is to immediately look for work-reading that made me think of:
Elinor Dashwood
Unlike Elinor, Johanna is stubborn, determined, and a bit hot-headed. She starts in the Heimer foundry-but after criticizing the way the glassblowing shop is run, she loses her job. She leaves to the city working for Strobel, the wholesaler and shopkeeper. She learns a lot from him, and grows from country girl to shop assistant. She does well, but her employer is an odd man with dark passions and plans for his protege.
The second daughter Ruth, has aways longed to be in choir, or out on the town, or be with boys-but her father kept them away. She is a romantic, dreaming of a Prince to sweep her off her feet.This made me think of:
Marianne Dashwood
Ruth decides to go husband hunting, looking for a rich man to take care of her. While working at the Heimer glassblowing business, she sets her sights on the unwedded son, Thomas Heimer. Thomas is not interested in getting married, but Ruth won’t settle for anything less-she tries to play the game to get what she wants, will she win? Or lose?
The youngest girl, Marie, is a dreamer who loves to read, draw, and paint. She also is interested in a “male” oriented profession, glassblowing. This made me think of:
Margaret Dashwood
Marie loves working in the Heimer factory as she loves to paint and design the glass. With both her sisters essentially moved out, Marie begins to fool around in her father’s workshop. After some instruction from their next-door neighbor, and very close family friend, she begins creating beautiful Christmas ornaments. But will her secret stay secret and she’ll be able to continue creating, or will it be discovered that a woman is glassblowing and she’ll be shunned from her community?
Hmm…I don’t know!
So you can already see why it is a Non-Austen Read for Austen Readers as the setup has similarities to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. however, this is not a copy of that book.
I found this incredibly well-written as it captures your attention. The characters felt very real and it was a great story, one I didn’t want to put down.
It dealt with the reality of women living in a time where they were vulnerable without men and without many options.
I liked how the story was about the three sisters trying to work together, but that they also didn’t always gets along-very real. I hate when they have these absolutely perfect families. Johanna worries about everyone, but at the same time can boss them about and not listen to what they are saying. Ruth can become self-absorbed, but she is there if they need them. Marie likes solitary and quiet, but at the same time will put herself through anything for her sisters.
The book deals with serious issues, like rape, spousal abuse, child abuse, etc.
Wow!
It also shows the culture and history of the beautiful glassblowing region.
This is actually the Christmas Tree Topper my family has.
I saw this film about four years ago when I was going on a Lifetime binge on youtube. It is still up there so you can check it out for yourself if you wish. It is based on a true story.
The film starts off with Jennifer Morgan (Tiffani Amber Thiessen). She is a respite worker for a man in a wheelchair, she wants to be an artist and keeps to herself-no dating and no men.
She gets encouraged to date Chris Gallagher (Eric Close), a guy she meets at a picnic, and at first is hesitant-but quickly falls in love.
We discover why she is so closed off, she reveals to Chris that she was raped by a friend’s stepfather. Chris understands and later proposes. The two get married and Chris reveals his dream of joining the navy. He enlists and the two are off to base.
All are happy
There Chris starts changing, he is extremely jealous and starts becoming anxious about being away from Jennifer and underwater. He starts acting out-very angry and frightening, but is always apologetic afterward.
Then a neighbor gets spied on by a peeping tom. One night when her husband is on duty she is raped.
Jennifer is terrified, but Chris just blows it off as no big deal.
Hmm…
Meanwhile, Chris has a panic attack and is relieved of his duties. Jennifer finds out later that it wasn’t an attack, but that he threatened to kill himself if he had to go under and is getting psychiatric help. But that doesn’t seem to help his possessiveness and anger.
Chris gets discharged when he is caught and charged with voyeurism. Jennifer wants to leave him, but is pregnant and decides to give him one more chance.
Things get better and then they become very much worse. He becomes angry, bad tempered, abusive, and voyeuristic. To add to such terror a masked rapist starts attacking women in the neighborhood.
Jennifer has the baby, and Dana, Alyson Hannigan, Chris’ niece, reveals that he molested her her whole childhood. Jennifer wants to leave him, taking the baby with her, but Chris attacks Jennifer.
