Lumbago

Rating: 2/10 (6 September 2011)

Include me out of that large collection of people who think this film is any good at all. It's not the very worst I've ever seen, which is why I've given it an extra star. However, if you want to know what it's really like, go to the "hated it" section of reviewers, and you'll get a fair run-down.
I've actually seen it three or four times, each time wondering if I could discover what everyone (well, not everyone, but a lot of people) thinks is so marvellous. Each time I watch it (I've got stamina) I find less and less to admire about it. Yes, poor Kim Novak is a very poor actress, even if she looks sorta pretty in a fake kinda way. The plot is utterly ridiculous. I know all film plots are naturally goofy, but somehow they should try to make you suspend your disbelief. Psycho succeeds excellently. This one fails totally. Nothing makes any sense: it's all perfectly idiotic. It's also very, very slow. The only person in this film I felt any liking or sympathy for was Barbara Bel Geddes; and she was the only one whose acting was genuinely credible.
I've checked the spoiler box, even though I've given nothing away. I don't really want to spoil things for anyone.
However, much, much later I feel I just have to ask one question which has bewildered me from the beginning. How did Stewart get down from hanging off the gutter? He's wearing a corset, the next time we see him, which suggests that he must have fallen, and broken his back. ? The distance to the ground is nevertheless so enormous that it would be impossible for anyone to survive the impact on the road below. The other policeman obviously died instantly. So is the whole of the rest of this idiotic story purely imaginary?