Part of The Sight and Sound Top 10 (#2)
Dismissed upon release but later heralded as one Hitchcock’s finest, this intricate web of obsession and deceit tells the tale of police detective Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart), who’s crippled by his fear of heights and an unhealthy fixation on the married woman (Kim Novak) he’s been hired to track. Featuring a mesmerizing score, one of many composed for Hitchcock by the prolific Bernard Herrmann.
“Nice Guy Stewart has never been so complex and calculating, Novak never more mesmerising and Bernard Herrmann's score is magnificent. Even Saul Bass' whirling title credits have you gripping the arm-rest, but Hitchcock has stamped his personality on every scene.” —Jake Hamilton, Empire
“An artistic triumph for the master of mystery. Mr. Hitchcock chose San Francisco for the setting…. Depicted in VistaVision Technicolor photography, the charm, romance and antiquity of the framed Pacific port glow in one beautiful picture after another.” —Wanda Hale, New York Daily News (1958)