Noooo!
Jennifer tries to go to the police to press charges, but he has a friend in the police and not enough evidence to connect him to the rapes.
Chris tells her that she cannot leave or else he will hurt her and their daughter. Jennifer stays and pretends to be a dutiful wife always watching, and trying to find a way to catch him, looking for a slip up.
She becomes friends with a detective that believes her husband is guilty, the two working together in the hopes of getting evidence and putting him away.
It has a great and powerful ending, you should check it out for yourself.
It is an amazing film, but so sad. Watching that was like watching my life when I was married. It was awful, and I feel so bad for this woman. If you would like more information on the actual case, go here. But even though she encountered hardship, she took that guy down like a true hero.
No banner this time as there weren’t any pictures big enough to use. Oh, well-there’s always next time.
You’re a Detective, Let Me Give You a Tip. Don’t Wave Important Evidence in a Telephone Booth. They Have Glass Windows
So this is an Alfred Hitchcock film.
Most people don’t. This is one of his early films, and the first “talkie” he made. In fact this is the first British talkie.
Originally Hitchcock wanted it to be silent, but was forced to add sound so that England could catch up with the USA. This caused quite a few issues as the leading actress, Anny Odra, looked the right part, but her accent was so incredibly thick that no one could understand her and she had to lip sync her lines.
It also has quite a few music heavy scenes as theaters weren’t quite ready to just have the sound of voices, and neither was Hitchcock. He thought talkies were ridiculous.
Now I thought about doing three Hitchcock films again, but I wasn’t sure what to do after Psycho. I decided to do this early film as I think it is unfair that a lot of his work that set up the later films are ignored. Thus far I have only planned on reviewing this Hitchcock film, but you never know. A lot can happen in a month and I might change my mind and add another.
Who knows!
So on to the review.
So the film starts off with a group of police officers, Scotland Yard [as this is when Hitchcock was in England], are off in a paddy wagon searching for a man. Their is no sound in this beginning part, just chase music.
The man they are looking for is smoking in bed. He sees the men approach his door through a reflection in the mirror. There is a gun next to him in the bed and he looks at it, while pretending to read the paper. He tries to reach for it, but the detectives stop him and force him to dress. He is under arrest.
Or in this case “we”
They carry him down and take him in the wagon to New Scotland Yard. The spend a long time questioning him, the passage of time being shown through multiple cigarettes being burned.
After the hours of questioning, the days not over yet. They still have to put him in a lineup, wait as the witness looks over the men and ponders of one is the one they saw. When their man is selected he is formally charged, taken fully into custody, fingerprints are taken, he is sent to the cells, etc. The detectives work is over for the day.
Two of the detectives were involved stop in a bathroom to polish up. One of them is Detective Frank Webber (John Longden), he has a date tonight and heads out to meet his girlfriend who should be waiting in the foyer.
Alice White is waiting, as she has been there for thirty minutes. She is very upset with Frank as she hates waiting.
Frank tries to greet her, but Alice is just angry with him. She won’t let him hold her arm or hand; and keeps looking away from him. This attitude doesn’t please Frank as Alice has been doing this a lot and he feels she is overreacting.
You need to calm down
He’s a detective, sometimes things won’t go according to plan, it is part of the job.
The two take a train, and here we have the longest cameo of Hitchcock in any of his films.
It is hilarious. The whole trip he is trying to read and a little kid just will not leave him alone. After this Hitchcock decided to make his cameo’s short, quick, and early on as to not take away film.
They go out to a tea room, but have trouble finding a place to sit as it is packed. Alice is still mad at Frank for being late and blames him for their current trouble.
Now I personally think that Alice is overreacting. First of all you are dating a detective, you should know that things will come up and they might have to work later than planned. I mean, come on. It goes with the territory. And secondly, from the way the room is mobbed with people, if you had arrived 30 minutes earlier, it really wouldn’t have helped you out.
They have to literally fight for a table, managing to scoop one from another couple. But when they sit down, Alice complains that she left her glove at the previous table they had tried to sit at. Frank being a gentleman, goes to retrieve it.
