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North by Northwest


Cary Grant waits as the famous scene unfolds
North by Northwest (1959)

1958 to 1963 saw the production of four Alfred Hitchcock films. In 1958 there was “Vertigo”, followed the next year by “North by Northwest” and the next by “Psycho”, then three years later “The Birds”. These are four of the most famous films from Hitchcock and it is incredible to think he was able to create four fantastic films consecutively.

“North by Northwest” is probably my favourite Hitchcock film that I have seen so far. I love them all but this film in particular stands out for me, it was one of the first Hitchcock films I had seen and it was one that immediately attracted me to the work of the director.

The plot is one that Hitchcock loved to use, an innocent man that becomes
Hitchcock uses the famous Mount Rushmore to create the film's most iconic scenes
the victim of mistaken identity. Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill in the lead role and does a fantastic job as a man running to escape from foreign spies attempting to kill him.

Grant was actually wanted to star in a James Bond film in his career however he turned down the opportunity, only willing to participate in one film where as the producers wanted to tie him down to a franchise. If you’ve seen “North by Northwest” then you’ll know why Grant was wanted for the role with his cool and confident personality and physical appearance seemingly perfect for the role.

“North by Northwest” is everything you could want for an adventurous thriller and makes for an extremely enjoyable and fun movie. Hitchcock uses his famous style to create a suspenseful escapist film as Grant is chased across America with some fantastic scenes displaying this such as the famous Plane scene in the middle of nowhere.

As usual Hitchcock casts a beautiful young woman to support the main star, in this film it is Eva Marie Saint who works perfectly alongside Grant, and thanks to her we can see the full capabilities of Grant’s acting as his character shows his different reactions to different situations. Throughout the film the character is put in a variety of different scenarios where we see different sides of him such as his conversations and sexual awkwardness with Eve Kendall (E. M. Saint), his calmness in dangerous situations and also his humour such as the great auction scene and some of the opening scenes with his mother.

The film is not without its flaws however and watching it over 50 years since its creation we certainly see some of the elements differently now, some of the screens and backdrops used are less than convincing and the editing of the final scene has been criticised by some but this is not enough to detract from what is an exhilarating and exciting film that is filled with everything you could want for a film of its kind.

Another thing that is great is Hitchcock’s use of famous scenery to create iconic images as mentioned in my review of “How to Catch a Thief” where I talked about those created by the Golden Gate Bridge in “Vertigo”. In this film the setting is Mount Rushmore which he uses to create a terrific chase scene.

In terms of filmmaking perfection, frame by frame you will not get the quality achieved in a film by “Vertigo” but I love this film because of its plot which allows us to sit back and enjoy this incredibly fun thriller.

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