North by Northwest (1959)
Where to Watch
- Before Cary Grant was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- The original script for North by Northwest was written over a decade before production finally began in 1959.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
North by Northwest is a 1959 American spy thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, one of the greatest and most entertaining films in cinema history. Cary Grant stars as Roger Thornhill, a suave Manhattan advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent by a foreign spy ring led by Phillip Vandamm, played by James Mason, and must flee across America to clear his name while being pursued by both the spies and the police. Along the way, he falls for Eve Kendall, played by Eva Marie Saint, a beautiful, mysterious woman whose loyalties are unclear.
North by Northwest refined Hitchcock's "wrong man" premise to its purest, most entertaining form, combining espionage, romance, comedy, and spectacular set pieces โ the crop duster attack in the cornfield and the climactic chase across the faces of Mount Rushmore โ into one of the most exhilarating cinematic experiences ever crafted. Bernard Herrmann's driving, propulsive score was the perfect musical expression of the film's relentless forward momentum. North by Northwest earned $13 million in its initial release and has been preserved in the National Film Registry.