Frank returns with the glove and jokes that he could tell it was hers because of all the holes in it. Alice doesn’t laugh but continues to be angry and snippy at him for making her wait around, acting like he does it for fun. Frank explains that it is work, but Alice continues on feeling wounded.
Now Alice is not really angry at him for being late, but upset because she feels he doesn’t pay enough attention to her, but puts her behind his work.
But instead of telling Frank why she is upset she kind of tries to play games with him. Frank is trying to get the waitresses attention, because they were going to see a new Scotland Yard film, and he doesn’t want to be late. Alice, upset and trying to get him jealous/pay attention tells him she doesn’t want to see the film as she’s “seen all worth seeing.”
Frank goes to speak to the waitress to get their order and while he is gone Alice spots another man.
He greets her and heads to another table. Alice then pulls out a note given to her by him earlier.
I’ll be there 6:30 Tuesday, will you?
What a jerk! There is no excuse in all the world to ever justify cheating on your relationship.
Frank returns, ready for them to stay as they aren’t going to the movies. But Alice tells him she has changed her mind and wants to go.
Okay…
But then Alice changes her mind again (this is the third time) and doesn’t want to go.
What?
But then she changes her mind again and doesn’t want to go with him.
This makes Frank angry as he is tired of this mood Alice is in and doesn’t want to play any games. He tries to get the waitress to take care of their order but can’t flag her down.
Things are not going as Alice imagined they would in her head and she tries to fix things and get him to stay, but Frank is done. He leaves money on the table and exits the restaurant.
See ya!
Frank doesn’t actually leave but paces outside reviewing what happened in his head. He decides he overreacted and starts to go inside to apologize when he sees Alice leave the restaurant with another man, the same one she had made plans with earlier.
Poor Frank!
I truly think she engineered the whole fight to get rid of Frank and wasn’t sorry.
Seriously!
So the guy Alice is with is never given a name, he is The Artist in the credits so that is what I will call him.
Anyways, Alice and the artist walk back to his place. Outside it, is a man waiting to speak to the artist.
Originally, the Artist was going to walk her home; but “as they are right by his home” he offers to show her his “studio”.
Really? His “studio”?
Alice doesn’t want to go at first, kind of playing that she “can’t”. But then decides to head in.
Don’t do it Alice, it is nothing but trouble.
Before they go in, the artist is called over by the man. They have a quick discussion, with the artist he saying no and then he and Alice continue in.
I wonder what that was all about.
Before they head up to the top floor, his studio, the artist looks at his mail first and sees something distressing. He sends Alice up while he deals with it. He questions the landlady about the note.
Who is this man? Why does it distress him so?
Hmm…
Anyways, the artist’s studio is on the top floor. When they get there he makes a fire to keep them warm. Seduction 101.
Alice looks around the room at the art and sees a weird Jester picture that makes her laugh. I’m not sure why as I always thought it just looked odd.
However, the painting laughs and Alice laughs with it. Maybe she is laughing to hide her hurt over Frank. Maybe she is laughing because she wants to convince herself that the artist is a better guy. Maybe she is laughing because she is doing something out of character, wild. Maybe she laughs because she is breaking the rules; in a man’s room at night. Well whatever the reason, the two laugh together.
Alice waits for the artist to finish with the fire and plays with the piano. She then spots the painters palette and asks him how to hold it, of which he comes to show her. She accidentally paints the canvas and he has her keep going. All she can do is make a stick figure like face, so the Artist “helps” her paint, holding onto her.
Really? His “studio”?
They two make a body for the girl, a naked body. Foreshadowing.
Alice then signs the painting, while the artist goes to get them some drinks. Alice looks around the room and sees a costume and holds it onto her, asking about being painted.
The artist asks her to put it on so he can paint her, but Alice refuses as she has to go home.
Gotta go!
This makes the artist is “sad” as he thinks she would make the most lovely painting. But no, now that he thinks about it his costume wouldn’t suit her.
Really? That old line?
