It's because of the airline he flies with, people.

Rating: 7/10 (4 March 2012)

Made 3 years before James Bond made spy movies extremely popular, North by Northwest sometimes comes across as a bit of a caper instead of something more serious, but it has enough going on to keep you interested, even over 136 minutes, a running time few Bond films have exceeded.
Cary Grant is Roger Thornhill, an NY adman who lives a fast and loose lifestyle. When he's mistaken for an enigmatic spy called George Kaplan his is hurled into a partially confusing plot involving cold war traitors, secret agents and double agents. Thornhill travels up and down and across the country trying to outwit his pursuers and find out what the hell is going on, all while romancing Eva Marie Saint, with Bernard Herrmann boisterous score propelling him along.
It's another one of Hitchcock's 'wrong man' thrillers, and probably the best (however, I do rate Saboteur highly). But it IS still a bit overrated. It's shot very well, in many different locations, and there's little, if anything, to dislike about it. But like many early Bond movies there are many scenes where you can easily tell that the characters are just walking on a treadmill with a rear-projection behind them instead of physically being in actual locations. It doesn't spoil anything, though it is always noticeable.