North by Northwest (1959)

North by Northwest (1959)

Over the course of his career, Alfred Hitchcock has made many highly-regarded works and every film of his was treated like an event. After a very successful decade of the 1950’s which includes famed works such as Rear Window and Vertigo, Hitchcock closes out the decade with perhaps his greatest work, 1959’s North by Northwest. After the dark erotic film that was Vertigo, Hitchcock decided to make something more fun, action/adventure-oriented, and something light-hearted in general. This film is essentially the first James Bond film, even though the first James Bond film would be produced several years later. This is an incredibly tense and suspenseful spy thriller that boasts two of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history-the crop duster scene and the dramatic rescue upon the rocks of Mount Rushmore. This film has lots of incredible talent working on camera and behind the scenes. In addition to Hitchcock, we have great acting from the likes of Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. The film was written by one of the greatest screenwriters of the era, Ernest Lehman. The film has a distinctive look because of Robert Burks’s camerawork and texture is given to the sound of the movie because of the eerie score of Bernard Hermann’s.

This movie is a tense spy thriller, a screwball romantic comedy, and a tale about the Cold War/paranoia/government spying all in one movie. Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, a successful Manhattan advertising agent who is abducted by two strange men at the Plaza Hotel. Thornhill is taken to the mansion of a foreign spy Phillip Vandamm (James Mason) where he is believed to be an undercover federal agent named George Kaplan. Thornhill denies it, and he is forced to drink bourbon and to ride in a car down a twisted, winding road. He escapes the planned execution, and the police refuses to believe his story. He eventually gets framed for murder and now is on the run. He takes a cross-country train to make his escape where he runs into the mysterious, cold femme fatale, Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint). It is unclear at first why she wants to aid him, but we later learn she may be more than meets the eye. From the train, we then head to those famous scenes involving the murderous crop duster airplane in the cornfields of Illinois and the harrowing escape from Mt. Rushmore.

The acting is very good, but that really should not be a surprise given the names of the cast. To this point, Cary Grant had a very long career. This might be his best performance. The contributions he added to the film is wonderful. Eva Marie Saint, who made an impression acting opposite of Marlon Brando in 1954’s On the Waterfront, adds elegance and class to the role of Eve Kendall. James Mason plays a convincing villain and he does seem like the prototypical James Bond villain. His henchman, Leonard is played by the wonderful Martin Landau. Landau would go on to have a wonderful late-age career, but let’s not forget that he was in an Alfred Hitchcock film.

There are so many Alfred Hitchcock films to choose from when it comes to naming his best film, but I can say without a doubt that North by Northwest is his most entertaining film. In addition to making the spy genre more accessible to the audience, Hitchcock and Lehman added a little bit of everything. We have quirky and funny dialogue, great action/chase scenes, and some lovely romance. Also, I really need to discuss the crop duster scene. That scene was made so well, and my heart wanted to explode because of how tense that scene was. I felt scared for Cary Grant’s character. I am quite amazed at the technical achievement that went to making that scene, and even by today’s standards. Are there themes/motifs behind the film? Both Hitchcock and Lehman said no. However, given the time of the film’s release, there are some central ideas regarding Cold War paranoia and government spying. If you like James Bond films, you have this movie to thank. Come for the (multiple) twists, stay to see an entertaining spy thriller.

My Grade: A