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North by Northwest

  • 19591959
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 16m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
322K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,284
9
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Cary Grant, Alfred Hitchcock, Eva Marie Saint, and Philip Ober in North by Northwest (1959)
Alfred Hitchcock gives a tour of the film in this trailer for the Special Edition DVD and Blu-Ray release.
Play trailer3:25
3 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Action
  • Adventure
  • Mystery

A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.

IMDb RATING
8.3/10
322K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,284
9
  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writer
    • Ernest Lehman
  • Stars
    • Cary Grant
    • Eva Marie Saint
    • James Mason
Top credits
  • Director
    • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writer
    • Ernest Lehman
  • Stars
    • Cary Grant
    • Eva Marie Saint
    • James Mason
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 698User reviews
    • 186Critic reviews
    • 98Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #98
    • Nominated for 3 Oscars
      • 8 wins & 10 nominations total

    Videos3

    North by Northwest
    Trailer 3:25
    North by Northwest
    'North by Northwest' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:19
    'North by Northwest' | Anniversary Mashup
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock
    Clip 2:27
    A Guide to the Films of Alfred Hitchcock

    Photos201

    Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant and Eva Marie in North by Northwest (1959)
    Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant, Ken Lynch, and Patrick McVey in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)
    Cary Grant in North by Northwest (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Cary Grant
    Cary Grant
    • Roger Thornhillas Roger Thornhill
    Eva Marie Saint
    Eva Marie Saint
    • Eve Kendallas Eve Kendall
    James Mason
    James Mason
    • Phillip Vandammas Phillip Vandamm
    Jessie Royce Landis
    Jessie Royce Landis
    • Clara Thornhillas Clara Thornhill
    Leo G. Carroll
    Leo G. Carroll
    • The Professoras The Professor
    Josephine Hutchinson
    Josephine Hutchinson
    • Mrs. Townsendas Mrs. Townsend
    Philip Ober
    Philip Ober
    • Lester Townsendas Lester Townsend
    Martin Landau
    Martin Landau
    • Leonardas Leonard
    Adam Williams
    Adam Williams
    • Valerianas Valerian
    Edward Platt
    Edward Platt
    • Victor Larrabeeas Victor Larrabee
    Robert Ellenstein
    Robert Ellenstein
    • Lichtas Licht
    Les Tremayne
    Les Tremayne
    • Auctioneeras Auctioneer
    Philip Coolidge
    Philip Coolidge
    • Dr. Crossas Dr. Cross
    Patrick McVey
    • Sergeant Flammas Sergeant Flamm
    Edward Binns
    Edward Binns
    • Captain Junketas Captain Junket
    Ken Lynch
    Ken Lynch
    • Charleyas Charley
    Stanley Adams
    Stanley Adams
    • Lieutenant Hardingas Lieutenant Harding
    • (uncredited)
    John Alban
    • Auction Guestas Auction Guest
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Writer
      • Ernest Lehman
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Madison Avenue advertising man Roger Thornhill finds himself thrust into the world of spies when he is mistaken for a man by the name of George Kaplan. Foreign spy Philip Vandamm and his henchman Leonard try to eliminate him but when Thornhill tries to make sense of the case, he is framed for murder. Now on the run from the police, he manages to board the 20th Century Limited bound for Chicago where he meets a beautiful blond, Eve Kendall, who helps him to evade the authorities. His world is turned upside down yet again when he learns that Eve isn't the innocent bystander he thought she was. Not all is as it seems however, leading to a dramatic rescue and escape at the top of Mt. Rushmore. —garykmcd
    • mount rushmore
    • fugitive
    • on the run
    • mistaken identity
    • new york city
    • 310 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Alfred Hitchcock takes you.... North by Northwest!
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Adventure
      • Mystery
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • Approved
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      While filming Vertigo (1958), Sir Alfred Hitchcock described some of the plot of this project to frequent Hitchcock leading man and "Vertigo" star James Stewart, who naturally assumed that Hitchcock meant to cast him in the Roger Thornhill role, and was eager to play it. Actually, Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to play the role. By the time Hitchcock realized the misunderstanding, Stewart was so anxious to play Thornhill that rejecting him would have caused a great deal of disappointment. So Hitchcock delayed production on this movie until Stewart was already safely committed to filming Otto Preminger's "Anatomy of a Murder (1959)" before "officially" offering him the role in this movie. Stewart had no choice but to turn down the offer, allowing Hitchcock to cast Grant, the actor he had wanted all along.
    • Goofs
      During the scene in the diner at Mount Rushmore, a young extra boy in the background anticipates the surprise gun shot, fired by Eve. The diners are supposed to be unaware this is going to happen but the young extra boy covers his ears way before she draws the gun. The young extra boy must have known there would be a loud bang from the blank-filled pistol from previous takes and therefore covered his ears on the "printed" take.
    • Quotes

      [Thornhill is wearing sunglasses to hide his identity]

      Ticket Seller: Something wrong with your eyes?

