"North By Northwest" is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous and heavily praised films. It is a very good film, full of suspense and action, but it is not among his best films. The romance between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint is unintentionally amusing, and several of the action scenes lack credibility. Grant is a business executive who is mistaken for a government agent by henchmen working for suave bad-guy James Mason. Grant survives a murder attempt, then is accused of murder himself. While on the run, Grant romances double-agent Marie Saint. Gradually, Grant becomes the agent that for the first half of the film he claims not to be.
"North by Northwest" is admittedly fun to watch.
Something is always happening, and if you pretend
that the events are plausible, the film might
live up to its reputation.
"North by Northwest" has several problems with
casting and credibility. There are spoilers in
the following analysis.
Cary Grant is one of my favorite actors, but he
was about fifteen years too old for this part.
The actress playing his mother, Jessie Royce
Landis, looks younger than Grant and in fact is.
The romance between Grant and Marie Saint begins
with laughably too-clever dialogue. Later, Grant
becomes as jealous as a schoolboy over her
behavior, at a time when both their lives, and
national security, are in danger.
The film's most famous scene has Grant being
hunted by a crop duster's plane. This scene ends
with Grant getting knocked down by a large truck,
immediately followed by the plane flying into the
truck and bursting into flames. Why would the
plane do this? Wouldn't the pilot have seen the
truck? Even more surprising, Grant runs away
without a scratch.
Why does Grant follow Marie Saint to the auction,
and then confront Mason there? He is risking his
and her neck for no reason except to pick petty
arguments. I know that people dressed more
formally back in the 1950s, but Grant seems bent
on wearing a particular gray flannel suit
throughout most of the film. Even when it becomes
soiled, and even when there is a nationwide
manhunt for him.
Grant's transition from businessman to spy and
action hero, without any training, isn't
plausible. He is able to break into Mason's
house, and the minute he arrives, he overhears a
conversation that deals with a murder plot and
where the microfilm is hidden.
In his earlier film "Saboteur", the finale
involved the hero, the bad guy, a life-risking
rescue attempt, a spectacular fall and the Statue
of Liberty. "North by Northwest" repeats the
formula, only substituting Mount Rushmore for the
Statue of Liberty.
I fully admit that I am being very picky, and
that "North By Northwest" is a very good (and
certainly suspenseful and entertaining) film. I
am making these negative comments only to support
my position that it is not the outstanding film
that most consider it to be. (71/100)
NORTH BY NORTHWEST is a suspense thriller that finds Cary Grant in the role of Roger Thornhill a Manhattan advertising executive mistaken for a spy. C...More at Family Video
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