The Master Of Suspense At His Finest

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2008)

If you've never had the pleasure of seeing an Alfred Hitchcock film (especially one of his best),this is the one for you to discover by the master of suspense,as he became widely known as. Cary Grant stars as a Madison Avenue executive who becomes a pawn by a spy organization,set up as a murder suspect,and skirts the country,hoping to find the answers to just why he's being set up. Toss in the requisite Hitchcock blonde beauty (Eva Marie Saint),and lots of plot twists, and you got yourself the formula for a white knuckled thriller. The film has some scenes that have become legendary,if not outright iconic (Grant being pursued by a crop duster airplane,the suspenseful scenes at Mount Rushmore,etc.). Hats off to musical director/composer, Bernard Hermann for crafting a music score that compliments the film nicely (as does his other musical scores for not just Hitchcock,but other films he wrote & arranged music for). The film is also a treat for the eye,filmed in the original Technicolor process & shot in the sadly now defunct 'Vistavision' process (another special wide screen process that Paramont seemed to have the copyright for,but allowed M-G-M to implement for this one film,only). If you hear of this fine film playing in your area (especially if it's an original Technicolor & Vistavision print), run, don't walk to see it.