Hitchcock's penultimate feature has it's admirers, of which I am not one. I will concede it has some effective moments, but the flaws are too big and weird.
It's an unpleasant film. Hitch had an unpleasant side, as is well known, which is particularly demonstrated here. The lead, Blaney, is a scowly unpleasant twat with a hot temper who is always snapping at the women who love him and clearly is a bit of an idiot. I get that for the first thirty minutes we're meant to think he's the killer but he's not entertaining company. He's super passive until the end. The fact that he was a former squadron leader cuts no ice because that wouldn't have been hard in what, the early 60s or late 50s. Where did he serve? Peacetime Europe? Cyprus? Michael Caine was interviewed for the part of Rusk - even he would've struggled to make Blaney likeable.
In contrast the two female leads, his ex wife and current girlfriend, are likable - smart, hard working,clearly more competent than Blaney. And they're both murdered. The ex we get to see killed in a long drawn out sequence - which is effective, mind, it should be said, it's just not fun.
There's some really awful on the nose dialogue. The way a lot of it is written, it's like a film from the 30s or 40s. There is so much dialogue. I didnt mind the exposition between the policeman and his wife who is an awful cook, that is funny, it just felt old fashioned. There's some swear words and more sex and violence but in these old fashioned trappings.
When the film is visual it's actually fine - the murder sequences are memorable, even if harrowing - the stuff where the real killer Rusk has to track down a pin on a corpse is very well done.
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