"I never make love on an empty stomach..."

Rating: 7/10 (15 October 2007)

Smashing suspense-thriller from director Alfred Hitchcock stars Cary Grant as an ordinary Madison Avenue businessman who is falsely accused of being a spy and a killer, jetting all over the States to solve the tangled mystery. Even when covered with crop-dust, Grant always appears dapper and dry-as-a-martini; both he and this classy adventure hold up extremely well, with Master of Suspense Hitchcock keenly using the patented "wrong man" plot just up to a point. With its amusingly inconsequential title, the screenplay is taut yet clever and droll, and the supporting cast (including James Mason as an icily controlled villain and Martin Landau as a faintly fey henchman) does some fabulous work. Even Eva Marie Saint seems to relax here (she's quite sexy and saucy; her best line--an early one aboard the train about making love on an empty stomach--got dubbed over, which hopefully will be corrected someday). Hitch keeps it all snappy and running smoothly, done with a wink and some sly innuendo. *** from ****