Marnie, released in 1964, is a reasonably well-known film by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Tippi Hedren (of The Birds fame) and Sean Connery, better known both then and now as James Bond. Like several of Hitchcock’s films, it is a mystery and is about obsession and psychology.

The title character Marnie (Hedren) is a compulsive liar and thief, discovered by Sean Connery’s character, who falls in love with her after she goes to work for him. The two marry, and Connery sets out to find out Marnie’s problem. Why, for instance, can’t she stand the colour red?

I enjoyed this film, to an extent. I thought it was an interesting mystery and I wanted to know what happened. Tippi Hedren is very good in her role as the troubled Marnie, and Sean Connery is also excellent, playing a very different character to James Bond! I found his character to be the most interesting – he obviously cared about Marnie and wanted to help her, but there was a forceful, unpleasant side to his nature that I found distasteful. Perhaps this was a sign of the time the film was made – his behaviour may have been acceptable in the 1960s, but I don’t think it would be now.

As usual with Hitchcock films, there is some clever camera work. One of the scenes that stands out for me is the one in which we see a cleaner doing her rounds in the office after hours, while unbeknown to her, Marnie is on the right of the screen stealing money from the safe. The ensuing scene in which Marnie tries to get away without being seen is incredibly tense, even on repeated viewing. The visual clues to Marnie’s phobia are well done, including the red flowers that her mother displays, and the blood on the white shirt.

The film’s ending, while it is effective in terms of plot and fitting in with what went before it, struck me as rather silly – this too could be a sign of the time the film was made. Unlike other Hitchcock films, therefore, this one strikes me as slightly dated. There is still much to enjoy in it, though, and so I do recommend it, although it doesn’t compare with Vertigo or Rear Window as far as I’m concerned.