Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that while the movie is a typical Alfred Hitchcock thriller which carefully builds suspense, the action itself is restricted to one violent struggle in which there is an attempted strangulation and the victim uses a pair of scissors to defend herself. The rest of the film takes place almost entirely in an apartment in which characters intricately plan, bargain, bluff, blackmail, spar, and attempt to outwit one another. Two leading characters are revealed to have been adulterous lovers for several years. Set in 1954, alcohol is offered at the beginning of almost every scene as a form of hospitality and friendship. Most people smoke: cigarettes, a cigar, a pipe. Other than young film buffs, there's not much that would appeal to kids here.

Sexual Content

Two characters are in a long-term extra-marital romance. They kiss in two scenes.

Violence

There is one scene in which an intruder attempts to strangle a woman in her home; a fierce struggle ensues and someone is stabbed to death with a pair of scissors. Suspense is heightened because the audience knows beforehand that a murder has been ordered.

Language

Not applicable

Social Behavior

No matter how clever, it's almost impossible to execute a "perfect crime."

Consumerism

Not applicable

Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol

Characters consume alcoholic beverages in numerous social settings, and on one occasion a drink is offered to soothe the victim of a traumatic experience. There is no drunkenness. Smoking is frequent: cigarettes, a pipe, and a cigar.