Rated:

Rumours abounded that Grace Kelly would be making a comeback, before this adaptation of Winston Graham's novel went into production. Her icy aloofness would have been perfect for this tale of kleptomania, frigidity, fetishism and suppressed anxiety, and Tippi Hedren was considered no substitute by contemporary critics, who, spoiled by Psycho and The Birds, gave the picture something of a lashing.

Calmer reflection has established this as one of Hitchcock's more interesting misfires. The conspicuously artificial set design and back projection may not suit all tastes, but watch for Robert Burks's suave colour photography and the mental duel between a man (a restrained Sean Connery) turned on by crime and a woman who steals to forget.

But the critics of the day were right about Hedren. Her performance is fulfilled satisfactorily but she just doesn't have the acting ability or range to sustain our interest. And that is a problem when she is on the screen all the time. Can you imagine what Kelly would have done with that role?