This movie, as with all Hitchcock films, has scenes that put you on the edge of your seat. But not enough. The first thirty minutes of introduction were boring and, when looking at the entire piece, unnecessary for the most part. Much of the plot felt contrived, trifling, and excessively circuitous. The plot focused too much on politics and details, which is perhaps this movie's greatest downfall. It was too preachy and not entertaining enough. The movie is a surprising atypical Hitchcock because there just isn't that much suspense in the movie to keep you occupied for 2 hours. The movie should have been 60-90 minutes in length. The music, usually extremely fitting and thrilling in Hitchcock's films, felt melodramatic and cheap in this one.
The movie did have many good qualities (it is a Hitchcock after all). The camera movements were unerringly fluid and the shots were well-composed, although some of the special effects were a bit obvious and painful to watch. What little suspense and excitement there was fit comfortably in the Hitchcock oeuvre. There was much more comedy than in his later films; the dialogue was witty and fast-paced, but sometimes a bit too fast-paced. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this movie to a Hitchcock fan expecting a typical Hitchcock movie because it just doesn't live up to those expectations.IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0032484/