North by Northwest
One of the most popular comical thrillers by Alfred Hitchcock is North by Northwest. It was released in 1959 and many people still watch it today. In fact if you look it up online you will find it is always on the list of the top 250 films. North by Northwest features a wonderful cast of stars we love to watch. It is considered to be one of Cary Grant’s best films.
The film has a common theme that we have seen many times. The film involves a young advertising agent named Roger who is mistaken by secret agents as having microfilm that is important to them. They think he is actually another undercover agent and he is trying to cross them.
They capture the young man and proceed to interrogate him. Since he continually denies having anything to do with the secret agents they decide they are going to kill him. There is a great scene where they pour bourbon down his throat and place him in a stolen vehicle. The plan is to have him killed in an accident that gives the impression that he was driving drunk.
Instead of being in an accident though he is pulled over for drunk driving. He tries repeatedly to tell the police office what has taken place. He isn’t believed though. Roger is very upset to find that even his own mother doesn’t believe his story. Roger then goes on a quest to find out what is really going on and who is responsible.
The movie is full of suspenseful twists and turns. You will likely find yourself wondering who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. As the pieces start to fall into place though you will be very pleased with the way Hitchcock neatly ties it all together in the end.
Some people find that North by Northwest isn’t as dark as many of his other films. He intentionally added some comical relief to this film to make it different from his past creations. The film was well received by the audience and even critics have to admit it is one of the best. It is on the list of films to be preserved by the Library of Congress due to the cultural significance of the film.
