Suspenseful masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (25 February 2000)

I think "North by Northwest" is great! Cary Grant is his charming self as Roger Thornhill, and Eva Marie Saint is delightful as Eve Kendell. I also think James Mason gives an excellent performance as bad guy Vandamm.

My favorite part is the auction scene. Roger knows that Vandamm's men are surrounding the place, and that he would never get out alive. So the only way to escape is to create a disturbance, and be escorted out by the police. This is exactly what he does, and it's hilarious!
Although everyone has seen the famous and climactic chase scene across Mount Rushmore, there is a great movie before and after that. I think that this movie contains one of Hitchcock's best "Mac Guffins", which is an extremely slight reference to what makes the enemy so bad. As the Professor says, Vandamm exploits "government secrets". Hitchcock always said that this wasn't important to the plot, because we only need to know that Vandamm is after Roger. I definitely recommend "North by Northwest" to any Hitchcock or Cary Grant fan, or someone who just wants to see an outstanding movie!