Mr. Thornhill's Thorny Ordeal

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2018)

Wedged between the making of two very serious, psychological suspense films, "Vertigo" and "Psycho", director Alfred Hitchcock created a very different kind of thriller, one consisting largely of comedy, both subtle and obvious, thanks in part to the talent of scriptwriter, Ernest Lehman. Hitchcock and Lehman started with three seemingly unrelated ideas, (1) a mistaken identity, (2) a chase scene through the United Nations, and (3) a spectacular finale at Mount Rushmore. They then wove these three events into one cohesive story, a fascinating creative process by itself.
As to the acting, I have seen Cary Grant in many movies, including a number of mediocre items and even worse than that, but he provides the perfect Roger Thornhill with his dry, natural wit and suave, elegant appearance. Whenever I am faced with life's adversities, I only need to recall how Roger would approach the situation with his coolness and muted sense of humor. The fact that Grant did not understand Lehman's script only authenticates his genuine state of confusion as he is pursued from New York City to Rapid City, South Dakota by way of Chicago and some very dry Indiana cornfields. As the mysterious Eve Kendall, Eva Marie Saint is a very different woman indeed from her Oscar winning performance as Edie Doyle in "On the Waterfront", and she never ceases to intrigue us as a woman who is far more independent and sexually assertive than we would normally expect in 1959. And who could deliver those caustic, cynical lines as well as James Mason in the part of the deceptively "respectable" villain, Philip van Damm? Grant and Mason are an outstanding match, and they bring this film to a high level (no pun intended when you consider the ending) that it may not have achieved without their dynamic interaction.
Throughout the film, subtle undercurrents flow beneath the surface, including Thornhill's curious relationship with his undermining mother (Jesse Royce Landis), which may by itself explain his previous two divorces. Then there is the quirky jealousy of van Damm's assistant thug, Leonard (Martin Landau). When I first viewed this film at the innocent age of ten, I didn't appreciate the symbolism of the speeding train through the tunnel at the end, but I was nevertheless very impressed by the overall visual power created by Hitchcock, not only here but in many of his other productions as well.
There were many memorable cinematic moments in this film, including an extraordinary aerial shot of Thornhill escaping from the United Nations building, a sudden showdown involving a man, a speeding oil tanker, and a menacing crop duster, and several, breathtaking shots from atop Mount Rushmore, both real and manufactured. As was the case with the Statue of Liberty in "Saboteur", the power of the monument is enhanced even more by the director's dramatic camera angles as it stands as an invincible symbol of the freedom that the evil elements in the film want to destroy.
The success of "North By Northwest" is shaped by a combination of winning attributes, including a very gifted director, a sharp, snappy screenplay by Lehman, superb cinematography by Robert Burks, an effectively moody musical score by Bernard Hermann, and some first-rate acting.