A Well-Constructed Spy Romp

Rating: 7/10 (7 March 2017)

When it comes to Alfred Hitchcock pictures, his "MacGuffin" plot style is quite a bit overused (especially by today's standards). "North By Northwest" contains that same style of film-making. However, this film is so well-constructed otherwise that it still holds up well over time.
For a basic plot summary, "North by Northwest" follows the exploits of one Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant), who is mistaken for another man and happens to fall into a Cold War spy ring led by Phillip Vandamm (James Mason). Along the way, Thornhill is romanced (and does a fair share of the romancing) by Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), whose character may not be exactly who she seems.
In terms of plot, this is one of Hitchcock's best...if only for the first half of the film when the mystery of "Thornhill/Kaplan" is still brewing. Once the truth is disclosed, however, the MacGuffin quickly becomes apparent and kind of turns the movie into a simply spy tale (and thus it loses a little luster).
The acting is terrific, as Hitch makes the "bad guys" genuinely creepy (I mean, Martin Landau's face alone is enough to do that!) and showcases Grant & Saint throughout.
Bernard Hermann's soundtrack also deserves a good chunk of the credit for keeping the latter portions of this movie interesting, as those famous Hermann strings refuse to let viewers relax even for a moment during the climactic moments.
Overall, "North by Northwest" is a very good Hitchcock effort that deserves watching by any fan of the director or just cinema buffs in general. A 3.5 ranking would be my exact choice, but because of it being so well-made, I bump it up to four stars.