But Alice falls for it and decides to put the costume on. Alice goes to one side of a screen and undresses as the artist plays the piano.
Artist sings to her playing the piano, and Alice listens to it in her little costume. When she comes out, the artist really lays on the flattery telling her the song he was singing was all about her. Alice comes out in the little costume as she can’t zip it up and neither can he, Alice chooses to leave it alone.
Bad idea. Stop Alice.
He then sets her just right, caressing her body, and going in for the kiss. Alice says no, and decides she needs to go. She starts to undress, when the artist approaches her, taking her dress away. He won’t give it back until she comes out to get it.
It’s getting worse!
He wants to be with her but Alice says no. Unfortunately, she didn’t know this guy very well before she decided to go up in his room alone with him, as he doesn’t take no for an answer.
The next scene is done very well and in true Hitchcock fashion. Out of any director, he always knew how much to show, and how much to leave up to the viewer’s imagination.
Master
So the two struggle as the artist tries to rape Alice. We never see the fight but through a shadow and the way the curtain moves. Alice manages to grab the bread knife on the table next to the bed, and stabs him.
Now here is where I can see why Hitchcock choose Ondra as his leading lady. Prior to this act, Alice was silly, innocent, childish, selfish, and acting only on her needs. After this act, her whole personality changes in the film; reflecting that shattered innocence and trauma she faces.
I’m getting ahead of myself. So Alice is in shock after murdering the artist and moves about sluggishly, mechanically, almost robotically. In fact, she reminds me a lot of the robot Maria in Metropolis.
Alice doesn’t know what to do, but knows she needs to get out. She grabs her dress and sees the Jester. No longer are they laughing together, but instead the Jester is laughing at her. And how she was so foolish. Angry, Alice punches the picture.
This causes her to wake up from her distress and she throws her dress on, and coat, in such a hurry that she doesn’t even zip up the dress. She quickly grabs her bag and umbrella, quickly painting over her name on the other canvas.
Getting out of here
She turns out the lights and starts to sneak downstairs. We see his signature style in the cinematography with the stairs, lights, and use of angles.
Something that will be done in future films, such as Shadow of a Doubt.
As Alice walks away we see the shadow of the man who had accosted the artist earlier, trying to speak to him about something.
It’s getting worse!
Alice walks home almost in a trance, zombish as everything she sees makes her think of the dead body. She sees a bar sign that shows a shaking of a drink, but instead sees a hand stabbing with a knife. Alice just walks all over, hurt, shock, uncertain, afraid, and seeing the dead hand, the dead arm, the dead man she killed.
We then hear a scream, the landlady found the body.
Scotland Yard is called on the case, and Frank gets called in on it, topping off his sucky night. He starts poking around the apartment, looking at everything, looking out the window, and spots the broken picture. He looks at the costume and the painting. As he looks at the laugh, he shares in the joke that this guy thought he was going to have a fun night but instead ended in death.
But then he finds a glove.
Full of holes like his girlfriend’s…It looks and feels like hers. He then sees the body, that face He knows!
Instead of giving evidence, he hides the glove.
Now he too is stuck in the coverup
Alice sneaks into her room and quickly gets out of her coat and jumps into bed before discovered. Afterwards she quickly changes and fixes herself up. Instead of her furry coat and dark dress, she changes to something light colored, floral, an innocent dress, young looking, more demure. Trying to recapture what she lost and go in the opposite direction of what she was before.
Meanwhile, downstairs at the house and the smoke shop, everyone is talking about the murder. Alice goes into the telephone booth and searches for the police number, ready to call them and admit everything..but loses her nerve.
Her parents notice that Alice doesn’t look well, but she doesn’t say anything, just remains quiet. A dramatic shift from her previous performance of silliness and gaiety; too quiet, contemplation. A real talented actress.
So her act continues to haunt her, and she still sees and hears knife everywhere.
Frank comes in and Alice is happy to see him as she realizes he’s the only one for her, but also afraid. Is he still mad from last night? Is he here to arrest her?Frank says hi and leaves, but then comes back and asks to speak to Alice for minute.
