Marnie is one of my favorite movies ever, so after rewatching it recently, I was excited to see that a book on its production history and impact existed. Moral details every aspect of the film's conception, pre-production, filming, and legacy in such a way that I really felt like I was there watching it being made. I wish every movie I love got this kind of treatment. He interviews a ton of people involved in the making of the movie, and draws upon a large range of sources, including the personal papers of Hitchcock and screenwriter Jay Presson Allen.
A lot of my suspicions about the movie were confirmed or at least speculated upon, and the history of how the screenplay evolved, which is briefly touched upon in the documentary The Trouble With Marnie, was especially fascinating to read. The book is partly an oral history, so I really got a sense of Hitchcock as a person based on the large range of stories told about him. I wish there was more detail about Tippi Hedren specifically, but all anyone says is that she was completely professional throughout the filming. Near the end, Moral gets into the controversy about Hitchcock and Hedren, drawing upon the speculations of many collaborators, but as expected, there is no easy answer to what exactly went down between them. The cast and crew lament the many flaws of the film, specifically Hedren's performance (which I think is brilliant), and the infamous fake-looking backdrop of the ship, but these aspects of the film have aged well in a way that no one could have expected.
Throughout the book, Moral feels the need to defend the movie against its difficult reputation. He kept repeating this idea of it being a feminist movie that reflects social mores and violence against women or whatever, but he never properly defends that statement. To be clear, I don't think Marnie needs to be defended in such a manner because its unacceptability is inextricable from the film. It's Hitchcock's most psychological revealing story, which is why I think it's a masterpiece. It feels silly to criticize a book in such minute detail but for the sake of completeness, the entire section of the book about contemporary art was worthless (the playwright who adapted Marnie needs jailtime for cringing me out so hard) and near the end, Moral repeats himself so much that it's clear the book was only partially edited. Either way, this book is essential for fans of Hitchcock and anyone intrigued by the film.
A personal takeaway is that I need to check out Robin Wood's book on Hitchcock because I very much enjoyed the excerpts of his interpretations of the film.