North by Northwest main backdrop
North by Northwest main poster

North by Northwest

Visit website

8.0/10 • 4.2K

1959-07-082h 16m

ThrillerAdventure

It's a deadly game of "tag" and Cary Grant is "it"!

Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

Directors
Alfred Hitchcock
Writters
Ernest Lehman
Editors
George Tomasini

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Cary Grant

    Cary Grant

    Roger Thornhill

  2. Eva Marie Saint

    Eva Marie Saint

    Eve Kendall

  3. James Mason

    James Mason

    Phillip Vandamm

  4. Jessie Royce Landis

    Jessie Royce Landis

    Clara Thornhill

  5. Leo G. Carroll

    Leo G. Carroll

    Professor

  6. Josephine Hutchinson

    Josephine Hutchinson

    Mrs. Townsend

  7. Philip Ober

    Philip Ober

    Lester Townsend

  8. Martin Landau

    Martin Landau

    Leonard

  9. Adam Williams

    Adam Williams

    Valerian

Reviews8

View Reviews
DanDare Avatar

DanDare

May 20, 2017

7/10

North by Northwest is famous for its famous action sequences such as hanging on Mount Rushmore and the crop duster plane scene. Essentially it is a film of mistaken identity as advertising executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken for George Kaplan by some bad guys in league with a foreign power presumably Russian. The trouble is Kaplan is a made up operative created by the CIA to flush out the film's villain, the urbane but deadly Vandamm (James Mason) and his cronies such as the fey henchman Leonard (Martin Landau) who are out to get Thornhill. Thornhill in order to prove his innocence must evade capture from the bad guys and also the police as he is wanted by everyone. Only a beautiful blonde Eve (Eva-Marie Saint) aids him in this cross country chase but she is more than an innocent bystander as she might be in league with Vandamm. This is an escapist action film that mixes tension with some comedy and Grant was always adept with light comedy. The film is overlong, it just feels 15 minutes too long and the villains motives seems to be rather cloudy.

Media

  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster
  • North by Northwest poster

Recommendations

  • The Birds main backdrop

    The Birds

    7.5

  • Rope main backdrop

    Rope

    7.9

  • To Catch a Thief main backdrop

    To Catch a Thief

    7.3

  • The Bridge on the River Kwai main backdrop

    The Bridge on the River Kwai

    7.8

  • Vertigo main backdrop

    Vertigo

    8.2

  • Rear Window main backdrop

    Rear Window

    8.4

  • The Man Who Knew Too Much main backdrop

    The Man Who Knew Too Much

    7.5

  • Dial M for Murder main backdrop

    Dial M for Murder

    8.0

  • Lawrence of Arabia main backdrop

    Lawrence of Arabia

    8.0

  • An Affair to Remember main backdrop

    An Affair to Remember

    7.4

  • Das Boot main backdrop

    Das Boot

    8.1

  • Casablanca main backdrop

    Casablanca

    8.2

  • Double Indemnity main backdrop

    Double Indemnity

    8.1

  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas! main backdrop

    How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

    7.5

  • Citizen Kane main backdrop

    Citizen Kane

    8.0

  • Suspicion main backdrop

    Suspicion

    7.1

  • Touch of Evil main backdrop

    Touch of Evil

    7.7

  • 12 Angry Men main backdrop

    12 Angry Men

    8.5

  • Rebecca main backdrop

    Rebecca

    7.9

  • Psycho main backdrop

    Psycho

    8.4

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$4,000,000.00
Revenue
$13,275,000.00
Keywords
new york cityassassinationundercover agentespionagespymistaken identitydeceptionromancefugitiveon the runadvertisingframedon the roadgovernment agentroad movieframed for murdertrainscold war eramount rushmoreabsurdadventureman on the runcouple on the runmoral relativismawestruckcliché