Rating: 4/5
A ski trip, a skeet competition, a bullet through the glass — the assassination of a new acquaintance and the kidnapping of their daughter enmesh Bob and Jill in a secret plot
Sharp, witty, and fast-paced spy thriller. It grinds to a halt for exhausting exposition just before the third act, but it all works towards the climax
Much like Strangers on a Train, a tedious shootout severely undercuts the tension that the climax established. Still, there’s a lot to love about this movie
Stray Thoughts
- Peak 30s hair — everyone sporting wavy helmets of pomade
- Is there anything to visiting a British dentist and jokes about British teeth?
- Is under-cranking action scenes as old as movies?
- All the villains have dark eye makeup and are staged in lighting to emphasize it
- There is a tremendous shot of Jill surveying the music hall while the chorus sings, “God save the child,” and her eyes blur with tears as she realizes what is happening
- Peter Lore hovering on the outskirts of every scene — was there ever a time when he didn’t outshine everyone else on screen?
- It’s wild that Lore didn’t speak English yet and had to learn his lines phonetically