My favourite Hitchcock

Rating: Null/10 (11 September 2011)

To start with the conclusion: I adore it. In the "tongue-in-cheek romantic action thriller" category it's among the very best. It's not perfect though, and if you can stand some iconoclastic criticism, here is some.
For one thing, there is (to stay in Martin Landau's alley) the high "Mission Impossible" flavour: unnecessarily far-fetched solutions where simpler ones are at hand. To interrogate an alleged government agent, there is really no need to occupy and stage a lavish mansion, house personnel included. To dispose of him, there really really is no need to have him attack by a plane, all the less when he's patiently waiting in the middle of a desert. (I told you it's iconoclastic.) And to murder a diplomat, there surely must be easier ways than hurling a knife in his back in the crowded main hall of the UN building. Speaking of which, it takes some awkward body directing to have Thornhill spontaneously withdraw the bloody knife from the victim! There are more clumsy transitions. The secret agent, somewhat alarmed by a pistol shot fired in her living room, is fobbed off with the silly comment "Yes, I thought I heard something". And the housekeeper catching an armed intruder minutes before the villains fly off patiently waits until her husband will have seen them out. First things first! And climbing down Mount Rushmore while helping the lady in distress AND holding on to a precious statue, come on.
With that off my chest, let me repeat how I love it. To mention just two minor aspects: the opening scene with the skew views of the office building, and the secondary but highly entertaining appearances of Thornhill's mother.