Arguably Hitchcock's best

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2004)

If there had been no Psycho than this would have been the film Hitch was best remembered for. It has been 46 years and it still grabs me has hard as any great thriller. "The film that paved the way for Harrison Ford's career " might be an apropriate epitath for this masterpiece of the genre. The wrong man is accused and he is an everyman who must become a hero and save the day. Chosen by the American Film Institute as well as SuperDave as one of American Film's 100 greatest accomplishments this film has a taunt spy thriller that doesn't require the mental engery and near PhD level intelligence (and caffeine high) that a LeCarre style spy film would require. However the screenplay original titled "The Man in Lincoln's Ear" is far from dumbed down. Hitchcock's favorite leading man looks suave and sexy in his suit and like all great Cary Grant performances he is appealing in his believability as much as the way he fills out his suit. Eva Marie Saint, an underapreciated actress of her day, is perfectly cast as the bad girl spy whom you never quite know which side she is on. Undenialbly James Mason makes his case for one of history's most underused villainous actors (before there was Alan Rickman...) While not as serious as some critics would like, it should not have to be. North By Northwest is a popcorn film, meant to entertain and thrill you and it does that in spades. This movie is a pleasure that all film lovers should see once and EVERY Harrison Ford fan should be made to watch, if for nothing else, to see who and what made him, and those like him, possible.