Marnie was released in 1964 by Universal Studios. It is one
of the many successful movies by the renowned Director Alfred Hitchcock. Today I will be analysing the opening sequence of
the Film.
00:00
In the beginning, credits are shown for the most important
people responsible for the film. This is very different to how modern films
work – usually, the Credits are only present towards the end of the film, or
after 5-10 minutes of the action has played out – which automatically strikes
as unusual to modern viewers. This Title sequence is live action footage of a
book being read, the credits displayed upon the pages, which is a hint toward
the origin of the film – a novel of the same name, Marnie. In adapting a book to create the film, Hitchcock and
Universal have bought in an extra audience – readers of the book. The music in
this sequence is very dramatic, which suits and sets the overall mood of the
film. The names mentioned in the Title sequence refer to the people/information
within in order of importance; Production Company, Big Stars, Director,
Co-Stars, Bit-Players, Cinematographer, Assistant Director, Unit Manager,
Costume and Make-Up Designers, Colourist,
Editor, Other Crew, Copyright and Date, Composer and finally the person
responsible for the Screenplay. By showing who acted and directed the film
first, the producers have given the audience an expectation of how the film
will be – They trust that these high-quality persons have in turn produced a
high-quality film.
02:00
From the book shot, we move straight into the motion
picture, to be greeted by a close-up of a Bright Yellow handbag clenched under a
Grey, Tweed dressed arm. The person holding the bag is currently walking as we watch
(being followed by the Camera on a Dolly) and the bounciness of the walk (along
with the curvature of the person’s torso and the arm’s scale) indicate that it
is a woman we are watching. The only
sound we can hear at this point is the sound of the Woman’s High Heeled shoes
on a concrete surface, with no echo, which indicates that she is in an open
space. This outdoors-y atmosphere is boosted by the intensity of the lighting
on the aforementioned handbag. The Dolly starts to slow, and this allows the
Woman to walk out of close range of the Camera. It is revealed that she has
flowing black hair, and is also carrying a dark grey suitcase. It is also
revealed that she is on an empty train station platform – the two trains,
platform and the rain guard form a ‘box’ around the character. As she reaches a
considerable distance away from the character, she places her suitcase on the
ground and stops moving, indicating that she is about to get on a train.
02:30
The film then moves on to show a middle aged man dressed a dark
suit and striped tie, exclaiming “Robbed, cleaned up!”. This close up shot
shows the man’s emotions strongly, as we see his facial expressions and hand
gestures expressing his feelings. As he proclaims “Cleaned up!”, the shot cuts
to that of an empty safe. Film Grammar in mind, this suggests that the woman in
the previous scene is the culprit of the theft he is describing. As he states
the amount robbed (which is substantially large, suggesting why he is so wound
up) the camera reverses to show two men in suits and ties and a woman in a suit
standing by a doorway. One of the two gentlemen is writing notes in a notebook,
and both of them are close together, intently listening to what the businessman
has to say, which suggests that they are investigators. These two men being
shot in-frame with each other suggests a business partnership between them. The
woman is very close to the doorway, and has no input in conversation,
indicating that she is the man’s secretary (her distance and scale on-screen
indicating a lower status also). The office we are in is conservative and
professional – lots of browns, and paintings on the walls - which suggests that
the man who has been robbed is of a high stature (Boss?).
02:41
When prompted by a detective, the businessman begins to
describe the woman who he thinks is the thief, in much detail (matching the
basic image of the woman we saw at the start of the film). This amuses both the
secretary and, much more so, the detectives, which angers the businessman. The
detective then asks if this woman had any qualifications for being hired, and
the businessman responds that she indeed did. However, the secretary dismisses
this, embarrassing the businessman and further confirming that he hired this
woman due to his attraction to her. As
she states this, a fourth man (much younger than the rest) appears in the
doorway behind her, wearing a light grey suit and holding a beige jacket over
his shoulder. The physiognomy of the man suggests he is much more laid back than
the rest of the characters present. A pan shot follows the Businessman as he
walks through the room to greet the younger man, and as he reaches him, the
camera watches their discussion through the doorway. This younger man is much
taller than the Businessman, meaning that the Businessman must look up in order
to talk to him, indicating the younger man’s higher status. The Businessman,
after discussing the situation with the younger man, states that he is always welcome
to do business with him, further proving this younger man’s possession of a
higher status. As the Businessman climaxes in his description the Camera does
something which the modern viewer would see as very odd; it turns and zooms
into the younger man’s face. Although a peculiar shot, it does quite well show
off the reaction of the man by centring his face in the frame.
04:51
And now we return to the Yellow Handbag, along with
sad/romantic music. The framing is incredibly almost identical to the first
time we saw it, but it becomes apparent due to softer lighting and shading that
it is now indoors. The camera again moves backwards to reveal the woman walking
down the hallway of a hotel, accompanied by a green-clad Bellboy holding
parcels and a brown wrapped suitcase – all new items. This splurt of new gear
indicates that the woman has already spent the money which we have in our heads
confirmed that she has stolen from the Businessman. The shot then changes to an
overhead shot of a hotel room, with the woman inside it. She is putting her
newly bought clothing into a new suitcase, and transferring her old clothing
into her old suitcase. Then, it is clarified that she is the culprit, as she
removes a large amount of money from the Yellow Handbag and places it in the
new suitcase. She then pulls out an ID card from her Purse, with the name the
Businessman mentioned on it, and she then swaps it for a new ID card that was
concealed in her make-up box – a fake identity, but with the same initials. She
possesses a few of these fake IDs, indicating that she must change her identity
a lot through her ongoing crime spree.
06:14
We are now in the Bathroom with the woman, who is removing
black dye from her hair in the sink. This again shows that she changes her
identity a lot in her criminality. A close up then reveals for a split second
her face, surrounded with gleaming gold hair. This is the first time we see her
face, and this means we truly can know who she is. At the point where her hair
is revealed, the music crescendos dramatically, highlighting the revelation
that comes with her identity’s reveal. Now we are in a new location, and we are
again following the woman, but this time she is dressed in a very bright suit –
new clothes for a new woman. Every so often, a passer-by will obscure the
camera’s view, showing that she is not alone. The music fades away as she is
revealed in full, and the bustling background noise of the railway station is
revealed. Then, she notices a locker of some description, and hides the old
suitcase inside – removing her old identity. The camera then pans to match her eye-line,
and then performs a POV cutaway of an air vent on the floor. The woman then
removes a key from the handbag and drops it onto the air vent, a close-up
showing her dropping it into the vent with her foot. It is unknown as to what
the key is for or from at this time.
