North by Northwest

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2016)

File this one under a film that I am supposed to like a lot more than I do being a huge Hitchcock and movie fan. I am also not a Cary Grant fan, so maybe that's the problem. Anyway, in 1959, Hitchcock and Cary Grant teamed up again in North by Northwest, also starring Eva Marie Saint. North by Northwest involved the common Hitchcock theme of mistaken identity when a New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies. A thriller providing audiences with one of cinema's most well-known scenes, North by Northwest is a treat in Hitchcock's filmography.
In the middle of a business meeting, Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) rises from the table to make a phone call when he is intercepted by a group of foreign spies believing him to be a government agent by the name of George Kaplan. No amount of urging will convince the spies that they have nabbed the wrong man, and Thornhill seems to be in inescapable trouble. After several murder attempts, Roger is able to escape, and while he is trying to make sense of the reason of his mistaken identity, Roger then becomes sought after by police as well. Seeking help and a place to hide, Roger comes across a beautiful woman called Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) who helps him out of a jam and gives him an ally for his exploits. Soon after their chance meeting, however, Roger learns that Eve isn't the lily white innocent woman he thought she was, leaving Roger alone to evade capture along the crevices of Mt. Rushmore.
Although, admittingly, no fan of Cary Grant's, I was more than overjoyed to see him play such a subtly funny character as he did in North by Northwest. It had been years since I had last seen North by Northwest, and I remembered not liking it much more than I did on this viewing. I quite enjoyed the first half of the film and the debonair yet comedic performance of Cary Grant's, I really don't remember him being as funny. It is interesting to note that the leading lady doesn't appear on screen until 45 minutes into the film. The pacing drops a little bit after that point, but the two principles interact well together on screen. Although I don't hold the prestige for this film as I should, being a student of Hitchcock's work, I enjoyed enough bits in the film to garner at least a viewing a year, as that's about all the Cary Grant that I can handle.