      Roger Thornhill: Yes, they're sensitive to questions.

    • Crazy credits
      The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer logo and part of the opening credits are set against a a green background.
    • Alternate versions
      The print originally had an acknowledgement for the cooperation of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service. But they requested it be removed after MGM violated the agreement that no violence would take place near the Mt. Rushmore monument. Some prints, however, were released with the acknowledgement still in.
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Le contrôle de l'univers (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      It's a Most Unusual Day
      (1948)

      (uncredited)

      Music by Jimmy McHugh

      Lyrics by Harold Adamson

      Played as background music at the Plaza Hotel

    User reviews698

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Top-notch suspense /adventure film still looks great after 40 years!
    For Christmas this year, I received my first to-own DVD: Hitchcock's classic, NORTH BY NORTHWEST. After over 40 years, this rip-racing adventure-thriller still packs a punch and looks great on widescreen. This movie came along during a renaissance period for the Old Master, between masterpieces like VERTIGO and PSYCHO, but this excursion into the world of suspense is so different from anything else Hitchcock had created up to that point. Never did he challenge our endurance to keep still in our seats for such a long period of time, and yet the film's 135 minutes go by so fast it could only be explained by movie magic itself.

    Cary Grant is one of those actors that a filmgoer either falls in love with or deeply envies. His debonair manner is displayed to the full in this film, even though the peril that his character goes through would cause any normal dude to break into a maddening sweat. The dialogue Roger Thornhill delivers alongside Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) in this film is sometimes too hilarious to be true, but wouldn't any woman fall for it? (I'm merely guessing here) Ernest Lehman's screenplay is so lighthearted and yet very ominous. With all the traps and pitfalls Grant goes through in this film, you would have to find comedy in it. Grant does and to great appeal. I absolutely love the sequence at the auction when Roger tries to get himself arrested by yelling out flaky bids and accusing the auctioneer of selling junk worth no more than $8. I also admire the scenes with Saint on the train to Chicago; I was tempted to jot down some of his pick-up lines, but then I realized it's just a movie (or is it?)

    Hitchcock was famous throughout his career of setting up death-defying sequences with major landmarks as backdrops. Here, Mount Rushmore will never be looked at the same again afterwards. We may never enter the United Nations again without peering behind our backs for a notorious knife-thrower. And, I dare say, I will never walk alongside a highway where a cropduster could swoop at any minute. I love the line during the Rushmore incident when Grant says his two ex-wives left him because he lived too dull a life. Go figure!

    It has been said that Hitchcock's many films each contain a personal side of the director inside them. The archetypes of the Master of Suspense are here amid the chasing and running across the U.S. The mysterious blonde, played to a tee by Eva Marie Saint, is a common fixture of many Hitchcock jaunts. Saint joins Grace Kelly and Tippi Hedren in this feature. The protagonist is again awkward when faced with the opposite sex, but unusually casual when wrapped up in danger. The hero has an attachment to his mother, continually under his nurturing wing. And of course, the macguffin has fun with us again (government secrets my foot!)

    Whenever I see action-packed epics today like "The Fugitive" or the James Bond series, they all seem to quiver in comparison to this film. It amazes me that Hitchcock is able to hold the audience in the palm of his hand throughout the whole length of the journey. We become Grant as he runs away from the police and the secret agents who have chosen him as their dupe. But throughout the squabble, we sense that Grant is getting off on the whole jaunt, just as we want the chase to continue, not looking at our watches for a minute. However, it's fascinating to note that Roger Thornhill is not a born adventurer, nor is he an archeologist with a flair for escaping impossible situations. We are experiencing the Cary Grant in all of us, running away from an enemy we do not know they are or what they want. Is this symbolism of some kind? I say who cares; just watch the film and have fun!
    helpful•210
    69
    • movieman9
    • Dec 25, 2000

    FAQ14

    • What is 'North by Northwest' about?
    • Is 'North by Northwest' based on a book?
    • What is the title "North by Northwest" supposed to mean?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 18, 1959 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest
    • Filming locations
      • Garces Highway 1/10th mile East from Corcoran Road and Kern National Wildlife Preserve, Kern County, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $3,101,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $66,728
    • Gross worldwide
      • $142,319
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 16 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.50 : 1(VistaVision, original & negative ratio)

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