Addiction: Kleptomania What To Say: There's no such thing as a victim-less crime What Not To Say: Who doesn't love a five finger discount? Not to cast aspersions on anyone but its fair to say almost everyone has stolen something at least once in their life. For most people, the objects in question are likely small and inexpensive (candy rather than diamonds say) and the offences usually take place during a persons youth, something to be done once, just for the experience. Imagine how self-destructive it would be if you were addicted to stealing, if you didn't have a choice but were compelled to seek a five finger discount at every opportunity? That is the tragedy of Marnie (Tippi Hedren) in Alfred Hitchcocks psychological thriller of the same name. Tippi Hedren plays the eponymous Marnie, a compulsive thief, who is rumbled by her boss played by Sean Connery. Rather than turn her in, he blackmails her into marrying him which is just the beginning of her troubles. Over the course of the film, her kleptomania is shown to be just a symptom of many other underlying issues, all brought convincingly to life by Hedren, who was acting in only her second film. Her performance is outstanding considering not just her lack of acting experience but also the understanding of an affliction that was still not fully understood back in the sixties.
