It's been a busy week for the acerbic, well groomed advertising executive. Or is he really derring-do government agent George Kaplan? Is the gorgeous blonde who is half his age actually in love with him? Why is suave villain James Mason so interested in bidding on that pot-bellied porcelain antique? What does creepy Martin Landau imply when he discusses his "woman's intuition?" And isn't Cary Grant, er, Thornhill, getting too old to be calling his mother first whenever he gets into another scrape?
Yes, there's mystery aplenty in Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, one of many films he directed that involve a wrong man suspected of murder. Hitchcock was indeed a master of suspense, but he was equally shrewd in exploring wrong man themes. He always added twists and turns that make each of the films unique in their own ways.
The gripping climax of North by Northwest is reminiscent of Saboteur (1942), which also places the hero and villain in mortal peril on the precipice of a national landmark sculpture. However, the usual wrong man setup involves the accused proving his innocence by finding the guilty party. In North by Northwest, the government knows the wrong man is innocent and has already infiltrated the conspiracy.
Like a bull in a china shop, Cary Grant blunders his way into filling the shoes of imaginary agent George Kaplan, but must play the role of hero if he is to rescue Eva Marie Saint from the clutches of airy flatterer Mason and his stone faced henchmen.
It would be a mistake to regard North by Northwest merely as a romantic thriller. Hitchcock sprinkles in plenty of comic moments, such as Grant's skeptical mother confronting bad guys in an elevator, Grant shaving with a woman's razor, Grant sneaking into the bedroom of a willing old maid, and Grant remarking that the middle initial O stands for nothing. This, of course, is a wry reference to David O. Selznick, who had earlier produced Hitchcock's masterwork, Rebecca (1940).
It is the same romantic scene in the dining car of a train where Grant delivers one of the more forward lines of dialogue from the era of the Hollywood production code. Grant tells the mysterious blonde woman, "The moment I meet an attractive woman, I have to start pretending I have no desire to make love to her." Eva Marie Saint responds with one of her patented Mona Lisa smiles. Even more suggestive is the film's final shot, which shows the train hurtling into a tunnel. However, this event does occur within the sanctity of marriage.
With the exception of Hitchcock's cameo appearance, all the best comic moments belong to Grant, who displays an endearing angst whenever one of his endless difficulties presents itself. North by Northwest is one film where Grant cannot walk across a room without getting into further trouble.