Our Hot Hitchcock Summer Series continues! The Dads look deep within themselves through the eyes of ur-Dad James Stewart, and if you think he's in wholesome IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE mode here, boy, are you in for a surprise. Speaking of surprises, this film delivers three absolute stunning performances that belie reality:
Jimmy Stewart as a semi-obsessive creeper (although maybe not totally surprising after his performance in REAR WINDOW; see our episode from July 8);
Kim Novak falling for a man half her age (boy, Hitchcock sure has a thing, doesn't he?);
San Francisco being consistently temperate and sunny in the summer.
No one spins a psychological thriller better than Hitch (if you can get past his, er, "proclivities"; your mileage may vary), and no one has more fingerprints on more Dad movies than him, either (you can see traces of it in BLADE RUNNER, JAWS, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, and plenty more); so strap in and make sure you're wearing the right necklace before you jump into the temperate waters of the San Francisco Bay because this week the Dads all have (1958's) VERTIGO!