He takes her into the phone booth for privacy and tries to get Alice to tell him what happened, but she can’t talk about, still too traumatized. Frank gives her the glove.
While they are talking, a guy, Mr. Tracey, knocks on door and asks to talk on the phone since they aren’t using it. He is the one from the night before that say Alice enter the building. He lets them know he wants to speak to Scotland Yard, letting them know by his innuendo why he wants to talk to Scotland Yard.
Blackmail!
Alice is frightened and worried, but Frank quickly asses the situation. The Tracey lets them know what he saw and that he wants to be treated right or else.
Frank buys him the most expensive cigar, at his request, and then the two make him breakfast. Might not be much, but this guy is planning on milking them for everything!
Meanwhile, back at the police station they are questioning the landlady. They discovered the note that had the artist all aflutter and want to know more about who wrote it. Unfortunately, the landlady is not very observant and the only thing she noticed was that he tilted his head and twisted his hands around. They have her look through the criminal books, until it come up as Mr. Tracey.
Mr. Tracey who at this moment is living like a king. Best cigar, great breakfast, cup of tea…
Frank gets a call from Scotland Yard, catching him up on the latest news of the case. He hangs up the phone and he has an idea. you can sees it in his eyes.
Frank has Alice lock the door. Then he starts discussing that there was a suspicious looking man with a criminal record hanging around the murdered artist’s place. Alice is freaking out, and doesn’t want to do this, this blackmail. Yeah, I bet you never saw that one coming? Eh? We all knew that Alice would be blackmailed, but did you ever see Frank turning the tables coming? I sure didn’t the first time I saw it.
But, lets not get too hasty…Mr. Tracey has one more trick up his sleeve. Tracey says that he will talk, all about Alice. But Frank isn’t worried saying that Tracey’s word is nothing. His plan to sit and wait for the squad car who is on its way now.
The two argue, and Alice freaks out. The chains of guilt weigh heavy on her and she doesn’t want Tracey pay for her crime. Frank doesn’t really want to listen to her as he is still a angry and hurt over what happened with Alice going off with another guy and that she hasn’t told him anything about what happened.
Tracey tries to convince Frank to let him go. He tells him “I’m not bad I was just in a bad situation…”
Yeah right you were trying to blackmail that other guy and then you were trying to do it to them.
Some people
Frank and Tracey’s eyes are locked on each other as the other police officers come. Tracey jumps out the window and the chase is on! Music for this next part as we repeat the opening scene of these guys trying to hunt him down and take him off to jail. when they were looking for him.
Here we have a great repeat of Alice’s earlier trance of seeing the knife everywhere; except instead of a weapon Tracey sees cops everywhere. Cops searching for him!
Meanwhile, for the first time since everything started, Alice actually thinks on what happened and tries to figure out what she should do.
Tracey takes off to hide in a museum, but doesn’t look at any of the exhibits making him seem super suspicious.
He eventually heads up to the roof, climbing over the famous building. Oh Hitchcock and you love for having people climb the tops of famous architectural creations. I mean there is the Statue of Liberty in Saboteur, Mount Rushmore in North by Northwest, etc.
Tracey ends up killing himself accidentally when the glass breaks on the roof. And that is the end of that. They believed him to be the murderer, the evidence pointed toward him, and with him dead: case closed.
Oh, but not quite as Alice has decided to turn herself in, leaving Frank a note and heading to the New Scotland Yard.
When she arrives the Officer thinks she is here to see Frank but she lets him know that she is here to see Inspector Walls. She is sent to his office and walks down the hallway, with certainty that every step brings her closer to doom.
Worried and afraid Alice goes in and sees Frank is there with Inspector Walls. Frank tries to stop her as they “solved the murder”. Alice is scared trying to get everything out, but before she can Inspector Walsh is called away, and Frank is to take care of her.
Frank takes Alice aside and tells her that he knows what happened. Alice tells him he doesn’t know, and starts to relay the whole story, how she was attacked and was defending herself.
