Who else dislikes the 2 detectives? The love interest is fine, but could not the same conclusion happened with someone more local? I have seen this film multiple times, but I always try to ignore all the scenes with Carey and Ford.
shareI don't think Hitchcock was all that sold on Carey as an actor either. And actually, his character annoys me more than a little--he's pretty much essentially using Charlie initially to get at her uncle. And he puts her in harms way by telling her about him to begin with--was that completely necessary? (especially considering that, at that point. the detectives don't even know with complete certainty that Charles is the Merry Widow Murderer, yet Jack to all intents and purposes is telling Charlie that they do know just that.)
Charlie's life is endangered once she's unable to keep her suspicions from her uncle--suspicions she'd have never harbored if she hadn't been told this. Hitchcock has said (I believe in the Truffaut interviews) that he didn't intend Jack to be seen as an utterly noble character, and frankly I don't think he is--he comes off as being a bit of a weasel, and not above exploiting young Charlie in pursuit of an arrest--his telling her he's in love with her doesn't make that any more palatable really.