All time high for Hitch

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2001)

An ex-detective with a fear of heights is hired to follow the wife of an old friend who fears she may try to commit suicide.
Sounds simple enough on paper but this is one of the most intriguing of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, not least because of our leading man's obsession.
James Stewart gives perhaps his most intense performance and Kim Novak is very good as the obligatory icy blonde.
The moment when a ghostly Novak emerges from the bathroom is one of the most haunting in screen history.
An influential film for many of today's top directors, it inspired Basic Instinct, Batman and The Crying Game, not to mention 12 Monkeys which featured a clip in the movie itself.