North by Northwest 1959
I remember seeing this movie on TV maybe 20 years ago and not being overly impressed with it, but I have seen more Hitchcock movies since and I thought it was actually pretty decent despite some big misgivings. First, it isn't a tight movie. There is a lot of stuff thrown in, especially the romantic angle, and then there are a number of plot points that don't make a lot of sense, which I will save for spoilers. Essentially Cary Grant plays an everyday guy who is mistaken for a government agent and is targeted by the bad guys. Hitchcock had used this before, but it goes off the rails a little here. There is a lot of romance, but really just kind of blatant sex talk between Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint without actually showing anything except kissing. Cary Grant was certainly capable of smarter and more romantic dialogue if he had good writers.
Still, it is a fun story, with some good mystery (some key parts of which I had completely forgotten), action stuff, double crosses, and suspense. Cary Grant is great at this kind of thing. James Mason also makes a great bad guy, though his part isn't that big. Martin Landau as one his henchman seems a little clumsy, which is at least partly because of how that character is written. Eve Marie Saint is good, but lacks much subtlety, again some clumsy writing. She has some good scenes for sure and women weren't going to be given any heavy lifting back then.
Hitchock was famous for cheap special effects and they really show. So many things don't look realistic, like any time they are in a car and swerving around they don't even move. Still, they did some filming on location and while the movie doesn't look great, that kind of helps make things a little more seamless. Still, you see a lot of things like obviously cheap doors and outdoor scenes that definitely look like a set.
Despite the flaws the movie is enjoyable enough to watch that I am giving it an A-, though it barely exceeds a B+ for me, maybe getting pushed over just by being a pairing of Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchock.
Written: 17 Mar 2025
Owned on: Digital