Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (1959) Movie Review

"How does a girl like you get to be a girl like you?"

Year: 1959
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Casts: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
Genre: Mystery & Suspense

NORTH BY NORTHWEST

Together with North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock crafted four mastepieces: Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), and Psycho (1960). Compared, North by Northwest, in my opinion, is Alfred Hitchcock’s most playful and entertaining suspense film. Here is a film that include a variety of plot devices combine with familiar Hitchcockian elements, predominantly the themes of mistaken identity for the innocent man.

THE PLOT

Cary Grant stars as Roger Thonhill, an advertising executive who is an ordinary man minding his own business, until one day he is mistaken for a spy named George Kaplan. Suddenly, Thornhill’s life turned upside down where he is kidnapped, nearly killed, and wanted both by the police and the villains. And when things starting to get even more complicated, he met a charming woman, Eve Kendall played by Eva Marie Saint.

THE CAST

Cary Grant brings charm to the central character, with his sharp line delivery. Here, Hitchcock gave us a characther that is a Madison Avenue advertising genius, a handsome polished gentlemen in his sleek suit, and Cary Grant convincingly pulls it off. The other casts that follow the succes is Eva Marie Saint as a glamourous blond, she is mysterious, making Thornhill think that she may not be everything she initially seems to be. James Mason as Phillip Vandamm, is properly sinister as the head villain, just as the rest of the troupe.

OVERALL

North by Northwest is one of Hitchcock's most commercially successful film, and was nominated for three Academy Awards. It is undoubtedly features some great stand out moments. The plot intrigued me and plenty of funny humours to entertained the audience. It lacked in suspense for a little bit but nonetheless it was an entertaining take of suspense thriller that tackles with a few different elements; thriller, comedy, action, and romance. The set design and locations are spectacular, from Eve's hotel room decor to Vandamm headquarters modernist villa at the top of Mt. Rushmore and the Mount Rushmore set looking especially realistic.