Pure first class entertainment!

Rating: 9/10 (18 April 2006)

Together with "Psycho" and "The Birds", "North by Northwest" is among Hitchcock's most famous and praised films. It has been said that this movie marks the beginning of the action/thriller as we know it today, and not without reason as this film takes Hitchcock's favorite plot (ordinary man in unbelievable adventures) to the extreme in an epic adventure across U.S.
Cary Grant plays Roger Thornhill, an ordinary man who is mistaken for a spy and suddenly gets involved in a series of intrigues and adventures that will take him from Washington to Mount Rushmore as he tries to put an end to his problem. James Mason plays Phillip Vandamm, the international criminal who believes that Thornhill works for the U.S. government and desperately wants to kill him. Eve Marie Saint is Eve, a mysterious woman who helps Roger but has a secret agenda of her own.
It is obvious that Hitchcock wanted to pleasure his audience after the mixed reviews he received in "Vertigo", as he gives thrill after thrill in this roller-coaster but always with class and elegance. Thornhill goes from one peril to another and the suspense is always on the rise. Also, his dark humor returns and Cary Grant definitely is the best man to deliver it.
Cary Grant is perfect as Roger Thornhill, and it is probably the role of his lifetime. It is very well known the fact that James Stewart was the first choice but was rejected after the failure of "Vertigo". Even when personally I consider Stewart a better actor, Cary Grant was the perfect actor for the lighter Hitchcock; with his suave persona, good humor and classy elegance, Grant shines here as well as in "suspicion" and "To Catch a Thief". On the other hand, Stewart was more apt for the darker side of Hitchcock in films like "Rope", "Rear Window", and the masterpiece "Vertigo".
Eve Marie Saint joins the ranks of the icy blonds in the Master's films, as the beautiful and mysterious Eve. There was clearly good chemistry between her and Grant, and the sexual innuendo is brilliant. One can really believe that they are a couple of lovers in the middle of the international intrigue. Martin Landau and James Mason complete the cast as the villains and they surely give brilliant performances. The young Landau was set for a bright future and he demonstrates it in this early role.
Many things can be said about "North by Northwest", but one thing is true; while this movie is basically a series of scenes of danger and adventure, Hitchcock's masterful touch separates it from the rest and puts it in a superior place. His perfect camera-work and the score by the always effective Bernard Herrmann created immortal scenes. Sure, "Vertigo" is a superior movie, but it is easy to see why this one succeeded where "Vertigo" failed: "North by Northwest" was designed to please the audience.
Honestly, "North By Northwest" is not a perfect movie, it has its flaws and it is definitely not Hitchcock's best film. However, it has a lot of something special that can only be classified as "magic" that one can't help but enjoy the 136 minutes of thrills and adventure that the Master of Suspense prepared for us. 9/10