Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie - by Tony Lee Moral (Paperback)

About the Book

Alfred Hitchcock's style, motivation, and fears regarding his 1964 film Marnie, are well-documented in this probing look at one of his most undervalued efforts. Featuring four additional chapters that draw on newly obtained access to the film's production archives, files of th...

Book Synopsis

Alfred Hitchcock's style, motivation, and fears regarding his 1964 film Marnie, are well-documented in this probing look at one of his most undervalued efforts. Featuring four additional chapters that draw on newly obtained access to the film's production archives, files of the novel's author Winston Graham and screenwriter Jay Presson Allen--along with new interviews of the Hitchcock crew in 2012--this revised edition of Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie gives readers an invaluable look behind the scenes of a film that has finally been recognized for its influence and vision.

Review Quotes

[A]n exemplar of revision; not only does Moral's book correct and update an earlier work, but also expands and enhances with new content that shapes our previous understanding. And this is a timely re-release, given the recent surge of interest in Hitchcock, coalescing around the 90th anniversary--in 2012--of him making his first film, as well as the appearance of contentious biopics The Girl (2012) and Hitchcock (2012). What results, in the hands of Moral, is a book that celebrates the uneasy position of Marnie as, depending upon your point of view, the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning of Hitchcock's directing career.

[T]here is virtually no element of the making of the film that is not treated by Moral in the most fascinating detail (including, of course, Bernard Herrmann's matchless score). Even for those Hitchcock admirers who may have the author's earlier edition of this book, the new one will still make an extremely tempting proposition.

An essential purchase for anyone interested in the wonderful films of its director, Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie does exactly what its title suggests. Incredibly detailed and with a range of storyboards and production stills to illustrate the narrative, it provides both a fascinating history and a valuable re-examination of a controversial film.

Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie is packed with the kind of inside information that film fans love. From the studios' reservations about casting Sean Connery, who they were only familiar with from his appearances as James Bond to tidbits of Hitchcock's directing shorthand. It is inside info like this that gives the book life, so much so that you feel you are personally involved in the production. . .An entertaining read from start to finish, I highly recommend Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie to any film fan curious in the art of motion picture making.

Marnie is Hitchcock's most maligned film; some even insist that it's a grandiose failure. But it's also received some of filmdom's most lavish praise. Critic Robin Wood went so far as to declare it "one of the four or five most beautiful films the cinema has yet given us." Well, which is it? Disaster or masterpiece? Tony Lee Moral makes a 267-page case for the latter. . .His research goes deep; every page is a revelation for film buffs and Hitchcock geeks alike. . . .Citing intensive research from the Hitchcock archives at the famed Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, [Moral] reconstructs a clear narrative of the use of special effects in this movie from pre-production and into post-production, including Hitch's own at times contradictory remarks after the fact.

About the Author

Tony Lee Moral is an award-winning documentary film maker and writer. He is the author of three books on the master of suspense, including The Making of Hitchcock's The Birds (2012) and Alfred Hitchcock's Moviemaking Master Class (2013).