Alice and Frank walk out, with a better understanding and a hope for the future. The officer asks if Alice told him who did it, and Frank says yes. The officer jokes that he better watch out she might have his job. They all laugh. Except Alice, she sees the jester painting…
What a great film for cinema history and to see Hitchcock working out things that he would become known for later.
So with Disney’s Cinderella (2015) set to release in theaters today, there is a lot of angry backlash on the previous Disney films (don’t forget Cinderella (1997); along with the whole story of Cinderella. This doesn’t surprise me as Cinderella has been hated on for years, and to be honest, Cinderella may not be my favorite character, but she and her story really do not deserve they kind of abuse they have received over the years. So I decided to dedicate this post on why the tale is not as bad as we make it out to be. So let’s deal with the “issues” of Cinderella one by one.
1) Staying in an Abusive Home
Everyone I know always asks the question, “if her life was so awful, why would she stay in the house?” Many feel that she is too passive and should have left striking it off on her own. Well there is one big problem with that scenario of leaving, Cinderella didn’t live in 2015, she lived in the 1600s (earliest version) or 1800s (Brothers Grimm). In those time periods there was only three occupations open to a woman; governess, servant, and prostitute.
Governesses were typically well-bred women from poor families, sent to live a life of educating children, moving on to a new family when the old one grew up. For most of these women, by choosing the life of a governess they were signing themselves off as spinsters, doomed to never marry (as one does not marry a governess) and care for others’ children instead of having their own. For Jane Austen fans, think of Jane Fairfax in Emma. Everyone pities Jane as she was educated and raised well, but the only path for her is as a governess, dooming her to a very low class and as mentioned before a life of singlehood and low pay. Even if Cinderella was extremely well-educated (we know she came from an upper class family but are unaware of whether or not she was taught), this field was not something she could do as no self-respecting family would hire a governess without a letter of reference, which her stepmother would never give her. Besides the fact that governesses were often paid poorly, they could be abused by the the patrons- whether the father or son- and dimissed for “wanton behavior” if the patrons attention, i.e. rape, lead to the governess becoming with child. They then would be forced into no other employment but prostitution.
Servants mean domestic and those that served in taverns, pubs, and other eateries. Now I am not including those of trade in this list, such as seamstresses, cobblers, millners, etc.; as these professions weren’t open to the average women but were run by guilds or families, with the same family carrying on the occupation. It wasn’t like today where you can work in retail or food services; go to college and get a degree to work in another field; switching your employment. In those days your father was a tailor, making you (if a son) a tailor, and your son a tailor. People couldn’t just come by and bring a resume plus an example of their work and expect to get hired. Women would typically work in those fields only if their family controlled the business, of course quitting work when they get married.
Instead most women were servants or serving-wenches. Life of a servant was very, very hard and extremely back-breaking work. The servant awoke typically at dawn, before the rest of the family, and worked until way after sundown. Theyprepared the fires in the rooms, collected the eggs, fed the animals, prepared breakfast, did laundry, swept, washed dishes, cleaned the floors, cleaned the windows, cleaned the walls, prepared lunch, dressed the ladies of the house, prepared their toilette, etc. It was extremely hard work and extremely low pay. To make matters worse, servants were seen as property of their employers and were to be at their whim. Those that were pretty were typically raped, and if they became with child (and were unmarried) they would be dismissed without a reference and forever besmirched. Now shows like Downtown Abbey make all those with servants seem really nice and caring, but most people with servants weren’t as involved and didn’t care about them. And rape happened a lot. If you really want to get a view of life as a servant, read Alias Grace.
Then we have prostitutes. This is where most women found themselves when they needed to make money as it was more lucrative than the above places, and was always a way to make money. This was the hardest of all professions as diseases ran rampant, people mistreated you, Madams or pimps could keep all your money or abuse you, you could be raped instead of procured, if you became with child you better hope you had money to take care of the months you couldn’t “work”, and most of all you were treated with disdain, never helped or seen as important to society. Unlike today, where prostitutes are still people and can go to the police if beaten, threatened, or harmed in any way. Back then, if you were a proustitute, people could do anything to you and no one would care. The police would ignore you as you were the “dregs” of society. It was a hard life.
