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Title: Directorial Magnificence
Review: Others have told the story of the plot and its contrivances and of Montgomery Clift's peculiarities. All good and true. But for my money its Hitch's direction that carries the day here. In fact, I'll go further than that. This may be Hitchcock's best directed film (possibly exceeded only by "Psycho") in terms of pure visual narration. Is it the nimbleness afforded by whatever black-and-white cameras were used? I don't know. But the fluidity and grace of his cuts, the rich rhythm of the shots used (varying beautifully among close/medium/distant) and some powerful individual framing spell directorial magnificence. See for yourself. The next time you watch this, pay close attention to what this man is doing and marvel at his mastery of cinematic grammar. (And lament that so few modern-day "directors" have a clue about grammar.) "Supreme technician" indeed.
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