North by Northwest proves that great art can also be entertaining.

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2006)

Alfred Hitchcock made this film at the height of his genius and also at the height of his popularity, when his television show gave him the kind of exposure and face recognition usually reserved for only the biggest stars. Hitch always maintained that great films should also entertain, North by Northwest being presented here as our star witness to prove his assertion to be correct.
Cary Grant plays Roger O. Thornhill as the slick Madison Avenue advertising man who is mistaken to be George Kaplin, a spy hot on the trail of Phillip Vandamm, played masterfully by James Mason. All we really know about Thornhill is the statement he makes to Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) on the train from New York to Chicago that he has a mother, several bartenders and two ex-wives dependant upon him for support. The "O" used to initial his middle name stands for "nothing" and his initials, R.O.T., sum up his life. These details are revealing and the scene is beautifully crafted, showing us the apparent emptiness of his life prior to this adventure. Ernst Lehman's script is loaded with these types of gems throughout the picture.
If you're really not into excellent dialogue and clever acting and prefer that the story get on with it, this also is the movie for you, as it has two of the most memorable action sequences in the history of motion pictures. Of course I'm referring to the crop dusting sequence and the finale on top of Mount Rushmore. Those are enough to put this movie near the top of anyone's must see list.
Kudos are also due to Leo G. Carroll in one of his best character roles as The Professor, who's humble appearance belies the fact that he is the one who is responsible for manipulating much of the action behind the scenes. A young Martin Landau, as Leonard, Vandamm's "right arm", shows us in the few scenes that he's in what a capable actor he was. The music by the great Bernard Herrmann is one of the classic pieces that made him famous, starting from the clever opening title sequence to it's conclusion.
If we view this movie in its historical context of 1959, we see that it was made in the middle of the Cold War, and much of the suspense is reliant upon the audience's reality of living with the knowledge that everything could end with the press of a button (I know this is too simplistic, but many people's perception at this point in history was just that). The Professor, Vandamm, Ms. Kendall, Leonard and others are Cold Warriors, and it is Thornhill's misfortune to become swept up in it's intrigues, but our very great fortune to be able to get swept up with him and let Hitcock, the "Master of Suspense", be our guide in one of his masterworks.