So when you look at it that way, what Cinderella had wasn’t all that bad. She was able to remain in her home, where she recieved food, water, and most of all didn’t have to worry about being raped or dismissed in a moment’s notice. She was protected and well treated in the fact that she was treated better than most servants. Was this what the daughter of the house deserved or anyone deserves? NO. Was it better than most women of her time? YES.
Of course there was always the fourth option of marrying, but with the way the stepmother treats her, she most likely will be recieving no dowry which means marriage choices are limited to zero.
2) Only Cares About Shallow Things Like Boys and Pretty Clothes
Now this statement really irks me. Everyone I know who hates Cinderella always says that they dislike that she only stands for shallow things like being boy-crazy and wanting to wear nice clothes. Now hold up everyone, nowhere in the book or the original film is she only all about looking good and liking guys. In the original story all she wants to do is go to a ball. With a life of servitude, of course she wants to go out and have a fun time. Don’t tell me that during the middle of the week when you are at school or work you don’t dream of having a fun time Friday or Saturday night. Going out with your friends to a party, club, movies, etc. Well the same for Cinderella. Back in that time servants only had certain days off. They would get typically every other Sunday or so, weddings of their masters and lords, and of course Christmas and Easter holidays. This ball was a big thing, and Cinderella dreamed like to have the opportunity to visit it. She didn’t care about the guys she would meet, never thinking of them; she didn’t think of the fine dress she would wear, as she didn’t own one; all she was thinking of was the fun she would have there-dancing and feasting. Now don’t tell me you have never looked forward to a night of fun-eating, drinking, and dancing.
3) They Hardly Know Each Other and are in “Love”
This is also something people always complain about the message it is sending to children. Cinderella and the prince know each other for one night and think they are in love. Well…not exactly. It is true that in the Disney film they only know each other for one night, but in the actual fairy tale they know each other for three days. Now I know some of you are thinking, three days pshahh; but that is actually a long time. Remember, once again that this film takes place in thepast and things were done much differently then. Most princes were in arranged marriages at children or teenhood. Each marriage was planned for land, money, and power-love had nothing to do with it. Often times they would never see their bride or groom, but just be sent a portrait, meeting only after the ceremony is completed. Most of the time they wouldn’t even be in the same marriage ceremony, but had it done by proxy-that is having a stand in for the bride or groom. For instance when Marie Antoinette was married to King Louis XVI, her brother played the part of the groom in the Austrian ceremony. So once again, three days is a lot when you would often have zero contact.
And let me point out that if you watch the film again you realize that the “love” Cinderella is feeling is more of a wonderful memory to keep her going. She doesn’t expect to run into the prince again, let alone have him send his advisor with her lost shoe.
4) Foot Fetish or Incredibly Stupid Male
Which brings us to the shoe. The part of the movie everyone likes to hate on. “Why does he need a shoe to find her?” “How stupid must he be not to recognize her face?” “Does he have a foot fetish or something?” “Like that shoe isn’t going to fit a thousand other women.”
Well this is actually a more ingenious trick to find someone than you would think.
Give me a minute and I will explain. So a lot of the time we think he should have recognized her right away by hair color, face, etc. There is two problems with that, first of all the way the aristocrats and courtiers dressed was all very similar. They often had wigs, hats, head-coverings, and loads of makeup. After the prince seeing so many women in one night, it is easy for him to mistake someone else for his true love, such as with her stepsisters. If they were close in height and build (corsets) had the same color hair, he could easily be confused. Remember this was back when everything had to lighted with candles and chandeliers, it’s not like he saw her in fluorescent lighting.
Besides some people have a hard time recognizing someone in full makeup, hair, and dress when they are used to seeing plain, and vice-a-versa. When I was in high school I wore very little makeup, t-shirts, and jeans. I always left my hair down and naturally straight. For junior prom I went in a gown, had my hair curled and styled, make up done, wore heels and NO ONEI mean NO ONE recognized me in the dim hall. And these were people who encountered my voice everyday. If in that case they couldn’t recognize me, well…I could see the reverse for the Prince.
