Great funny lines but no plot.

Rating: Null/10 (5 November 2001)

I'm old enough to admit I saw this movie during its first run. I was a teenager, and I was fasinated by Eva Marie Saint, wanted to grow up and be like Roger Thornhill, a reluctant hero. Of course I grew up, and everytime I see this movie, I see more that I didn't see or hear the first time. Hitcock is a genius because he took a cartoon's script and made a great film. Consider these plot fantasies. Two goons mistakenly kidnap the wrong person at a posh hotel. How did the cold war last so long with such incompetents. Wouldn't real life spies wait until a less public place? What was the rational for the Glen Cove mansion? The real owner doesn't know who's using his house. What about neighbors? What if he decided to go home? Throwing knives may be a good circus act, but hardly the weapon of choice for a modern assassin. Nor would a corn field be the place and a crop duster the weapon. I've been to Mt. Rushmore, there is no place for a landing strip, let alone any private property. Its a National Monument for pete's sake. Oh yeah, when Eva and Gary are being chased by the bad guys as they crawl over the monument, why didn't they pitch the gizmo with the microfilm over the monument. The bad guys never would have found it. On the other hand, I think the auction scene was pure genius. Lehman can write funny one liners and lines that drip with hidden sexuality.