Rope
Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York City apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley, and as a consequence, decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet, and their old schoolteacher Rupert, from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect.
Working with a tight budget of $1.5M, the film achieved a modest success with $2.2M in global revenue (+47% profit margin).
4 wins & 3 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Rope (1948) showcases precise narrative design, characteristic of Alfred Hitchcock's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 20 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 5.7, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Brandon Shaw
Phillip Morgan
Rupert Cadell
Janet Walker
Kenneth Lawrence
Mr. Henry Kentley
Main Cast & Characters
Brandon Shaw
Played by John Dall
Arrogant intellectual who orchestrates a murder to prove his superiority and Nietzschean philosophy.
Phillip Morgan
Played by Farley Granger
Nervous accomplice to murder, emotionally fragile and increasingly unstable throughout the evening.
Rupert Cadell
Played by James Stewart
Former prep school housemaster and publisher, skeptical observer who uncovers the dark truth.
Janet Walker
Played by Joan Chandler
David's girlfriend and Phillip's former romantic interest, caught in awkward social dynamics.
Kenneth Lawrence
Played by Douglas Dick
Janet's current boyfriend and poet, oblivious to the underlying tensions at the party.
Mr. Henry Kentley
Played by Cedric Hardwicke
David's father, concerned about his son's absence and increasingly worried as the evening progresses.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Brandon and Phillip strangle their former classmate David with a rope in their apartment, committing the "perfect murder" they have intellectualized.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 9 minutes when The guests begin arriving for the party, including David's father, fiancée Janet, her former flame Kenneth, and their former housemaster Rupert Cadell, forcing the murderers to maintain their charade while surrounded by the victim's loved ones.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 18 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 23% of the runtime. This shows the protagonist's commitment to Brandon deliberately steers conversation to the subject of murder as an art form, openly testing his philosophy with Rupert and the guests while serving food from atop the chest containing David's corpse, fully committing to his dangerous game., moving from reaction to action.
At 36 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 45% of the runtime—arriving early, accelerating into Act IIb complications. Significantly, this crucial beat The guests depart, but Rupert returns, having noticed he took the wrong hat. His suspicions are now fully aroused by the evening's strange conversations, Phillip's breakdown, and Brandon's arrogant provocations. The game shifts from the party to a direct intellectual duel., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 54 minutes (68% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Rupert discovers David's body in the chest. The "perfect murder" is exposed, and the intellectual exercise becomes undeniable reality—a young man is dead, and two former students have become killers., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 63 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 79% of the runtime. Rupert delivers his moral condemnation, rejecting Brandon's justification and repudiating his own past philosophical flirtations with such ideas. He fires a gun out the window to summon the police, choosing justice over protecting his former students., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Rope's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping Rope against these established plot points, we can identify how Alfred Hitchcock utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Rope within the crime genre.
Alfred Hitchcock's Structural Approach
Among the 20 Alfred Hitchcock films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 6.6, demonstrating varied approaches to story architecture. Rope takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Alfred Hitchcock filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional crime films include The Bad Guys, Rustom and The Whole Ten Yards. For more Alfred Hitchcock analyses, see Family Plot, The Birds and Vertigo.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Brandon and Phillip strangle their former classmate David with a rope in their apartment, committing the "perfect murder" they have intellectualized.
Theme
Brandon articulates his Nietzschean philosophy that superior individuals are above conventional morality and have the right to kill their inferiors, establishing the thematic debate about intellectual arrogance versus human decency.
Worldbuilding
Brandon and Phillip prepare for their dinner party, hiding David's body in a chest that will serve as the buffet table. Brandon's excitement contrasts with Phillip's growing anxiety, establishing their psychological states and the macabre "game" they are playing.
Disruption
The guests begin arriving for the party, including David's father, fiancée Janet, her former flame Kenneth, and their former housemaster Rupert Cadell, forcing the murderers to maintain their charade while surrounded by the victim's loved ones.
Resistance
The party unfolds with mounting tension as Brandon makes provocative remarks about murder and superiority while Phillip becomes increasingly unstable. Rupert begins to notice inconsistencies and Brandon's peculiar behavior regarding David's absence.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Brandon deliberately steers conversation to the subject of murder as an art form, openly testing his philosophy with Rupert and the guests while serving food from atop the chest containing David's corpse, fully committing to his dangerous game.
Mirror World
Rupert engages with Brandon's philosophical arguments about superior individuals and murder, revealing he once entertained such ideas academically, creating a moral mirror that will later reflect Brandon's corruption of intellectual theory into action.
Premise
The "fun and games" of the perfect murder party: Brandon drops increasingly brazen hints about David's fate, Phillip struggles to maintain composure, and the guests discuss David's mysterious absence while literally eating off his makeshift coffin.
Midpoint
The guests depart, but Rupert returns, having noticed he took the wrong hat. His suspicions are now fully aroused by the evening's strange conversations, Phillip's breakdown, and Brandon's arrogant provocations. The game shifts from the party to a direct intellectual duel.
Opposition
Rupert interrogates Brandon and Phillip with increasingly pointed questions, piecing together the truth. Brandon remains defiant and proud of his deed, while Phillip crumbles under the pressure, and Rupert closes in on the horrifying reality.
Collapse
Rupert discovers David's body in the chest. The "perfect murder" is exposed, and the intellectual exercise becomes undeniable reality—a young man is dead, and two former students have become killers.
Crisis
Rupert confronts his own culpability in planting these philosophical seeds, while Brandon attempts to justify the murder using Rupert's own teachings. The moral and intellectual reckoning unfolds as all three face what has been done.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Rupert delivers his moral condemnation, rejecting Brandon's justification and repudiating his own past philosophical flirtations with such ideas. He fires a gun out the window to summon the police, choosing justice over protecting his former students.
Synthesis
The three men wait in silence for the police to arrive. Brandon's arrogance deflates, Phillip sits in traumatized shock, and Rupert stands guard, holding the gun. The sound of sirens approaches as the consequences become inescapable.
Transformation
The police arrive as the camera pulls back from the apartment window. The intellectual exercise has become a crime scene, the "superior" men reduced to common murderers, and philosophy divorced from humanity has led only to death.