Across America and into Movieland

Rating: 10/10 (8 March 2007)

"North by Northwest" is surely one of the most purely entertaining, gripping, and flat-out fun movies of all time. From the moment some nefarious men mistake Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) for a CIA agent named George Kaplan, the movie is a chain of dangerous situations each more suspenseful than the lastwhich keep you wondering "How in the world is he going to get out of THIS one?"
But at the same time, despite the fact that the movie is about a man running from people who want to kill him (the French title translates to "Death At His Heels") it's all done with a light touch. After all, there's a strong escapist element to Thornhill's story: visiting the UN, Chicago and Mount Rushmore under bright sunny skies, running from an office job to help protect valuable government secrets, getting propositioned by a seductive blonde (Eva Marie Saint), and always wearing a spotless gray suit. (OK, it does get mussed-up in the justly famous crop-duster sequence.)
The little details of "North by Northwest" are, for the most part, spot-on. Casting James Mason as the main villain is extremely cleverhe's one of the only actors who can match Grant for smooth elegance and charisma, and it's fun to see them go head-to-head. And even though Grant's role mainly consists of narrowly escaping from danger during a cross-country journey, the film also gives him a little emotional journey too. In the beginning, you like Roger Thornhill because he makes wisecracks and looks like Cary Grant. In the end, you like him because he's discovered that he is actually a good, honorable man.
Eva Marie Saint is not quite a natural for her role as a mysterious, glamorous woman (she'll always be the shy girl from "On the Waterfront" to me)she seems to imitate the character rather than embody her. But this doesn't ruin the movie; indeed, "North by Northwest" is all about artifice and imitation. It acknowledges that it exists in Movieland, not real life, then devotes itself to providing more than two hours of pure cinematic delight.