Hitch's Best

Rating: Null/10 (25 February 2001)

I agree with so many of the comments here---and I too feel it's Hitchcock's very best. All the elements are perfect. It's hard to pick a favorite scene, but I think it's the sequence at VanDam's house at Mt. Rushmore. I would love to know about that house. How much of this was a set piece? Was it really at Mt. Rushmore? That kind of thing. Email me if you have any info. Also, does anybody agree Grant may have blown a line when he said, "He's assembling the General Assembly this afternoon"? Should that not have been, "He addressing the General Assembly this afteroon"? I've seen this movie more times than I can count and that has always seemed curious to me. And its always to fun to see the boy stick his fingers in his ears before the gun fires in the Mt. Rushmore cafeteria. A classic for Gaffe Squad addicts. And, I've always felt the chase over Mt. Rushmore is one of the very best illusions created in the movies. A superb achievement in Art Direction. And if you really want to put this film under a microscope, count how many quick cuts are made after Thornhill gets off the bus at the prarrie stop and is taking stock of where he is out in the middle of nowhere. Finally, if you are a Hitchcock fan you know how good he was with scary faces. And NbyNW is loaded with them. Would love to hear from other fans of this great film--my alltime favorite without question.