Wednesday, March 10, 2004

"You're quite a good chicken strangler as I recall!"

There's a line in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Rope that I have always found interesting. In the movie, two old boarding school friends, Brandon and Philip, decide that it will be creative and worthwhile to murder a third school friend of theirs', David. They have supposedly learned the value of a good murder from Rupert, their boarding school housemaster (played by Jimmy Stewart), who used to advance the Nietschzehan idea that some human beings are more worthwhile than others. Anyway, after this murder, they hide David's body in the main room of their apartment and have Rupert and several others (including David's family!! and girlfriend! pretty twisted, eh?) over for dinner. The line in question is spoken by Rupert. I believe it goes,
"Ah, Mrs. Wilson, I'm going to marry her some day."



He is referring to the rather um...unattractive..maid who Brandon and Philip have in their service. I have never been sure if Rupert truly wants to marry Mrs. Wilson (okay, probably not), or if the line is supposed to suggest that he is gay since he is unmarried and the idea that a man of his appearance (it's Jimmy frickin Stewart!) would consider marrying Mrs. Wilson, well it must be said in jest by a gay man right. Brandon and Philip are clearly gay, although the movie doesn't ever state it, and since they are disciples of Rupert, well yeah, and the whole movie has various implications.

That's all.

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