Alfred Hitchcock hid many references in “No Spring for Marnie”, all dedicated to an author he particularly adored: Edgar Allan Poe.
Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense in cinema, but by his own admission, he would never have become one if there had not been before him a famous American author whose works he devoured as a child: Edgar Allan Poe. And in Pas de Printemps pour Marnie, one of his last films, he wanted to pay tribute to this writer who marked him so much.
Deliberately, Hitchcock chose for the leading role Tippi Hedren, who was under contract with him and despite the abuse he had subjected her to on the set of The Birds. Why ? Because she was born on January 19, which is also the case for Edgar Allan Poe. A random ? Here are some other examples:
Universal Pictures Tippi Hedren in “Marnie”
Marnie and her mother Bernice (played by Louise Latham) are called Edgar, a name changed in direct reference to Poe, who also wrote a short story called Berenice. Published in 1835, it tells the story of an obsessive character developing a morbid fascination with the teeth of his cousin, who is also his fiancée!
Marnie applies to Rutland Publishing and Wickwind in Philadelphia (the city where Poe worked as a journalist), passes through Virginia (where the author grew up and where he will attend college) and the film opens in the office of Mr. Strutt in New York (where Poe would live for several years from 1844). Finally, Marnie’s mother lives in Maryland, and more specifically Baltimore, where Poe was found dead in 1849.
Universal Pictures
Sean Connery and Tippy Hedren in “Marnie”
Here are the almost impossible to detect details of the film, which constitute the tip of the hat from Hitchcock to one of his inspirations, without whom he would probably not have made the films he signed throughout his career. and which earned him five Oscar nominations for Rebecca, Lifeboat, The House of Doctor Edwardes, Rear Window and Psycho.