Vladimir Poutin's "double" is quite frightening

Rating: Null/10 (2 May 2003)

Despite its age, this is really a very entertaining film ! Somewhat similar to "Young and Innocent" made earlier and "North By Northwest" made later, we have this eternal tireless them of the "wrong" man. The film is a series of good action sequences, and the spectator has no time to be bored. The bad guy Lloyd, whose piercing eyes and general facial appearance uncannily seem to suggest the looks of V. Poutin, the Russian President today, camps a really frightening character even though we see relatively little of him throught the film. Also Otto Kruger's character comes over as all the more nasty that Otto Kruger himself is a very suave looking gentleman and we wouldn't expect him to play a role like that. Obviously the film is too old to have very good special effects and many of the scenes, notably those at the Statue of Liberty, seem a little artificial. No matter, the spectator is thoroughly entertained from beginning to end, and subsequent viewings of the film tend to make it more attractive than on first sight. Definitely amongst the better of Hitchcock's films, only the picture quality leaves to be desired !