Suspicion (1941)

By modern standards, the relationship between Cary Grant's Johnny and Joan Fontaine's "Monkeyface" - that's what he calls her - is chilling, not romantic: a wastrel, he binds her in a vicious cycle with her one moment suspecting him of plotting murder and the next feeling floods of relief and love once it's turned out he simply stole from her and lied about it - and Hitchcock plays similar games with his audience, combining moments of comedy (Nigel Bruce's duck calls and Grant's facial expressions and tickles) with murderous chills, referencing the real-life poisoning case of William Palmer as poor Monkeyface traverses that rollercoaster of love and giggles during the highs, and, during the dips, the fear her new husband is going to kill her for her money!

★★★★★

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To Catch A Thief (1955)

All the ingredients of a ripping Hitchcock comedy thriller are here - the exotic French Riviera setting beautifully photographed in VistaVision; a book's ripping plot with Cary Grant starring as "The Cat", a retired jewel thief wrongly accused of a string of copycat robberies; Grace Kelly as the blonde who wavers between suspecting and loving the hero; experimental camerawork using colour filters; a cameo by the director; and yet reading the plot synopsis on Wikipedia is a more exciting thing to do than watching this, one of Hitchcock's most tedious movies, repetitive, low on suspense, and to the end unthrilling.

★★★☆☆

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North By Northwest (1959)

This Hitchcock masterpiece has Cary Grant as debonair ad man Roger Thornhill embroiled in a case of mistaken identity and an international intrigue that sees him framed for murder, famously chased by a crop-duster, dangled from Mount Rushmore, and head-over-heels in love with an icy Eva Marie Saint.

★★★★★

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