north by northwest (1959) (spoilers!!!)

plot synopsis (skip to overall thoughts to avoid spoilers)

the film centers around businessman Robert Thornhill (Cary Grant), an operator of a large and high profile business when he is mistaken for another man by the name of Roger Caplan and is kidnapped by two hired, armed men and is met, antagonised, and also mistaken by a conspicuous man called Vandamn (James Mason), who is under the alias of Townsend and wants him dead by almost any means necessary.

against his will, Thornhill drinks a whole bottle of bourbon and is put behind the wheel of a mercedes as Vandamn's men attempt to make it seem as though Thornhill drove himself off a cliff whilst under the influence, though he escapes and is caught drunk driving by local law enforcement and is taken under custody for the evening.

as he shows the police Vandamn's place, it is revealed he's not there and that he is in fact giving a general assembly at the UN. once Thornhill arrives at the UN building, he meets with a man called Townsend, a man who is a member of the UN, and Thornhill realises that Vandamn is more who he makes out to be. Before he can get anymore from Townsend, one of Vandamn's men throughs a switchblade into Townsend's back, making it look as though Thornhill murdered him, something that becomes so widespread that the CIA attempt to be involved w/ Thornhill

on the run, Thornhill barely makes it on a train going to chicago and its on this train he meets Eva Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), a woman completely infatuated with Thornhill & seems to be in cahoots w/ Vandamn. she gives Thornhill a meet up location where he would meet up w/ Caplan, tho instead Thornhill is ambushed by an armed cropduster, which he is able to avoid by ducking under a truck.

after stealing a pick-up truck, Thornhill meets up with Kendall at a hotel, where he finds out that Kendall snuck out to take place in an auction in the company of Vandamn. as Thornhill is heartbroken at this sight, he is also cornered by Vandamn's guards, so he gets himself arrested in order to tell the police abt Vandamn and his involvement w/ Thornhill.

realising hes stuck, Thornhill makes a show of himself at the auction so that he could be taken under by the police, though the police are asked by a CIA officer to take him to the airport where he'll meet Kendall and rescue her from Vandamn before she leaves the country w/ him, leaving americas security and Kendall at risk, but where it is also revealed that Roger Caplan was simply made up so that Thornhill and Kendall could co-operate to take down Vandamn.

at mount rushmore in north dakota, Kendall shoots Thornhill in front of Vandamn and his men at a staged shooting with blank bullets, where afterwards, Thornhill is taken under medical care after being knocked out, though he promptly leaves. Thornhill arrives at Vandamn's home, where he manages to rescue Kendall before Vandamn did anything more, knowing she bidded for a false artifact and shot Thornhill with blanks.

before she boards the plane, Thornhill hi-jacks a car and rescues Kendall, but not before they realise the gate is locked and make a run for it and manage to come across the top of mount rushmore where they find attempt to climb down the monument, Vandamn and his hired man try to eliminate both Kendall and Thornhill but both fail, and Thornhill and Kendall emerge safely, and at the end of the film, are married and celebrate the way that they promised, on the train back to new york.

overall thoughts

the acting in this film is absolutely phenomenal, Cary Grant is very flawless at portraying a suave, cool man, but in this film, he also plays a man trying to overcome all the madness that has been dawned onto him and is able to convey both parts of his character incredibly well.

Eva Marie Saint's perfomance is also something to behold, in the film, Kendall is absolutely infatuated w/ Thornhill, you would have to be blind to miss all the hints she sends onto Thornhill, as she is incredibly flirty with Thornhill, but she isn't as simple as one may think, as later on, such as the faux shooting scene, show that she is able to act well under pressure, and able to manipulate under high stakes conditions as well.

Kendall and Thornhill have astonishing chemistry in the film, as you get the sense that these two are both hopelessly in love with one another which makes these two sharing their screen time together something to behold, not only w/ how well written the characters are, but also how well Grant and Saint are able to convey these characters.

James Mason also portrays a very cold hearted and calculated character, willing to fight his way through everyone in anyway possible, though he isnt impulsive, he takes his time, using his men to intimidate and commit actions onto Thornhill & Kendall and is very aware of certain things, such as Kendall shooting Thornhill w/ blank bullets, knowing that she would have been a threat to him and knowing that to not make her a threat by flying her out of the country.

the directing is absolutely fantastic, u rlly feel the same sense of stakes and involvement with the events as much as the characters in the story which is helped emphasised through the mood of the music scores.

the story comes around full circle as well, much like other Hitchcock films such as Spellbound (1945) and makes plenty of sense, though the written and visual story-telling isnt hard to follow at all, the film moves in a very seemless, well paced and well written way.

closing thoughts

overall, north by northwest is a definite must see, a film that may not have the eye candy of a more recent film, though is a testament to the thriller genre as a whole, it is very well performed with a legendary cast of actors, it is directed incredibly well and in conclusion, perhaps one of the best thrillers i have seen in a while.

p.s. keep a sharp eye on alfred during the credits ;)