Review of Shoot First

Colin McGuigan gets this film exactly right: it's very Hitchcockian, and that is a compliment, but a throwback to Hitch in the 1930s, 10-20 years befoer this one was made in 1953. It's a very well made film, with a good story line and good actors, plus nice on-location shooting, but it looks and feels like it was made in the mid-late 1930s. If you just accept that, you will enjoy this tale of international intrigue. Joel McCrea gives a good, solid and believable performance to anchor the entire film; the villains are also believeably villainous, but not cartoonish; and Herbert Lom brightens up the proceedings whenever he is on screen.