The Adventures Of Mr. Thornhill

Rating: Null/10 (2 November 2012)

My opinion of this film is mixed. At times the dialogue is clever and amusing. And the final fifteen minutes offer some genuine suspense, together with excellent visual perspective. During this final sequence, the physically risky maneuvers of the main characters, ordinary and vulnerable, contrast thematically with the stone-cold lifelessness of past characters, grand and immortal.
But oh my, the trial of having to sit through two hours getting to that last sequence. Highly contrived, the adventure plot is overblown with sequences that defy logic and scatter the location settings in a near-random manner. As such, the plot seems chaotic, disorganized, and unedited. Major sections could have been excised, or reduced in length. I think the film runs about thirty minutes too long.
Color cinematography is acceptable for the 1950s. Today, the cinematography looks antiquated and clunky, with day-for-night camera filters in outdoor scenes, and lots of rear-screen projections.
As advertising man Roger Thornhill, Cary Grant is clearly miscast, looking way too old for the role. I have no problem with the rest of the casting. And James Mason is always a delight to watch and listen to.
There are some memorable visuals in this film, like the crop-dusting sequence. But overall, "North By Northwest" offers a poor script, until near the end. Hitchcock made some really terrific films in his day. But this is not one of them.