One of Hitchcock's Best

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2000)

I am a huge Hitchcock fan, and compared to some of his others including the mind-numblingly dull "Suspicion" or the messy "Rebecca," this one shines, along with "Psycho" as one of his best films.
Cary Grant is Roger Thornhill, a New York businessman who is suddenly thrust into a conspiracy that plots him as a killer. With no one to trust, and no one who believes him, he goes on the run, fleeing deeper and deeper into the mystery and the peril. On a train to Chicago one night, he meets Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), a steely blonde who he becomes involved with both romantically and in this plot against him. The lives of the two intertwine continuously through the rest of the chase, where the characters and plot twist like a winding mountain road, which is a perfect analogy for this movie, which climaxes on Mt. Rushmore, in one of the most gripping, suspenseful climaxes Hitch has ever directed.
This truly is a great movie, in all ways. The music is appropriate and extremely well-fitting, and is in second to the theme of "Psycho" as the best music in a Hitchcock film. The acting is totally on par, especially by the two stars. The chemistry between the two of them on the train is perfect, and adds to the list of memorable pieces of this movie, along with the famous cropduster scene (which had me cringing in fear) and that gripping, edge-of-your-seat, breathtaking climax on Mt. Rushmore. Hitchcock has never directed a climax as good as that. This is his best, second being the gasp-inducing climax to "Psycho." I loved the way the character of Eve Kendall changed so many times, and twisted and turned. At first she appears to just be that girl that will end up by Thornhill's side the whole movie, then she becomes the double-crossing spy, but then she double-crosses the enemies, and we realize so much more about her, that she becomes the most versatile character in the film, played to honest perfection by Eva Marie Saint. And also to mention was the very creepy-looking Martin Landau in a smaller role as one of the spies. Just the look in his eye made him a great antagonist.
This really is a great movie, and as I said, one of Hitchcock's best. Hitch really came a long way from his minimal British productions, all of which seemed to look and feel the same. This is definitely one of the best chase movies around, and has remained as powerful as it was when it first came out.