20 Things You Somehow Missed In Alfred Hitchcock Movies

Rope is one of the earliest examples of a film featuring a gay couple, as well as the deft depiction of the queer lifestyle.

The story follows Brandon and Phillip, two young men sharing a New York apartment together, who consider themselves superior to their friend David Kentley, and as a consequence, murder him. Concealing the body in a large chest, they then host a small dinner party gathering.

Although never directly addressed, it is heavily hinted that Brandon and Phillip, as well as their publisher Rupert Cadell, are gay. Hitchcock couldn’t get everything past the censors, meaning certain elements of this subject matter were stripped back. Instead, he used the dialogue exchanges between the two as a way of hinting at Brandon and Phillip’s relationship - using innuendos, never mentioning any previous relationships that involved women, etc.

As a result, Rope was banned in several American cities because of the implied sexuality of Phillip and Brandon.