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North by Northwest (1959)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
17 September 1959 (Japan) moreTagline:
Alfred Hitchcock takes you.... North by Northwest! morePlot:
A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(7 articles)
Robert De Niro Collection goes on exhibition (From BoxWish. 1 May 2009, 4:03 AM, PDT)
Darth Vader Is 'Most Vile Villain'
(From WENN. 26 March 2008, 6:26 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Wonderful comedy thriller, not Hitchcock's best but his most sheerly enjoyable moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Cary Grant | ... | Roger O. Thornhill | |
| Eva Marie Saint | ... | Eve Kendall | |
| James Mason | ... | Phillip Vandamm | |
| Jessie Royce Landis | ... | Clara Thornhill | |
| Leo G. Carroll | ... | The Professor | |
| Josephine Hutchinson | ... | Mrs. Townsend | |
| Philip Ober | ... | Lester Townsend | |
| Martin Landau | ... | Leonard | |
| Adam Williams | ... | Valerian | |
| Edward Platt | ... | Victor Larrabee | |
| Robert Ellenstein | ... | Licht | |
| Les Tremayne | ... | Auctioneer | |
| Philip Coolidge | ... | Dr. Cross | |
| Patrick McVey | ... | Sergeant Flamm - Chicago Policeman | |
| Ed Binns | ... | Captain Junket (as Edward Binns) |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest (USA) (complete title)Breathless (USA) (working title)
In a Northwesterly Direction (USA) (working title)
The Man in Lincoln's Nose (USA) (working title)
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Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
131 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColour:
Colour (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 moreCertification:
Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (2000) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:A (1959) | USA:Approved (PCA #19156) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Iceland:L | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:AL (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | Netherlands:12 (2008 re-release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:G (1959-1998) | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Peru:14 | UK:PG | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Norway:16Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The train station scene was shot in New York City's Grand Central Terminal. Among the onlookers watching the scene being filmed were future directors George A. Romero and Larry Cohen. moreGoofs:
Continuity: When Thornhill is about to get out of the cab leaving his secretary there, the cab behind is bright orange. After he gets out, the cab behind is a different color and make of car. moreQuotes:
Eve Kendall: How do I know you aren't a murderer?Roger Thornhill: You don't.
Eve Kendall: Maybe you're planning to murder me right here, tonight.
Roger Thornhill: Shall I?
Eve Kendall: Please do.
more
Soundtrack:
It's a Most Unusual Day moreFAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersWhere can I find screenshots from this film?
What route does Thornhill follow as he travels north by northwest?
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North By Northwest is not an artistic masterpiece like Rear Window and Vertigo, but it is probably the most purely entertaining picture Hitchcock ever made. It's essentially a rehash of many of his earlier films, with a plot partially derived from The Thirty Nine Steps and the very similar Saboteur, while there are borrowings from Foreign Correspondent and Notorious, among others. However, it is all done with such style and confidence that it doesn't matter if it's essentially just a greatest hits package.
Very few other films of this kind attain the near perfect tone of this one, precariously balanced between seriousness and silliness. Sometimes this film manages the very difficult trick of being both suspenseful and comical at the same time, as in the auction house scene, or the wonderful scene in the lift when the hero's mother turns to two heavies in a lift looking menacingly at the hero and says "you gentlemen are not REALLY trying to kill my son, are you?".
Of course the famous crop dusting plane scene and the Mount Rushmore chase are terrific. The former is really more notable for the amount of time taken to build up to the action than the action itself, while the technical work on the latter still looks pretty good. In a totally different vein is the astonishingly frank seduction sequence on the train. Hitchcock takes his time here as with many of the other scenes, but the film is so crammed with memorable passages that one hardly notices it's 136 mins long.
Ernest Lehman's script is full of wonderful lines, many of them delivered so well by chief villain James Mason that at times we almost want to root for him. "Has any one ever told you tend to overplay your various roles Mr Kaplan....it seems to me you fellows could stand a little less training from the FBI and a little more from the Actor's Studio". Cary Grant is so smooth one almost forgets he's over 50, and of course there's also Bernard Herrmann's vibrant score.
Endlessly enjoyable even with repeated viewings. How many of today's thrillers will be such fun in 25 years time?