Review of North by Northwest (1959) by Cole P — 09 Oct 2011

Alfred Hitchcock's spy-thriller adventure was one of the first in its genre (and if not the first, certainly it holds the title for most ambitious for its time); it adumbrated countless James Bond films yet to come.

The story follows a New York advertiser named Roger O. Thornhill (loquaciously played by Cary Grant) who is imbued with a lifestyle of ritzy wealth and rapid vocational delivery. Thornhill's pedantry sets the pace for the rest of the film; and his dishonesty (such as when issuing memos to his secretary) reflects the backstabbing enigma that evolves into the story. Like any Hitchcock movie, North by Northwest offers a bold plot guaranteed to keep audiences on the edges of their seats. Thornhill is mistaken for a secret government agent (named Caplin); nobody believes he is Thornhill otherwise, and his own mother scoffs at him much to his chagrin. When the misnomer propagates into serious proportions (such as Thornhill becoming a nationwide fugitive), Thornhill finds himself on the run from the law, government agents, and his enigmatic captors.

Take a deep breath and consider for a second: If you haven't the gall to accept the premise of this movie thus far, it simply isn't your film. Rather, North by Northwest expands in every direction--even venturing into colossal proportions which challenged Hitchcock's directing. The British director was famous for capturing the suspense and intensity of relatively claustrophobic surroundings (ex: A party room; a train compartment; a rear window; an infamous shower stall). In North by Northwest, Hitch's directing goes beyond his usual trademark--as he accentuates cornerstones of American landmarks from the chiseled Mt. Rushmore to the glossy facade of the United Nations tower. I will admit that the writing was questionable in the movie's famous crop duster sequence, where Thornhill is lured into the middle of a vast county flat (considering the ubiquity of his undercover adversaries, one would imagine they'd find numerous other methods to dispose of him). Nevertheless, the crop duster sequence metaphorically embodies the film, as it augments the universal suspense and makes Thornhill such an insignificant mouse in a maze (maize of corn, almost literally). And Hitchcock is given much credit for capably directing a scene (for '59) which would have stumped any other director.

North by Northwest also has innumerable traces of innuendos in its dialogue and witty conversations, the sort of social etiquette that would appease 007 writer Ian Fleming. But here Hitchcock's directing came at a stark advantage (given his penchant for vibrant colors and flashy blondes); his approach to the abundant insinuations ping-ponged between the two leads came almost naturally. There are noteworthy scenes on a train between Grant and Marie Saint that I'm sure future Bond-directors (hell, directors in general) stole from.

The film is illustrated with powerful colors, black humor, and a bedazzling score by Hitchcock veteran Bernard Herrmann. Admittedly, certain effects and matte paintings have dated. The image of a character speeding down a road with a movie reel behind his head is more reminiscent of a perilous Roger Rabbit ride than of a swift chase. Alas, North by Northwest still has an impact (as well as an influence) over Hollywood today. The funniest thing is, one would expect the litany of "remakes" today with their shrewd, distasteful sex scenes and modern day CGI to improve upon the genre; no, they haven't. They're still following North by Northwest.