I always thought Vertigo was my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film, but I rewatched "Marnie" this morning and now I'm not so sure.
The deep mahoganies punctuated with the even deeper red drapes; the overhead shot of the olive green phone in her hand clashing with the bright green felt of a pool table; the sexual visual of the poolside rescue operation; the humping visual of the horseback hunt with Lil in the foreground and Marnie in the background. Who among them could think they could outshine you? It's a miracle more filmmakers didn't just give up.
He does love his overhead shots, as the one of the boxy Princeton Gray Lincoln Continental when they arrive at the dinner where she realizes he's in love with her. Hitchcock is like God when he uses this device.
When Connery strips her naked and then reclothes her, you realize what a much better actor he is than her. No wonder Hitchcock wanted Grace Kelly for the role. That would have been sublime.
Some of the best lines in any of his films:
"I wanted to kill myself; not feed the damn fish."
"Would you enjoy an indoor liar or an outdoor liar. Playboy or Field and Stream?"
Her wonderfully whispered "There. There now." Best potential suicidal monologue ever, spoken as a child after she's murdered Bruce Dern and after, as an adult, when she shoots her horse.
But he saves the best for last with the image of having her mom look directly at Connery's crotch before she looks up into his eyes and attacks him. Perfect, Alfred. Just perfect. There's your theme in a nutshell, so to speak.