☰
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Rope

Play trailer Poster for Rope PG Released Aug 24, 1948 1h 20m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
93% Tomatometer 56 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Just before hosting a dinner party, Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) and Brandon Shaw (John Dall) strangle a mutual friend to death with a piece of rope, purely as a Nietzsche-inspired philosophical exercise. Hiding the body in a chest upon which they then arrange a buffet dinner, the pair welcome their guests, including the victim's oblivious fiancée (Joan Chandler) and the college professor (James Stewart) whose lectures inadvertently inspired the killing.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Rope

Rope

What to Know

Critics Consensus

As formally audacious as it is narratively brilliant, Rope connects a powerful ensemble in service of a darkly satisfying crime thriller from a master of the genre.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (56)
Keith Uhlich (All (Parentheses)) (Substack) Hitchcock examines his and his audience’s participatory roles in a centuries-old circuit of art production and reception. —Guest post by Michael Joshua Rowin Jun 10, 2022 Full Review TIME Staff TIME Magazine In photographing the action, Director Hitchcock brought off a tour de force. Feb 9, 2019 Full Review David Parkinson Empire Magazine The trickery is still distracting, but there are hints in this 1948 film of the perversity that will yield Psycho, Strangers On A Train, Vertigo and Rear Window, so it's a must for Hitch collectors. Rated: 4/5 Feb 9, 2019 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review This lesser-celebrated feature by the Master of Suspense remains one of his most fascinating pictures because it aligns with his thematic interests yet deviates from his usual formal methods. Rated: 3/4 Aug 31, 2024 Full Review Diana Tuova Spotlight on Film It grips the audience from the very beginning, and it radiates the same morbid cleverness that would define Hitchcock’s later films. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 4, 2024 Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight The film’s biggest strength is in its tantalizing plot. “Rope” is a very good movie that suffers only from its somewhat false sense of editing, but overall benefits from Hitchcock’s masterful direction. Rated: 3/4 Oct 4, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)
Lisa The movie is an oldie but goodie! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/12/24 Full Review Marco M I've seen this film again, and the wonder remains unchanged. This little gem of cinematic theater is striking for its ability to invert our emotions and make us feel empathy for the murderers and terror for their persecutor. Which is, after all, the thesis of the play. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/08/25 Full Review Rachel H. Scary movie watch with a friend Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/22/25 Full Review Austin B An absolute masterpiece that still holds up 3/4s of a century later Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/06/25 Full Review Slice O Two shots. Amazing . Life Boat is the next movie for anyone who enjoys a theatrical experience within a movie Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 06/14/25 Full Review Douglas G No film cuts obviously impacted how Hitchcock filmed this movie, but it has so much going for it. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/13/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Rope

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Alfred Hitchcock

Director

James Stewart

Rupert Cadell

John Dall

Brandon Shaw

Farley Granger

Phillip Morgan

Joan Chandler

Janet Walker

Cedric Hardwicke

Mr. Kentley (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)

More Like This

View All
Dial M for Murder 90% 92% Dial M for Murder Watchlist Lady in Cement 25% 48% Lady in Cement Watchlist Le Samouraï 92% 93% Le Samouraï Watchlist Born Losers 50% 62% Born Losers Watchlist Bullitt 98% 85% Bullitt Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Rope

Rope (1948) Rope (1948) Rope (1948) Rope (1948) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Just before hosting a dinner party, Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) and Brandon Shaw (John Dall) strangle a mutual friend to death with a piece of rope, purely as a Nietzsche-inspired philosophical exercise. Hiding the body in a chest upon which they then arrange a buffet dinner, the pair welcome their guests, including the victim's oblivious fiancée (Joan Chandler) and the college professor (James Stewart) whose lectures inadvertently inspired the killing.
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Producer
Sidney Bernstein, Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter
Patrick Hamilton, Hume Cronyn, Arthur Laurents, Ben Hecht
Distributor
Warner Bros., MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal Home Entertainment
Production Co
Warner Brothers, Universal Films
Rating
PG
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 24, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 19, 2016
Runtime
1h 20m
Sound Mix
Mono
Aspect Ratio
35mm, Flat (1.37:1)
Most Popular at Home Now