Wild and frantic

Rating: Null/10 (24 February 2000)

This thriller about a detective who's drawn into a complex plot, which is indirectly involved with his fear of heights, is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most discussed films. James Stewart plays the acrophobic detective hired by an old friend to watch his wife, played by Kim Novak. Stewart falls in love with the mysterious woman, who is preoccupied with the life of a 19th century beauty. An unusual role for Stewart, whose humble, good-guy image is at odds with his character here - an obsessed, guilt-ridden man driven to extreme actions. Enhanced by Bernard Herrmann's haunting score.