But that does not cover the shoe debacle. “No,” you still say. “That shoe could fit thousands of other women.” Except it couldn’t. That shoe was designed to fit one person and one only. Now you have to remove yourself from a present state of mind. Today you can go to Payless, Marshalls, Wal-Mart, or whatever and find a shoe you like, purchasing it and you are not the only one as thousands of others all over the country are buying the same thing. Back then it was different. Everything was custom made. You don’t go down to the Payless and buy a shoe or Forever 21 and get a dress. Everything was ordered and made to fit you exactly. Depending on your economic status you either bought the material and made your dress at home, or hired a seamstress to create an outfit for you. The same goes for shoes. Each one was handmade by a cobbler to fit the client’s foot. Feet are actually very unique so the shoe would be designed to fit that client and that client only. Now, would someone else who has the same size feet not be able to wear your shoes, no they probably would, but it won’t fit like it would the client, therefore clearly showing it does not belong to that person.
In fact, as Cinderella does not have a coach in the original tale and runs past the prince home, this is an extremely logical approach. If the girl is running, that means she must live by. If she lives by, than she must have had her shoes made at one of the local cobblers. Thanks to guilds and family businesses, there would only be a few and the prince would only have to approach each cobbler who would recognize their own handiwork and be able to tell him who the shoe goes to. I mean it is a glass slipper only one cobbler probably could make it. It is an ingenious plan and would have worked, if not for that fact that the show wasn’t made by a cobbler, but gifted by Cinderella’s mother in the tale, and a fairy in the film. This of course causes the Prince to have to try and approach every house to find his lady love.
5)Waiting Around and a Prince Will Save You
Now this one always gets my rankles up. People complain about Cinderella just waiting around to have a prince save her. Yes it is bad to be waiting around for some guy to come along. But read the story! Watch the film! Cinderella is not expecting some guy to come around and save her, she is living her life and when a nice guy comes around is open to having a relationship with him. There is a big difference in hoping to catch some rich guy who will take care of you (Cinderella’s stepsisters) and having a rich, nice guy come into your life and you being open to being with him. As I said, if you read the story or watch the film, Cinderella doesn’t care about the prince she only wanted to go to a ball. She doesn’t want to catch the prince, but just have fun. She doesn’t try to go after him, he comes after her. It’s him that does the pursuing, not Cinderella. And is it really so bad to be open to love and open to possibilities? No. And let’s be honest, you saw her life, how could she say no? Not to mention he is the future king, it’s kind of hard to say no (unless you are Anne Boleyn)
And let’s give some props to the Prince. Now I’ve said this multiple times when I talk about the Darcy/Lizzie relationship, but the fact that the prince is willing to marry a girl who has been living as a servant for the past few years and most likely isn’t royal…that’s huge! HUGE. It was not done as this was scandal on the household, was a major diss to royal families everywhere that he would rather have a pauper than their highbred daughters, it brought no new money, it brought no new land; in essence it was a bad deal but the prince didn’t care as he loved her. We as Americans, especially those of us living in the west, do not comprehend “old money” vs. “new money”, and are used to two people from different social-economical worlds marrying. But back then, this did not happen. So props to you Prince.
So Cinderella may not be as forward thinking or as modern as many out there wish, but for her time period Cinderella and the Prince are pretty awesome. And instead of hating on them you should all hate on the dad. Yep, the dad. If you read the original story, the mom dies, dad remarries, the stepmom is evil, but then we never hear of the dad again. Now in the film they give him a pass by making him dead, but just because he isn’t mentioned again doesn’t mean he died. I think he was a selfish loser and that he cared more about making money, the pleasures of his wife, etc; than he cared about his daughter. That needs more exploring, analyzing, and hating than Cinderella
Well I hope you enjoyed this post. Comment below on your thoughts and views on what I wrote, and let me know if you want another post like this. If you are anti-Cinderella 2015 I wish you a very happy unwatching. If you are going to see it, I am as my niece wants me to take her, I hope it is as good as Disney wishes it to be with their massive merchandising (it’s everywhere). Otherwise happy friday.
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