Hitchcock's "Rope"--Success or Failure? Quiz

Answer: It took place toward the end of the movie.

Alfred Hitchcock's appearances were immensely popular with his audiences and became a trademark. He usually appeared early in the film because he didn't want to take viewers out of the story or undercut the mood. These on-screen mini-characters were often passive observers.

His walk-ons were so brief that the viewer had to be sharp or risk missing them entirely. In the film he appeared briefly in his usual way during the opening, walking by a fire hydrant. In "Rope's" model of the New York skyline, Hitchcock's image was the piece de resistance.

He appeared in a darkened window in the form of a red neon sign shaped into his famous profile. Hitch appeared toward the end of the movie when the tension is high and distracted the audience when it appeared.

This image appeared an unprecedented three times as an emphatic symbol of potency, not helplessness!

Answer: True

Cameras available couldn't hold more than 1000 feet of 35 mm film. As a result, each take used up to an entire roll of film and lasted only 10 minutes. The reels were joined inconspicuously by stopping the camera behind a character with his or her back filling the entire frame.

Answer: a concave curtain or wall

A cyclorama, also called dome horizon, is curved at the top, giving the illusion of open space. The cyclorama was an exact miniature reproduction of nearly 35 miles of New York skyline. The 12,000 square feet included the Empire State, the Chrysler, and the Woolworth buildings, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Radio City, and other landmarks. Each miniature building was wired separately with globes ranging from 25 to 150 watts in the tiny windows.

The electrician could illuminate an entire building or just one window at a time. 26,000 feet of wire carried 126,000 watts of power for the building and window illumination - all controlled by a bank of 47 switches called a light organ.

It used 6,000 incandescent bulbs and 200 neon signs required 150 transformers.

The clouds, made of 500 lbs. of spun glass, were woven by scenic artists into chicken wire molds.

Answer: rotating props and scenery

Actors, cameramen, prop crew, the electricians and even the script supervisors spent two solid weeks of rehearsals before a camera was even turned on! Before the set was built Hitchcock worked out each movement on a blackboard in his home and then in the studio.

The soundstage (actually a stage within a stage) was made noiseless by construction of a special floor one and a half inches above the regular one and soundproofed with layers of Celotex and carpet. It was marked with numbered circles which indicated where each specific camera stop was made and when. Each camera movement had its predetermined focus.

The men operating the camera had to hit the floor markings exactly on cue without deviations. The entire floor plan was laid out in foot squares so that in the event of retakes they could go back to the exact spot.

Answer: True

Cameras owned and leased by Technicolor were expensive, large and heavy often making shooting difficult. Technicolor was pricey since the company often required that studios rent one of its trained cinematographers. But in the case of Hitchcock and "Rope" this was not necessarily a bad thing. A notorious perfectionist, Hitchcock was disappointed with the sunset sky, which he thought resembled a "cheap postcard" so he brought in a Technicolor camera technician to reshoot the last five 10 minute takes.

Answer: dry ice

Because the rooftops were three-dimensional and built to scale, smoke and steam trailed toward the sky from the tiny chimneys. Pipes under the rooftops supplied this steam but the vapor left the chimneys too fast and rose too high for accurate perspective. Hitchcock worked with the prop men placing dry ice over the pipes to retard the steam's speed and volume.

After that the smoke trailed lazily into the sky at a rate of speed that was proportioned to the size of the buildings in the miniature.

Answer: red and green

During the character Cadell's monologue, the room is filled with an alternating red and green light from the nearby neon STORAGE sign. Hitchcock wanted an emotional accompaniment to the monologue. Not only did Hitchcock direct the movie--he directed the audience too!

Answer: walls that rolled with overhead tracks

Hitch utilized "wild walls" to allow the camera to follow the actors without a break in the shot. He mounted the camera on a specially built dolly to give it access to all parts of the set and the walls were rolled away and then put back to their original positions.

Answer: it contained one of the actors

Dick Hogan, the young actor who played the strangled victim had to remain inside the chest! Since there were no time lapses or camera cuts in the usual scene, he was inside the chest for a full ten minutes, the shooting of 950 feet of film. After the third take Hogan began to get tired. "I hope to God they get it on this take," he said fervently. "Those ten minutes seem like ten hours."

Answer: rope

Indeed the Master of Suspense had a sense of humor! Hitch said "Rope" was daunting for his crew yet fun, particularly for the publicity people. One press agent suggested that the world premiere be in the Philippines because hemp comes from there. Another wanted to hang rope from New York's Strand Theatre for the opening.