Rope: The Complete Vade Mecum for the Old Time Music Hall Chairman, Including Production Guide and Nearly 600 Patter Entries - Softcover

Hamilton, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0573019894 ISBN 13: 9780573019890

Publisher: Samuel French Ltd, 2004

Synopsis

Genre: Drama

Characters: 6 males, 2 females

Scenery: Interior

For the mere sake of adventure, danger, and the "fun of the thing," Wyndham Brandon persuades his weak minded friend, Charles Granillo, to assist him in the murder of a fellow undergraduate, a perfectly harmless man named Ronald Raglan. They place the body in a wooden chest, and to add spice to their handiwork, invite a few acquaintances, including the dead youth's father, to a party, the chest with its gruesome contents serving as a supper table. The horror and tension are worked up gradually; thunder grows outside, the guests leave, and we see the reactions of the two murderers, watched closely by the suspecting lame poet, Rupert Cadell. Finally they break down under the strain and confess their guilt.

About this title

Synopsis

Brandon wants excitement and little cares how he gets it. He persuades his weak-minded friend, Granillo, to assist him in the murder of a fellow undergraduate. The two place the body in a wooden chest and, to add spice to their handiwork, invite a few acquaintances, including the dead man's father, round to a party, the chest with its gruesome contents serving as a supper table. The horror and tension are worked up gradually; thunder growls outside, the guests leave, and we see the reactions of the two murderers, watched closely by the suspicting Rupert Cadell. Finally, they break down under the strain and confess their guilt. The final curtain descends on Cadell blowing the whistle which will summon a waiting policeman. Rope, first produced and published in 1929, was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1948 and remains to this day one of the classics of the thriller genre.

About the Author

Patrick Hamilton was one of the most gifted and admired writers of his generation. His plays include Rope (1929), on which the Hitchcock thriller was based, and Gas Light (1939). Among his novels are The Midnight Bell, The Siege of Pleasure, The Plains of Cement, Twenty-thousand Streets Under the Sky, Hangover Square, The Slaves of Solitude and The West Pier. He died in 1962. The Sunday Telegraph said: 'His finest work can easily stand comparison with the best of this more celebrated contempories George Orwell and Graham Greene.'

Edition details

• Publisher: Samuel French Ltd
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0573019894
• ISBN 13: 9780573019890
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 108