More like a Bond movie than a Hitchcock movie, but much better

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2013)

Though I may have to turn in my 007 fan card for saying so, "North by Northwest" is more riveting, classy, and funny than any Bond movie, and predates the earliest "official" Bond film by three years. Cary Grant's protagonist may be an unwilling spy, but he is a natural one, bantering confidently with baddies in posh hotels and doggedly courting a mysterious femme fatale (Eva Marie Saint). The crop duster scene is perhaps the best and most iconic action sequence that Hitchcock ever filmed. James Mason makes an ideal antagonist, dwelling in a Bond-villain-style lodge atop a famous U.S. landmark. Twists and triple-crosses make for an exciting, complex tale.