North by Northwest By Alfred Hitchcock Starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint

North by Northwest (1959) A suspenseful, classic Alfred Hitchcock thrillerA suspenseful, classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller The film paired Cary Grant and Hitchcock for the fourth and last time.The film paired Cary Grant and Hitchcock for the fourth and last time. Eva Marie Saint appears as the blonde heroine.Eva Marie Saint appears as the blonde heroine.

Themes of North by Northwest Mistaken identityMistaken identity ‘Wrong Man’ hero‘Wrong Man’ hero False pretensesFalse pretenses Survival in 20 th century America during the Cold WarSurvival in 20 th century America during the Cold War The Leo G. Carroll character in the film – the head of the American Intelligence Agency, was possibly modeled after two 1950s real life figures: Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen W. Dulles, head of the CIA.The Leo G. Carroll character in the film – the head of the American Intelligence Agency, was possibly modeled after two 1950s real life figures: Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen W. Dulles, head of the CIA.

North by Northwest Includes a tongue-in-cheek odyssey away from the city for a man who is normally sheltered by his wealth and prestige.Includes a tongue-in-cheek odyssey away from the city for a man who is normally sheltered by his wealth and prestige. A light-hearted and complacent hero/bystander ( a successful Manhattan advertising executive) is suddenly totally vulnerable, isolated, and caught up in an unexplainable series of events after being victimized (mistaken for an undercover Federal agent by a group of foreign spies), and then on-the-run as an implicated murder suspect (after being framed for an UN official’s murder.A light-hearted and complacent hero/bystander ( a successful Manhattan advertising executive) is suddenly totally vulnerable, isolated, and caught up in an unexplainable series of events after being victimized (mistaken for an undercover Federal agent by a group of foreign spies), and then on-the-run as an implicated murder suspect (after being framed for an UN official’s murder. He is pursued cross-country by a seeming conspiratorial group of spies, the police, then the FBI.He is pursued cross-country by a seeming conspiratorial group of spies, the police, then the FBI.

North by Northwest The American (Cary Grant) is forced to assume another man’s identity (George Kaplan, a non- existent US agent) while confronted with murder, mayhem, a world of spies and counterspies, a domineering and unbelieving mother, and an untrustworthy, mysterious blonde lover.The American (Cary Grant) is forced to assume another man’s identity (George Kaplan, a non- existent US agent) while confronted with murder, mayhem, a world of spies and counterspies, a domineering and unbelieving mother, and an untrustworthy, mysterious blonde lover. His final salvation occurs on the Presidential faces carved on Mt. Rushmore – the most modern American image of all.His final salvation occurs on the Presidential faces carved on Mt. Rushmore – the most modern American image of all.

Setting Although much of the film was made in the studio, Hitchcock chose three prominent locales for brief segments of the photogenic film.Although much of the film was made in the studio, Hitchcock chose three prominent locales for brief segments of the photogenic film. The United Nations Building (NYC) (a hidden camera filmed the hero’s entrance up the steps into the building, but the UN lobby was a recreation.The United Nations Building (NYC) (a hidden camera filmed the hero’s entrance up the steps into the building, but the UN lobby was a recreation. Grand Central Station (NYC)Grand Central Station (NYC) Mount Rushmore (in South Dakota) (there are shots of the exterior of the park’s monument, but the actors crawled next to a reproduction of the Presidential faces.Mount Rushmore (in South Dakota) (there are shots of the exterior of the park’s monument, but the actors crawled next to a reproduction of the Presidential faces.

Exciting Scenes These include a cross-country train rideThese include a cross-country train ride The seven minute bi-plane crop duster attack scene near a Midwest cornfieldThe seven minute bi-plane crop duster attack scene near a Midwest cornfield The auction sceneThe auction scene The dangling finale at Mount RushmoreThe dangling finale at Mount Rushmore