Sean Connery's 10 Greatest Movie Performances

One of Hitchcock’s less heralded established classics, Marnie defies classification somewhat. It’s a psychological drama of sorts, addressing matters like childhood trauma and PTSD in a forward thinking manner for its early ‘60s production. The showier role is the eponymous one, played by frequent Hitchcock collaborator (and victim) Tippi Hedren, but the second lead goes to Connery, here coming to the peak of his Bond fame.

He took a substantial risk playing the role of Mark Rutland, a complex and not entirely likeable character. He marries the troubled Marnie knowing something of her backstory as a scam artist; in spite of this, Rutland often finds Marnie difficult to understand, leading to a shocking moment during their honeymoon.

Still, Connery is asked to play an ultimately sympathetic role, and he does so sensitively and generously, never attempting to steal the spotlight from Hedren or beef up his reserved character’s status.

He specifically sought out a chance to work with Hitchcock, and it was a wise choice for the actor, who explicitly wanted to add another, non-spy string to his bow. He succeeded with Marnie.