Hamilton, as the famous thief Jack of Diamonds, is going to join up with Joseph Cotten, the retired Ace of Diamonds, in a really big job. Then it turns out that the whole episode was simply a warm-up and the movie is going to be about another theft altogether.

It's not enough that a lady has her diamonds stolen the lady is Zsa Zsa Gabor, playing herself, and she has 10 minutes of scenes straight out of the Johnny Carson Show, in which she breathes heavily and calls everyone 'darlink.' 'Jack of Diamonds' violates these rules, simple as they are. If the guy's a diamond thief, fine but don't stand around appraising diamonds, see? Hitchcock, who not only understands this truth but probably discovered it, explains to François Truffaut in their new book that the important thing is to introduce a goal or target, convince the audience that it's a life or death matter that the characters reach it and then forget it and get on with the characters. It's only when the pace slows down and people stand around talking about the plot that it concerns us. If events happen quickly enough and are visually exciting, we aren't bothered by holes in the plot. In a suspense movie, of course, a quick pace counts for everything.

Jack of diamonds play