thornhill roger thornhill

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2001)

One of Alfred Hitchcock's most enduring masterpieces, North by Northwest is a suspense in which Hitchcock tackles many issues plaguing America during the cold war. Among these are espionage, the `red scare', and the lack of an `American' identity. The manner in which Hitchcock juxtaposes Cary Grant's unfortunate encounters with violence with humor is an effective means to bring these issues to the table. In what may be called the paradigmatic film behind the James Bond genre, Hitchcock takes Grant on an archetypal journey of self-discovery across America as he attempts to find his true identity-and of course, Mr. Kaplan.