- Film Review
- Reviewed By Tom Hutchinson
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5 out of 5
In one of the truly great later Hitchcocks, James Stewart plays a retired cop with a terror of heights who's hired by Tom Helmore to follow his suicidal wife, Kim Novak. Stewart falls in love with the enigmatic blonde, but can't prevent her falling to her death. Some months later he spots a woman (also played by Novak) who bears an uncanny resemblance to the dead woman, and is drawn into a web of deceit and obsession. Novak gives her greatest performance in a demanding dual role, while Stewart shatters his all-American Mr Nice Guy persona with a disturbingly dark and complex characterisation. A hallucinatory movie - the glistening San Francisco locations give both place and events a dreamlike quality - this remains one of the most painful depictions of romantic fatalism in all of cinema.
Plot Summary
Classic psychological thriller starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. San Francisco detective "Scottie" Ferguson resigns from the force when his intense fear of heights leads to the death of a colleague. He's persuaded to accept a commission from an old college friend to trail his suicidal wife, only to find himself falling in love with his mysterious quarry.
Cast and crew
Cast
- John "Scottie" Ferguson
- James Stewart
- Madeleine / Judy
- Kim Novak
- Midge
- Barbara Bel Geddes
- Gavin Elster
- Tom Helmore
- Coroner
- Henry Jones
- Doctor
- Raymond Bailey
- Manageress
- Ellen Corby
- Pop Leibel
- Konstantin Shayne
- Captain Hansen
- Paul Bryar
- Saleswoman
- Margaret Brayton
- Jury foreman
- William Remick
- Flower vendor
- Julian Petruzzi
Crew
- Director
- Alfred Hitchcock
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