We forget that this movie is one of the best of all time

Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography is undoubtedly full of masterpieces. Psychosis, birds, window in the yard… great titles in the history of cinema were signed by the legendary director. However, there is none of the almost mystical sublimity that characterizes cold sweat.

No one doubts that this film stands out for its cinematic value. If you ask the critics, they’ll agree that it’s one of the best ever made. Since 1995, Cold Sweat has been considered “culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant” by the United States Library of Congress, in addition to appearing in dozens of classifications. It is one of the best works of the 7th art, but it is not the first title that comes to mind when we talk about the best films in history.

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is one that usually tops the list, followed by Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 2001: A Space Odyssey, or even Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane. All of them are more popular than Hitchcock’s creations, but here a heated debate about the greatest film ever made can begin, which will most likely never end. And the truth is, the result doesn’t even matter. If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you spend a few hours of your life discovering Cold Sweat: you won’t regret it…

A slow-cooked horror romance

“There is a certain slow, contemplative rhythm to Cold Sweat not found in his other films, often built on speed.– says François Truffaut about the film in the book Cinema according to Hitchcock. This is one of the points that sets it apart from other titles by the director, who here allows himself the luxury of taking the time to look between the characters, show space and let the characters develop in front of the audience.

The master of suspense continues as usual, but in this film he takes the tension to another level. It is no longer something that comes from without, but exists within, with the fear of death and the fear of indestructible passion. One of the many ways to describe Cold Sweat is as a tragic love story trapped in obsession, and that’s where much of its charm comes from. The director narrates a depressing and somewhat terrifying novel. The main character’s elusive quest to find the woman he thinks he loves offers many questions, and today we can definitely find more to say than when it was released.

The disappearance of James Stewart became Scott

Alfred Hitchcock wasn’t the most charming person on set, but he knew how to work with his actors to get what he wanted. Thus, he asked James Stewart, one of the greatest American actors of all time, to completely disappear behind his character until the star’s personality completely evaporated. The result is impressive.

Stewart perfectly portrays Scott, a doomed man – traumatized, unable to pursue a career as a cop or pursue a relationship – who is haunted by his memories until he completely disappears into the body of the person he once was.

“Vertigo”, fear of falling

But what is cold sweat (or “vertigo” in the original version) about? The epicenter of the story is the policeman John ‘Scotty’ Ferguson (James Stewart), who suffers from acrophobia, fear of heights. After a chase across the rooftops of San Francisco that ends in the death of his partner, a traumatized and guilt-ridden Scott decides to resign from the police force. When a former classmate (Tom Helmore) asks him to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak), however, he reluctantly accepts the job. He has no idea the hair-raising depths this will lead him to.

Cold Sweats received a rather poor response from audiences and critics when it was released in theaters in 1958. Today it has changed a lot. Perhaps no other Alfred Hitchcock film has been the subject of as much academic debate or as often praised as this must-see masterpiece.