Thriller & Mystery > 1955 Thriller & Mystery > H

She Should Have Know Better - and So Should He

Advantages: Doris Day
Disadvantages: Out of date social ideas

...has been kidnapped)? This is the scene where Day is at her best, a best I never knew she had in her…………It could have been so easy to overplay the panic, but she never puts a moan wrong. Occasionally the acting is a little over the top in later scenes, but never to the detriment of the overall story. The story? A country surgeon-doctor from rural USA (James Stewart) and his recently married wife (Doris Day), a former singer, are travelling through ...
...about an assignation attempt, and the son is kidnapped to keep Stewart quiet. The parents' attempts to find their son lead them through a number of well filmed and acted red-herrings….and eventually they arrive at not one, but two great climaxes, both of which feature Doris Day. There are a number of twists of the story which would never pass muster in society today, but the story itself is sound and well worth watching. Just don't take its beliefs ...

ACTed 01.08.2006 · Read full review
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Review of The Man Who Knew Too Much (DVD)

The softer side of Hitchcock

Advantages: A charming and witty soft fifties thriller - pleasing to the eye.
Disadvantages: More cool than chilling - it's not nail biting stuff.

...my spine - it failed to do so. This is one of Hitchcocks later films and with it, he seems to have lost much of what it was that made us love him so much - Psyco, the Birds, Dial M for Murder this is not. However, if you step back from your expectations you can find this an enjoyable and entertaining film. It is beautifully executed, with stella perfomances from Cary Grant - at his smooth, cool and sexy best (if not getting a little bit old) and ...
...robberies taking place is enough to keep the viewers interest ticking along, despite a slightly predictable finale. The script is suave, stylish and amusing despite what is lacks in suspense. Special features include a 'making of' documentary featuring interviews from several of the production crew and some interesting insights into the working of Hitchcock, Grant, et al. All in all I would say that this film is worth buying if you are a fan of either ...

polskey 11.09.2005 · Read full review
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Review of To Catch A Thief (Special Edition) (DVD)

Glorious, beautiful and well performed fun

Advantages: Performances are great and it is good fun
Disadvantages: Maybe a little light for true Hitchcock fans

...first suspect. he sets out to proclaim his innocence to all including Grace kelly, the daughter of a jewel clad millionaire widow (played immpecably by Jessie Royce Landis), who suspects him and falls madly for his dangerous charm. I found this to be a highly enjoyable and entertaining film. perhaps not one Hitchcock's best, it certainly lacks the dark elements of many of his masterpieces, but the performaces are thoroughly enjoable throughout. Grant ...
...fine turn by John Williams as the insurance agent that helps grant find the thief by helping him find the richest ladies on the Riviera. the chemistry between Grant and Kelly sizzles throughout and although no-one will watch this and consider it a masterpiece, it is glorious Sunday afternoon fun. ...

Nixu1980 16.10.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of To Catch A Thief (DVD)

Action-packed with some witty dialogue but still flawed somehow

Advantages: Quite thrilling when it gathers pace, seemed an authentic depiction of London, some humour
Disadvantages: Something about Downey Jnrs depiction of Holmes didnt work somehow, not for all ages/the squeamish

...Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson start out by catching a serial killer who dabbles in the the supernatural, an evil man called Lord Blackwood who is sentenced to death, indeed Watson confirms he's dead after he's hung. Things take a distinctly sinister turn, however, when they discover than Blackwood has apparently risen from the dead and Holmes recalls what he told him before he was hung, which indicated that more ...
...actor (Robert Downey Jnr.) played Sherlock Holmes, while an English actor (Jude Law), played his right hand man, Dr. Watson. Now of course I knew that before I went to see the movie, infact I quite like Robert Downey Jnr. as an actor and I have enjoyed some of his other movies and the fact that he plays the main character was one of the main reasons I wanted to see it in the cinema but there was something about him playing this role that I just didn't ...

IzzyS 27.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Sherlock Holmes

What goes around comes around..

Advantages: Enigmatic
Disadvantages: Perhaps too long

...I wouldn’t say this was in that impact category but certainly a quality piece of film. The drama begins with the return of thirty-something award winning war photographer Paul Harris (Mathew McFadden) to the small rural town of Steimer where he grew up, his first visit for 17 years. The night bag over the shoulder arrival is for dad’s funeral, mum long returned to the Earth, Paul’s relationship with big brother Andrew (Colin May) still not good after ...
...As per normal in these movies Paul has awakened ghosts from his and others past on his return, none more so than a long lost relationship with Penny (Miranda Otto), the reason, we discover later, he skipped town. Deciding to stick around and sort out the family estate, his brother begrudging Paul’s promised third of the Will & Testament, the rest going to an unnamed charity, things take an unexpected turn in his closed world with the arrival of a ...

thedevilinme 22.12.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of In My Father's Den (DVD)